Author name: oisinkelly

Fianna Fail’s selection convention for Donegal North East takes place this evening with two nominees in the ring – Deputy Niall Blaney and Cllr Charlie Mc Conalogue. We understand national headquarters has decided to pursue a two candidate strategy in the constituency, with both now set to be ratified. The convention was initially to have

The final anniversary march marking the Bloody Sunday killings is to take place in Derry this afternoon. 13 people died after British soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march 39 years ago today. A fourteenth man died later. Organisers say the annual commemoration won’t be held again as it’s no longer necessary after the

Senator Cecilia Keaveney has confirmed this evening that she will not be seeking a nomination to contest the General Election for Fianna Fail in Donegal North East. In a statement the Senator says the decision was taken over Christmas but re-enforced after she was asked to continue the very significant investigation she is involved in

It’s emerged that at least one of four people whose cancer diagnoses were delayed at Derry’s Altnagelvin Hospital has since died. Details of the person’s death emerged after the Western Health Trust revealed that four people had to wait up to 10 months for their cancer to be diagnosed. The delays in diagnosing the cancers

The Managing Director of the Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny says there is no question whatsoever about the future of the facility. In its 2009 accounts which have been lodged in the Companies Office, the value of the company’s assetshas been written down from €16.9m to €12.8m, with a note inserted saying that uncertainty over 

The decision to end the annual Bloody Sunday march in Derry has been criticised by a relative of the of the victims. Tomorrow’s march, the 39th, will be the last. Thirteen people died when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march in Derry in January 1972. A fourteenth died later. A statement signed

The Mount Errigal Hotel in Letterkenny racked up losses of €3.7m in 2009, according to accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office. The 140-room, three-star hotel saw turnover fall just under a quarter between 2008 and 2009, but a squeeze on margins saw operating profits plunge almost 80% from €215,000 to €48,000. However, the losses

Donegal South-West Deputy, Pearse Doherty has called on a five way economic debate with the finance spokespersons. The Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson has challenged the Finance spokespersons from the other parties to a live election debate on the economy. Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty says he is confident he can present Sinn Fein’s policies

Hope is growing that at least 40 jobs can be maintained at Gallagher’s Bakery in Ardara, following further discussions between management at the company and the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta. In a statement issued last evening after a board meeting in Galway, Udaras confirmed that talks will continue in the coming weeks to ensure

The North’s Minister for Regional Development has indicated his intention to issue a Ministerial Direction to pay a grant towards essential safety works at City of Derry Airport . No figure is being confirmed, but Mr Murphy is trying to secure £8.6 million. Derry City Councillor Gerry Mac Lochlainn says without support from the Executive,

A Donegal based businessman behind an investment scheme, in which dozens of people on both sides of the border fear they have lost millions of pounds, has been jailed for 18 months at the High Court in Belfast. An order was issued for the immediate arrest of Francois de Dietrich, who has vanished. He was

An inquest into the murder of Republican double agent Denis Donaldson was further adjourned in Letterkenny  beyond an anticipated hearing date. Coroner Denis McCauley had expected to fix a date for a full hearing but he said he was still unable to reach a decision on what kind of inquest to hold because of the

An inquest has heard how an elderly woman died after her head became trapped in a cot side in her hospital bed. Sile Coyle, 85, of Ardsmore, Gortahork, died on her first night at Falcarragh Community Nursing Unit in August 2008. Mrs Coyle, who family said was in good health, had gone into the hospital

Fianna Fail is to hold its Donegal North East Selection Convention on Sunday night in Letterkenny. Meanwhile, at an unofficial selection convention 300 Inishowen delegates unanimously selected Cllr Charlie Mc Conalogue as a candidate for the peninsula, after Sen Cecilia Keavney let it be known she did not want her name to go forward at

A meeting is underway between management at Gallagher’s Bakery in Ardara and representatives of Uduras Na Gaeltachta to discuss yesterday’s announcement of at least 124 job losses. With the parent company apparently intent on moving its frozen section to Dublin, focus is now on protecting up to 40 jobs in the Gallagher’s Fresh section of

The Principle of St Eunan’s College in Letterkenny says three student alleged to have been involved in a fight which left one hospitalised, are not welcome back. The three students were suspended following the incident in a car park of the town’s main street on Monday lunchtime – one student was taken to hospital with

A review into the performance of the Western Health Trust has found that thousands of X rays went missing in Altnagelvin Hospital Derry last year. As a result, thousands of patients have been recalled. A number of departments at the hospital are affected including those who deal with chest complaints. The SDLP’s Pol Callaghan is

A Strabane man has said his two young sons could have been killed when they found a pipe bomb in his car on Monday morning. Details have only now emerged of the incident, which happened at Springhill Park. A neighbour removed the device. The man says he is not involved in crime or anti-social behaviour,

The Donegal based founder of the road safety organisation PARC says she is angry at the latest delay in the introduction of mandatory breath testing of drivers involved in fatal and serious injury collisions. Legislation recently went through the Dail and Seanad which was aimed at introducing the measure by the end of this month.

