Author name: oisinkelly

Two men who attacked a man in his own home before his wife were ordered to jail today. Glenties District Court heard that Gerard Colhoun, 26, and John Paul Connaghan, 30, started beating and kicking James Boyle, at his home in Ardconnell, Ardara, on November 1st last year, after they had been drinking steadily for […]

A report on the Donegal Smoking Cessation Service 2007 – 2009 confirms that people who join the Service are ten times more likely to quit than those who try to quit alone. The HSE Smoking Cessation Service in Donegal is a free and confidential service available at 14 clinic locations throughout the county. Every 6.5

Gardai in Donegal are urging people to look out for others in the community, particularly the elderly and other potentially vulnerable people. It’s part of national Community Safety Week, which was launched by Commissioner Fachtna Murphy at the National Ploughing Championships this week. Letterkenny based Inspector Pat O’Donnell says it’s a matter of people paying

Gardai in Donegal are urging people to look out for others in the community, particularly the elderly and other potentially vulnerable people. It’s part of national Community Safety Week, which was launched by Commissioner Fachtna Murphy at the National Ploughing Championships this week. Letterkenny based Inspector Pat O’Donnell says it’s a matter of people paying

People are being urged to dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard if they suspect someone may be in difficulty on the water. The call comes as RNLI statistics published today show that the Lough Swilly Lifeboat was the busiest in Donegal over the summer, with 14 call outs in June July and August. The

60 million euro for the purchase of housing and apartments for special needs groups has been confirmed. Six housing associations operating in Monaghan, Louth and Donegal have received approval for the acquisition of a total of 40 units. It is expected that the homes will provide housing for the homeless, older people and people with

Police in Derry are investigating an incident in which shots were fired outside a house in the Cornshell Fields area of the city last night. No-one was injured in the incident which occurred after two armed and masked men entered the house looking for a male family member who was not at home. A PSNI

A new surveys revealed a price gap of up to 70 euro between home heating oil suppliers. The National Consumer agency telephoned 134 suppliers across the country and found the highest average prices were in Clare, with the lowest in Louth. The cost of home heating oil in Donegal was in line with the national

Hotel plans that will give the area a huge tourism push – and create jobs – have been given the go-ahead in Malin Head. Inishowen Councillor Padraig MacLochlainn says he’s thrilled the plans to transform the Crossroads Inn have been given the green light by the councils planners. The plans, which include 38 hotel rooms,

A neighbour of the 9 year-old girl who was attacked by two pit bull type dogs in Derry’s Waterside yesterday says laws pertaining to dogs should be more vigorously enforced. Danielle McAllister suffered bite injuries to her arm in the attack which happened in the driveway of her Gelvin Gardens home shortly before 4.30pm as

Letterkenny Town Council is to abandon a proposal to create a “one way triangle” between St Eunan’s College, Scoil Colmcille and St Eunan’s Cathedral. Officials say a survey carried out over the summer holidays indicated the proposal would not work. However, an alternative proposal to make Cathedral Road one way between Scoil Colmcille and St

The Director of LYIT says he expects the drop out rate at the college to fall further, as the economic crisis continues to bite. Traditionally, the institute has had a high drop out rate, close to 40% 10 years ago. This year, the figure is 25%, still among the highest in the country. Paul Hannigan

Business owners and traders in Milford have met with Donegal County Council and the contractor who is to begin improvement works on the town’s main street. It’s proposed to close part of Main Street for a month, but business leaders in the town are worried that the resultant disruption would damage some businesses beyond repair.

Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin has promised to support the retention of EU and government support for the Dublin – Derry air link provided by Aer Arran. The issue was raised with Minister Hanafin during a visit to Donegal on Friday last. Local business leaders, including Pramerica CEO Henry Mc Garvey say the Derry Dublin link

The Director of Letterkenny Institute of Technology says Donegal has a better record in employing its own graduates than any other rural county in Ireland. Paul Hannigan was speaking after the college was ranked 18th out of 22 third level colleges in the annual Sunday Times Guide, down from 14th in 2009. The guide finds

Business leaders in Milford are expressing concern at a proposal to close the Main Street to traffic for a month, beginning in October. Long awaited improvement works are getting underway, but it’s feared the disruption the works cause may damage some businesses beyond repair. The proposal has been flagged in the local press, with next

Letterkenny Town Council says it plans to line the Circular Road in the town as quickly as possible, but it may be next year before funding is confirmed. An application has been made for up to €15,000 to carry out the works, with officials confident that funding will be granted when roads funding is announced

A man has been rescued from the Derryveagh Mountains in West Donegal. Search crews spent over 12 hours at the weekend looking for the local man in his 40s after he lost his way while walking in the Glenveagh region. At around 3pm on Saturday afternoon, the man phoned the emergency services when the mountains

A special interdominational service is to be held in Buncrana in November to remember people who have died in road collisions. The multi denominational ceremony will take place in Buncrana on 21st November this year as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. PARC says Inishowen has seen multiple fatalities this

Two Catholic teenagers have been targeted in a suspected sectarian attack in Derry. The girls, aged 14 and 17, were set on by five men and a woman in Coleraine on Friday night. Both suffered facial injuries.

