Author name: oisinkelly

Voting to elect the fifth term of the Donegal Youth Council gets underway today, with 12,000 12-18 year-old’s heading to the polls. 56 candidates will fight it out, with 36 to be elected by next Friday. With an increased number of 12-15 year olds putting their names forward, this years Youth Councillors are expected to

An endurance drive in aid of charity from Malin Head to Cape Town got underway last evening. Two Donegal men and a Tyrone man will drive in their 4X4’s through sixteen countries in aid of the Donegal Hospice and the Foyle Hospice. Jay Dolan from Lifford, Vicient Tully from Manorcunningham and Gary Patterson from Castlederg

180 minks remain at large after they were set free from a farm in Co. Donegal nearly two weeks ago. Animal rights activists are being blamed for setting the animals free from the farm in Ardara. The search has continuing over the past fortnight for the escaped animals with hundreds of traps in operation. There

A hotel and leisure centre, creating hundreds of jobs, could be on the way to the Strabane and Lifford area. Planning permission has been approved for the development along the border at the area known as “the camels hump”. The Riverside Building & Development Limited  proposal will include an employment park, a 100 bedroom hotel,

The National Cancer Screening Service has confirmed it is locating a second mobile screening unit in County Donegal. The second unit will be located in Buncrana, and will commence screening women at the end of November. BreastCheck has almost completed screening of over 5,300 women living in South Donegal, and the unit currently located in

The Connaught Ulster branch of the Ministerial Council on Intergration will meet for the first time in Galway this evening. The council is made up of 15 members of the migrant community representing 14 countries of origin who will outline their experiences of intergration in Ireland and inform future government policy in the area of

Senator Cecilia Keaveney is to meet with Justice Minister Dermot Ahern next week to seek a commitment on the provision of a new courthouse and garda station in Carndonagh. Minister Ahern is due in the county on Monday to officially open Buncrana Garda Station It was initially planned for the new facilities in Carndonagh be

The Government has defeated an Opposition motion on health cuts. Despite Galway West TD Noel Grealish again voting against the Government, Donegal North East TD Dr James Mc Daid and Sligo Deputies Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon, all of whom have lost the Fianna Fail whip, voted with the coalition. The government won the key

The Government has defeated an Opposition motion on health cuts. Despite the Galway West TD Noel Grealish again voting against the Government, Mattie McGrath and other rebels voted with the coalition and they won by 77 to 73. Earlier the Tipperary North TD, Michael Lowry warned his vote would be in doubt in future if

Fine Gael has said it is to push for a reduction in commercial rates of at least 5% in advance of the Donegal County Council budget. The party has also called on both National and Local Government to act immediately to assist Retailers in the county in advance of the Christmas Shopping period. Councillor Barry

There is positive news for the Eagle breeding programme in Donegal with news that two Golden Eagle pairs successfully hatched chicks in 2010. Eggs from a third pair failed to hatch. Five young Golden Eagle were also imported from Scotland and released in Donegal in August. The project has been dogged by controversy in recent

The Donegal Women’s Domestic Service is hosting a major conference in Letterkenny today to discuss how to deal with how violence impacts on the family. The conference is being addressed by representitives of the HSE, the Gardai and COSC, with an emphasis on how all the agencies involved need to work together. The conference comes

Police in Strabane have warned that counterfeit banknotes have been found in circulation there. Traders and business people have been advised to check that each note they receive is genuine. A police spokesperson said that there are a number of ways of telling if a note is authentic. Notes that look or feel different or

Labours education spokesperson Ruairi Quinn says he can’t see Senator Pearse Doherty winning his High Court attempt to forcing the government to hold the Donegal South-West by- election. The seat has been vacant since Pat The Cope Gallagher was elected to the European Parliament 16 months ago. The former Labour leader says he believes the

There are calls for Letterkenny General Hospital to give assurances that local cancer patients will not lose their subsidised flights to Dublin in order to receive treatment. Senator Doherty says he was appalled to learn that the withdrawal of the subsidy which allows cancer care patients to fly to Dublin from Donegal Airport for €30

A journalist who recently interviewed members of the Real IRA says he’s not surprised Monday night’s bomb in Derry exploded close to a bank. Yesterday police revealed that two officers were injured in the blast on the Culmore Road generated by 200 pounds of explosives packed into a Vauxhall Corsa. The Guardian’s Ireland Correspondant, Henry

It’s claimed in today’s Irish Times that former Fianna Fáil Senator Don Lydon was paid almost €150,000 in travel and subsistence expenses between 2004 and 2007 after changing his normal place of residence from Dublin to Donegal. 72 year old Don Lydon left the Seanad after 20 years in 2007, and previously served as a

Ryanair says it is committed to City of Derry Airport and is considering increasing flights from there in light of a recent decision to pull its services out of City of Belfast Airport. The company is celebrating carrying over 2.5 million passengers at City of Derry since it started operating their in 1999. Laszlo Tamas

Labours education spokesperson and former leader, Ruairi Quinn, who is in Donegal today, says the party have real prospects of taking the two Donegal seats in the next election. Cllr Frank McBrearty is to contend the Donegal South-West by-election, while Cllr Jimmy Harte has all but been confirmed to contest Donegal North-East in the next

A youth who was questioned yesterday by gardai about attacks in the Gortlee / Ashlawn area of Letterkenny has been released pending a file to the DPP. The 16 year old was arrested yesterday morning and questioned about three incidents in September before he was released last night.

