Author name: oisinkelly

The Donegal haulier who has vowed to bring the country to a standstill if fuel tax is not reduced has claimed that protests will go ahead if there is no response from the Government by Friday. Following a meeting of the Irish Road Haulage Association at the weekend, John McLaughlin of Convoy based JML transport,

Taxpayers are subsidising passengers who use the country’s regional airports for every flight they take. Around €90m in levies has been paid to subsidise domestic flights from six regional airports over the last six years. An investigation by the Irish Independent shows that in the case of Donegal and Sligo airports, the taxpayer is paying

A Letterkenny Councillor is urging residents to put their wheelie bins at the back of their houses, out of sight. Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh says he is sick of people leaving their rubbish bins at the front of their homes all week. The Fine Gael councillor is to raise a question at tonight’s town council meeting

Thousands of people have gathered in Omagh to mark the death of Northern Ireland police officer Ronan Kerr. The organisers have said they want to send a message to those who want to return NI to a violent past. Catholic constable, 25 year-old Ronan Kerr, died when a booby-trap car bomb exploded outside his home

The North’s Deputy First Minister is urging people on both sides of the border to support police in the struggle against dissident republicans. It comes a day after the PSNI said that a 500 pound bomb found near Newry may have been destined for a town centre somewhere in the North. Martin McGuinness says the

Sinn Fein have confirmed that 38 year old Ciaran Mc Laughlin will be their new representitive on Buncrana Town Council. Mr Mc Laughlin, a native of Slavery now based in The Meadows was selected after a two way contest between himself and Seamus Gill from Meenagorey at a special convention last night. Mr Mc Laughlin,

Gardai are continuing their investigations into this morning’s attack on a GoSafe speed detection van at Cashel, on the road between Carndonagh and Quigley’s Point. The van was facing the Quigley’s Point direction, and had been in the area since 1 o’clock. A short time ago, Superintendent Eugene Mc Govern made this appeal for information…..

A third person has been arrested in connection with the murder of Police Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh last weekend. The 33 year old was detained in the town last night. Meanwhile, detectives investigating the murder have begun re-opening cold case dissident republican attacks. The PSNI says groups are continuing to target policemen – detectives

An Irish naval ship, which has stopped off at Rathmullan will be open to the public over the weekend. People can board the LE Niamh between 2 o clock and 5 o clock today and tomorrow. Staff of the ship will give a brief on how they operate and what their role is. Executive Officer

A speed camera van has been attacked and set alight in Inishowen. The attack happened shortly after 3 o’clock this morning on the Main Road between Carndonagh and Quigley’s Point. The van was one of a number across the country operated by private company GoSafe on a contract with the state. There was one civilian

Police have been given more time to question two men arrested over the car bomb murder of Northern Irish policeman Ronan Kerr. The 25-year-old Catholic Constable died in a blast outside his Omagh home on Saturday. A 26-year-old man and a 40-year-old man will be quizzed by police for up to another five days.

New information has sparked an independent review into the deaths of three soldiers in the Lebanon 22 years ago. Corporal Fintan Heneghan, Private Mannix Armstrong and Private Thomas Walsh were killed when their lorry struck a landmine in March 1989 while on duty in south Lebanon. Privates Armstrong and Walsh were based at Finner Camp

The PSNI is responding to two security alerts around Strabane in C Tyrone. One is near the town’s police station and another on the Strabane to Omagh road. Meanwhile, police say a security alert in Strabane in the early hours of this morning was a hoax. A device comprising of a bag, with wires protruding

Today marks the the begining of the 150th anniversary of the Derrveagh Evictions, with a number of events taking place over the weekend. Tomorrow, the Australian Ambassador Bruce Davis and local historian May Mc Clintock will be in Gartan to help launch “A Deathly Silence”, a book written by Termon National School teacher Christy Gillespie

Graffiti praising the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr and calling for further attacks has been daubed on a road in Strabane. A slogan was painted in the Ballycolman estate. The graffiti which cannot be repeated was aimed towards the Tyrone County Board Chairman; Ciaran McLaughlin who attended Ronan Kerrs funeral and helped carry his

Two men charged in connection with the bomb at Derry’s Strand Road PSNI station last August will face a preliminary enquiry next month, Derry Magistrate’s Court has been told. 22 year old Martin McCloone from Abercorn Road and 42 year old Philip O’Donnell of Baldrick Crescent, both in Derry, are charged with causing an explosion

A small amount of damage has been done to changing facilities at Naomh Conaill GAA club in Glenties following a fire last night. It’s understood the fire broke out in a boiler room, and was noticed by members who were attending a meeting. Gardai say they are aware of the fire, but do not believe

Police say a security alert in Strabane is over after a suspicious object left outside a shop in Ballycoleman was declared a hoax. The device comprised a bag, with wires protruding from it. The area was sealed off for a time, but was reopened early this morning

North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher says the sooner the EU allows decisions on fishing policy to be made on a regional level, the better. At present, region 6A off the North West coast of Ireland is closed as a cod conservation measure. Mr Gallagher attempted to move an amendment in the parliament this