Figures released which show children in Donegal have to wait up to four years for an orthodontist at Letterkenny General Hospital have been described as scandalous. The issue was raised via a Parliamentary Question tabled by Deputy Pearse Doherty to the Minister for Health. He was told that public patients in Letterkenny Hospital who need

The owners of Gallagher’s Bakery in Ardara are being urged to reverse a decision to close some of its operations which will lead to loss of at least of 124 jobs. A further 40 jobs are dependent on the company completing the sale of its Gallagher’s Fresh division. Údarás na Gaeltachta approved a funding package

124 jobs are to be lost at Gallagher’s Bakery in Ardara. Employees were told of the news during a meeting with management this afternoon. Parent company Aryzta (formally I.A.W.S ) said deteriorating market conditions in Ireland and the UK meant the Cuisine de France bakery in Ardara is being phased out The company says it

Concern is growing for the future of Gallagher’s Bakery  in Ardara following confirmation that staff have been called to a meeting at 3 o’clock this afternoon. 190 people are employed at the plant. It’s understood there’s been a review of operations at the Ardara plant by parent company I.A.W.S., which also owns the Cuisine de

A man has died in Sligo General Hospital this morning from injuries sustained in a traffic collision in Donegal on Monday morning. The crash, involving two cars, happened at about 10.00 a.m. on the N15 at Ballybugan, Ballintra. The 38 year old man from Ballysodare in County Sligo was driving a van in the direction

Elderly residents in the Fintown area were forced to travel extra distances to collect their pensions last week after the sudden closure of the local post office. People went into the village to collect their allowance on Friday, only to be told they would have to go to Glenties, Dungloe or Brockagh instead. The Department

A 29-year-old man has been charged at Carrickmacross District Court with dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol. The charges relate to a collision involving three cars outside Carrickmacross on 27 December in which three people, including a pregnant woman, died. 39 year old teacher Róisín Connolly, nee Langan, was on her way back to

Two people have been arrested in Derry in connection with the Real IRA  killing of Kieran Doherty who was shot dead by the dissident group last February. A 42-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman are believed to have been taken to Antrim custody suite after they were arrested this morning (Tuesday) following a number of

A 21-year-old man has appeared at Derry Magistrates court charged with a total of 20 offences including handling a stolen guitar that once belonged to murder victim Jim Gilchrist. Joseph Patrick McMullan, of no fixed abode, is accused of handling a stolen van, the stolen guitar as well as a series of road traffic offences

The future of the Mary from Dungloe festival has been thrown in to doubt once again after its co-ordinator and organising committee resigned blaming a lack of support in the local community. With no committee in place, there are growing fears that last years festival, the 43 consecutive time it has been held, will be

It’s emerged that new births at Letterkenny General Hospital are not being registered because information is not being sent from the Maternity Ward to the Registrar’s Office. The issue came to light when the father of a woman who had a baby earlier this month contacted the Shaun Doherty Show to say that she needed

A number of major school developements are to go ahead in Donegal. An extension and refurbishment has been approved for Deele College in Raphoe, allowing it increase its enrolement to 550 students. Approval has also been given for an extension at Holy Family National School in Ballyshannon to go to tender, while a new 24

Stranorlar Councillor Martin Harley says he believes the Twin Towns by-pass will be delayed for at least another ten years. Cllr Harley says the fact that a substantial sum of money has been set aside by the NRA for improvements and safety works on the N15 between Barnesmore Gap and Lifford this year, suggesting the

Police in Derry have recovered more than £20,000 worth of musical equipment that had been stolen in Co Donegal. Among the items recovered was a guitar that had belonged to the late Jim Gilchrist, who was murdered in Derry in September 2005. The sequence of events began in the early hours of yesterday, when police

Newtoncunningham based Health Campaigner Betty Holmes is to go forward as an Independent General Election Candidate in Donegal North East. Ms Holmes  is currently Chairperson of Donegal Action for Cancer Care, but says she is contesting the election as an individual candidate and will not be using the DACC name or purporting to represent the

Details have emerged today of the NRA’s road allocations for Donegal this year, with just under €19.5 million set aside for projects in the county. Donegal North-East Deputy Niall Blaney had claimed earlier today that the Letterkenny relief road would recieve over a million euro for the completion of design work. But two of his

Frank McBrearty has refuted claims that the Labour Party wants to push him to one side and run Cllr Thomas Pringle on their ticket in Donegal South-West. Last week Cllr Pringle claimed he had been approached by the Labour Party and asked to run as their candidate in the general election. The Killybegs based councillor

All-Ireland winning skipper Anthony Molloy has been injured in a road accident today in which another man is battling for his life. Three people were rushed to hospital following the head-on collision on the N15 between Ballintra and Laghey, near Donegal town, at 10 o’clock this morning. 48-year-old Anthony Molloy,  captain when Donegal won it’s

Fianna Fail Senator Cecillia Keaveney has confirmed that she will not be attending a selection convention on Thursday night, which was to chose Fianna Fails Inishowens General Election candidate in Donegal North East. A meeting of the party in Inishowen last night heard that three people, Cllr Rena Donaghey, Senator Cecilia Keavney and Cllr Charlie

The annual report of Udaras na Gaeltachta says a total of 535 new full-time jobs were approved last year, 194 of them in Donegal. However. when job losses are taken into account, there’s been a net decrease of 398 jobs, with Donegal beraring the brunt of the job losses. Udaras na Gaeltachta’s annual report for

The VEC in Donegal is urging people to attend its Adult Education Fair in Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel tomorrow, particularly those who are out of work. Adult Education Officer Martin Gormley says there are now many people in Donegal who left school without formal qualifications to work, and now fuind themselves unemployed and unskilled. Martin

Donegal SW Deputy Dinny Mc Ginley has been chosen as the sole candidate for Fine Gael in the forthcoming election. Four candidate has declared for the convention yesterday. Two of them, Cllr Martin Harley and Ballyshannon Cllr John Meehan withdrew from the contest, with Deputy Mc Ginley then securing the nomination in a two way

A house in the Fairgreen Hill area of Letterkenny remains sealed off by gardai amid reports that a man sustained a serious stab wound in an overnight attack. Gardai havn’t commented on the stabbing reports, but have confirmed they are investigaing a serious assault on a man in his late 30s. The man is being