The latest figures from property website daft.ie show that house prices in Donegal fell by 2.4% in the third quarter of 2010. Over that period the average asking price in Donegal was €183,000, a fall of €86,000 from the peak. The fall recorded nationally was 3.7% – Ronan Lyons of Daft.ie explains why the fall

Fine Gael’s Health Spokesperson Dr James Reilly is challenging government TDs to support the motion he’s moving in the Dail tonight calling for extensive reform across the health service. Already, Fine Gael locally have said that North West TDs, including Dr James Mc Daid, who have lost the Fianna Fail whip as a result of

The Mayor of Derry has condemned last night’s car bomb attack in Derry. The device went off close to the Da Vinci’s Hotel on the Culmore Road just after midnight. There were no injuries, but property damage is believed to be substantial. The area remains sealed off this morning, and disruption is being experienced in

A car bomb has exploded outside a shopping centre in Derry. Police say the blast caused substantial damage to nearby shops. A warning was received about an hour before the device exploded. Dozens of homes and shops near to the DaVinci centre on Culmore Road were evacuated. There are no reports of any injuries. Police

Gardai in Letterkenny are questioning a youth about three assaults in the Ashlawn / Gortlee area of the town. The 16 year old was detained this morning, and is being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. He can be detained for up to 12 hours.

The Donegal Domestic Violence Service says cutbacks in it’s funding are having a serious impact at a time when demand for its service has risen by 100%. So far this year, the service has not been able to accomodate 17 women and 16 children, a significant increase on last year. A spokesperson says while alternative

Sinn Fein’s Economics Spokesperson Arthur Morgan is in Donegal today to launch the party’s jobs strategy and meet with local business people and community representitives. The strategy is based on a number of reports, including one compiled by Senator Pearse Doherty last year on developing the Western Seaboard. Arthur Morgan says the government’s answer to

A Department of Education evaluation report has expressed serious concern about the the management of Scoil Náisunta Eoghain in Moville. The school moved into a new purpose built premises in November of last year. The evaluation says that the board of management is not functioning satisfactorily as a cohesive unit, and working relationships between the

The Rehab Donegal People of the Year Awards were presented at the weekend, with 12 people honoured for their inspiration and provision of services to the community. Among the awards presented on Saturday night were a posthumous award for the late Garda Robbie Mc Callion, who died on duty in Letterkenny last year. Also honoured

Donegal based Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill says he’ll be pushing for commitments in the Seanad that the PSO Subsidy for flights from Donegal Airport will be protected. He says between 2003 and 2008, there was a 171.3% increase in the number of passengers using the facility, the highest increase of all the airports in the

Gardai in Letterkenny have issued an appeal for information about a collision involving a garda car on the N13 Letterkenny Stranorlar road last evening. The collision happened 200 yards from Kilross Junction on the Letterkenny side at 6.45pm. It involved a Garda car, another car, and a motorbike. Gardai are stressing the garda car was

The speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly William Hay is to quit Derry city council next month after nearly 30 years as a councillor. Mr Hay’s decision is in line with the DUP’s commitment to end double jobbing. Mr Hay has now confirmed he will stand down from Derry City Council at the start of

It is been claimed that three Northwest TD’s who lost the Fianna Fail whip will have their political resolve tested next week when Fine Gael raise the issue of cuts in the HSE west region. Donegal Deputy Dr James McDaid and Sligo Deputies Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon all lost the party whip having taken

Tributes have been paid to Frank Curran, one of the most well-known figures in the newspaper industry in Derry, who has died Aged 87 Mr Curran was the former chief reporter, sports editor, and editor of the Derry Journal. Former SDLP Party leader John Hume was amongst those who paid tribute to Mr Curran today.

The number of those signing on the live register in Donegal from August to September fell by 1,467. According to the figures today from the CSO, which show a county by county breakdown, there were 21,333 people signing in the county last month. The 6.5% drop in the number of those signing on has been

The North’s Health Minister has cast doubt over a previous announcement that a new radiotherapy unit at Altnagelvin would be up and running by 2015. Michael McGimpsey announced proposals for the unit two years ago however he now says that the delivery of the scheme was dependent on the outcome of budget negotiations with Finance

It is expected that the government will this evening announce a planned extension and further development of the Newmills Corn and Flax Mills. Minister of State for Finance, O.P.W and Culture Martin Manseragh is in the county later to accept an award for the facility which has been named Best Presented Heritage Site. The mills

There was a major boost for the Fintown community following confirmation that funding has been approved for the long awaited new community hall in the area. The new hall will replace the current 1950’s structure that has fallen into disrepair. A grant of €331,700 or 70% of the cost of the project, whichever is the

Senator Cecilia Keaveney has called for the review of how the 2nd home property tax is collected stating that for many the first reminder people get about the tax is 3 months after it is due. She says that people were unaware that the new year deadline was back in July and are now being

A 22-year-old Derry man said he was ‘glad he got caught’ after he admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply. Emmet Devenney of Rinmore Drive in Derry admitted the charge which occurred on October 30 last year when he appeared at Derry Crown Court. The court heard that police searched a flat Deveney was renting