Sunday evening is Census night – when every household in the country is obliged to fill out a form to help plan for our future needs. 203 Enumerators have been delivering the documents to households in Donegal for the past number of weeks, with reports that their task is being made increasingly difficult by the

It’s emerged that an Army Bomb Disposal Team was called to Milford Garda Station after a suspect device was handed in by a member of the public last evening. The device, described by an army spokesman as a ‘projectable enhancer’, had been washed up along Rathmullan Strand. The bomb disposal team arrived at Milford Garda

A house in Dublin has been searched as part of the investigation into the murder of policeman Ronan Kerr in Omagh last Saturday. Members of the Garda Special Detective Unit – at the request of the PSNI – searched the house on the north side of the city close to Dublin Airport. Two men are

A 42-year-old man has been found not guilty by a jury in Derry of  a series of sex offences against a girl including rape which were alleged to have begun when the girl was aged six. The man had been on trial in Derry Crown Court since last Thursday facing a total of 18 charges

Comments made by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness were tantamount to incitement to hatred, UUP health minister Michael McGimpsey has said. Speaking to the BBC, Mr McGimpsey said Mr McGuinness was wrong to say his decision to postpone plans to build a radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin Hospital was “sectarian”. Michael McGimpsey said the DUP and Sinn

The Government will not return the Public Service Obligation (PSO) subsidy for the Derry to Dublin air-link. Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, confirmed last night that he and his Government will not reverse the decision of the previous Government to cut the route. Donegal North East Sinn Féin Deputy, Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Donegal North East T.D. Charlie McConalogue has called for a new Sports Capital Grants Programme. Deputy McConalogue raised the issue with Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Jimmy Deenihan, who said he believes a new scheme will be introduced, but he cannot say when. Deputy McConalogue suggested that the programme could be adjusted to take

Police in the north have arrested a second person in connection with the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr. A 40 year old man was arrested when police stopped a car between Ballygawley and Omagh in Co Tyrone at around twenty past eight this morning. He’s been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim

The members’ bar in the Oireachtas is “a den of secrecy” and should be opened to all visitors to Leinster House, Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty has said. The Donegal South West TD is also said that a photograph of former building society chief Michael  Fingleton be removed from the wall of the bar.

Fishermen along the west and northwest coasts are set to reap the benefits of a new deal on boarfish. MEPs in Strasbourg have given the green light to allow fishermen along the west and northwest coast to catch Boarfish with nets with smaller mesh sizes. The relatively new species is fished for industrial purposes at

An Bord Pleanala has overturned a previous council decision to allow a quarry outside Carrigart  intensify its operations, including more blasting, and retain rock crushing machinery. The council had, in 2008, granted conditional permission to J.and F.Doherty Quarries (Donegal) Limited at Devlinreagh, but that’s now been overturned by the planning appeals board after two local

The IFA in Donegal says Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has failed his first major test. Details of the latest Agri-Environment Options Scheme were unveiled last evening, but Donegal IFA Chairman PJ Mc Monagle says there are serious questions over places and funding. The maximum available to each participant has been cut to by 20% to

Police investigating the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr in a car bomb attack outside his Omagh home on Saturday have arrested a man. The 26 year old was arrested in Scotland. Police have also said there was a “very significant” arms find in the Coalisland area of East Tyrone last night. The weapons included four

Family, friends and public representatives from North and South of the border will gather in Co. Tyrone later, for the funeral of Ronan Kerr. The 25 year old PSNI officer was killed last Saturday when a bomb exploded under his car in Omagh. Thousands of people are expected to turn out for a requiem mass

As the port of Killybegs continues to expand, a new brochure has been launched highlighting the port’s suitability as a centre for servicing offshore energy exploration and renewable energy projects. While the port’s traditional roots as a fishing harbour remain strong, Killybegs has been versifying to become a cruise ship destination, and a base for

The Chairperson of the Donegal County Community Forum, Paula Leonard, has been elected to the Irish National Community and Voluntary Forum (INCVF) National Executive. Paula was one of 10 out of 23 candidates elected to the Executive at its AGM in Dublin on Saturday, April 2nd. Over a hundred delegates from throughout Ireland attended the

The inquiry into one of Northern Ireland’s biggest ever roads schemes has begun with a series of meetings along the route of the A5 upgrade. The plans to dual the A5 from Aughnacloy to Newbuildings are due to go to full public inquiry next month and have attracted more than 2,400 objections. The meetings take

The Letterkenny-based Sweeney family has carried away the prestigious Donegal Business of the Year Award at the 2011 Enterprising Donegal Business Awards. The event was hosted by the Donegal County Enterprise Board, and was held in the Radisson SAS Hotel at the weekend. Their business, the Swilly Group, provides driver training, general training and transport

Graffiti praising the murder of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr and threatening further attacks has been daubed on walls in Derry. The slogans were painted in the Bogside estate, an area with a predominantly republican population. One read: “GAA cops, look what use (sic) got”. It refers to Constable Kerr’s membership of a Gaelic football club.