Author name: oisinkelly

A new individual Humpback Whale, has been spotted for the first time in Irish waters, off Malin Head at 9:30am on Friday morning. The humpback whale, nicknamed ‘Orion’ was sighted on board the Marine Institute’s RV Celtic Explorer as part of the annual Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic survey on Friday morning last at around

Three Donegal social enterprises are to share €400,000 in funding under Rethink Ireland’s Social Enterprise Development Fund. Liquid Therapy, a ‘surf therapy’ social enterprise in Bundoran, AwakenHub, and the No Barriers Foundation, Letterkenny have all been selected. Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities at the Department of Rural and Community Development,

  Calls are being made within the fitness sector for a clarification on when some businesses will be allowed to fully re-open, following the recent re-opening of indoor hospitality and other areas of society. Speaking on today’s Nine til Noon Show, Ciara McVeigh-Lunn, the owner of LK Fitness and Clubbercise LK, detailed the current restrictions

Gardai are continuing to appeal for information following the death of a motorcyclist in Letterkenny on Sunday evening last. 48 year old Alan John Devenney from Dooish, Newtowncunningham, died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a tractor and jeep between the Dry Arch roundabout and the Port Road roundabout at around 4:55pm. Gardai

556 residential buildings were under construction in Donegal last month. According to the latest GeoView Residential Buildings Report 570 new residential addresses in the county were added to GeoDirectory’s nationwide database in the twelve months to June. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate in Donegal in June was 10.1%, higher than the national average of 4.5%. The

Gartan National School has been approved to proceed to construction for additional school accommodation. The school is to receive a new mainstream classroom and assisted user toilet facilities. Minister Charlie McConalogue has praised staff, students and parents, as well as local public representatives for the work they’ve done to get the project to this point.

16 and 17 year olds can register for a Covid-19 vaccine from today. The HSE’s online portal is opening for this age-group, meaning they can sign up for a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. HSE chief executive, Paul Reid, says this generation has sacrificed a lot during the pandemic, and it’s their turn to get protected.

5 people were rescued yesterday afternoon after their boat suffered mechanical failure off Rathmullan. Lough Swilly RNLI were tasked just before 2:25pm by the Irish Coast Guard to the scene of the pleasure craft. The Inshore Lifeboat Crew towed the vessel to safety at Rathmullan pier.

The easing of restrictions on theatres, concert halls and other venues have been agreed in the North. The Northern Ireland Executive agreed the move today after delaying a decision from last week. Changes come into effect from 6pm tomorrow. Audience members must buy tickets in advance, have allocated seating and observe social distancing. ****************************** Statement

There were 1,345 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in the Republic this evening. 141 patients are in hospital with the virus , with 25 in intensive care. North of the border, 639 new cases have been confirmed today, with no additional covid related deaths. There are 208 patients being treated in hospitals, 25 of them

Health Services in County Donegal are again stressing the importance of practising good public health behaviours in light of the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the North West. Public Health Director Dr Anthony Breslin says numbers are at an upward trend at the moment, and people know what they have to do in terms

Two motions to support people with Mica have been moved without opposition at this afternoon’s Donegal County Council meeting. Cllr Frank Mc Brearty proposed that the council immediately stop collecting Local Property tax from people whose homes are affected by Mica, Pyrite or Pyrrhotite, and that any monies already paid are refunded. He said the

Councillor Frank McBrearty has called for the Government to employ an external auditor to forensically examine the financial records of Donegal County Council. He claims it is on the basis of what he says is the mess the financial records have been left in and many unanswered questions. Many councillors called for more clarity on

Local Property Tax rates are to remain the same in Donegal in 2022. Donegal County Councillors voted today to increase LPT by 15% which means maintaining the 2021 rate, 15% above the baseline. A motion to increase Local Property Tax was put forward by Councillor Martin Harley and seconded by Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh. 23 Councillors

Flights are resuming today at Donegal Airport. The PSO route from Donegal to Dublin was suspended on June 12th after Stobart Air terminated its franchise with Aer Lingus. Swedish airline Amapola has now taken over the route with flights to operate twice daily. The contract is for a 7 month period and Transport Minister Eamon

Ministers are requesting more details on Covid-19 hospital admissions. The Irish Independent reports a letter has been sent to NPHET to understand how many people are brought to hospitals because of Covid-19, rather than testing positive for the virus once admitted for a non-related matter. It’s suspected by some Ministers that only 10 percent of

Lough Swilly RNLI had a busy weekend. The rescue service responded to 4 call outs over a 24 hour period. On Friday evening, just after 5pm, the Inshore Lifeboat Crew was tasked to reports of a small craft on rocks near Leenakeel which turned out to be a false alarm. In the early hours of

More Covid-19 restrictions are being eased in Northern Ireland. From today, you don’t need an appointment for – what are called – close contact services, so that includes going to the hairdressers. While a cap limiting the number of households allowed at 15-person outdoor gatherings has been removed.