Police have seized what’s been described as a large quantity of suspected herbal cannabis in Strabane, with an estimated street value of £10,000. It follows the arrest of a 22-year-old man in Bradley Way in the town on Friday evening. The man is being questioned by detectives in connection with the find.

The Recorder at Derry Crown Court has said he is ‘totally astonished’ that cannabis seeds can be sold legally when their only use is for illegal purposes. Judge Des Marrinan’s comments came as he sentenced two men from Strathfoyle in the city for cultivating cannabis plants and for possessing the drug with intent to supply.

A man accused of possessing a “terrorist arsenal” following a bomb attack on Strand Road PSNI station in Derry last month has been refused bail in the High Court in Belfast. Thomas Christopher Nash from Iveagh Park in Derry is charged with possessing a rifle with intent, having eight rounds of ammunition, 33 rounds of

The INMO has welcomed a Labour Court finding that the HSE cannot set aside a national agreement involving the replacement of student nurses. The HSE released 376 student nurses at the end of August; however as part of cost cutting they didn’t replace them with the regulated number of replacement nurses. Since 2005 a replacement

Thieves have stolen a funeral car from outside an undertakers in Derry. The car was being prepared for a funeral when it was taken from outside the premises on Spencer Road on Thursday. Wreaths from inside the car were later found on Chapel Road and the Old Strabane Road. Undertaker David Hay said that someone

Gardai and the ISPCA are investigating the dumping of 20 ducks in the Burtonport area on Thursday. A man out walking along the road at Burtonport made the discovery of several turf bags sealed with cable ties and dumped in a ditch. When he investigated further he found twenty ducks in the bags, 12 of

Letterkenny Councillor Jim Lynch says more must be done to give information to visitors about sights and services in the town. He says on numerous occasions over the summer, he found himself helping tourists and visitors, and giving them information that should have been provided by the tourist authorities and the council. He says there’s

It has been confirmed that building work on the long awaited Glenties Primary Care Centre will begin before the end of the year. Just last April the local parish council made the issue its number one priority claiming that promise after promise had been broken, expressing fears that the funding for the project had disappeared.

A Ballybofey soft-drinks manufacturer was fined €1,250 plus €2,500 costs  after pleading guilty to a number of charges under the water pollution act. Mulrines were sued by Donegal County Council at yesterday’s sitting of Letterkenny District Court for discharging up to eight times the amount permitted under their waste licence on five separate occasions in

A District judge has told a Rathmullan man who used foul language to a member of the Garda that he has a month to travel to Co Mayo and make the pilgrimage to the top of Croagh Patrick. At Milford District Court in Letterkenny this week Judge Séamus Hughes told 38-year-old Joseph McElwee  he was

It’s being claimed that longer terms of office are needed for Garda Superintendants appointed in Inishowen. A fourth Garda Superintendant was appointed in the area recently, the fourth there in the past three and a half years. The Inishowen Electoral Area Committee is to write to the Garda Commissioner seeking a policy of encouraging longer

A Strabane man has been given 48 hours to leave the town by a republican vigilante group, a matter of days after he was targeted in a pipe bomb attack claimed by the same organisation. 24-year-old Matt McDermott was informed by the Police that Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) had issued the threat, he has

The North’s Deputy First Minister Martin Mc Guinness is launching a major regeneration plan in Derry this afternoon. Foyle MLA Martina Anderson says the publication of the plan is a major event not just for Derry, but for the whole North West region, and as the regeneration company Ilex begins 12 week consultation gets underway,

Letterkenny Town Council is urging officials to complete the register of derelict sites in the town as quickly as possible. The issue was raised by Cllr Jimmy Kavanagh, who says the council and the community will benefit if action is taken on derelict sites. However, that can only be done if there is a proper

Donegal County Council will this week launch a reporting scheme which allow victims or witnesses of racist or sectarian incidents in the county to report them via text, phone or online. The Independent and confidential reporting scheme will be officially launched by the County’s Mayor Cora Harvey tomorrow. The information gathered will be used to

Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan is being urged to intervene in what’s being described as another grants crisis in County Donegal. Figures obtained by Senator Pearse Doherty show that Donegal County Council has yet to process the majority of new grant applications it has recived, and he wants the Tanaiste to take action. Most

Gardai are appealing for information following an overnight attack on the Carrigart Garda Station. It is understood that sometime between 11.30pm and 8am a device, which contained an accelerant was thrown at the building. The station was unmanned at the time, but the building did suffer some minor damage. It is understood that gardai in

Staff at Letterkenny General Hospital are to be asked their views on whether unpaid leave should be introduced as an alternative to jobs cuts. General manager Sean Murphy is denying a difference of opinion between management and trade unions over whether or not such a proposal was formally put to unions by the HSE. The

Figures released showed that the HSE has spent 8.4 million euro in Donegal over the last four years on conditions associated with Diabetes which the Diabetes’s Action says are preventable. The group says there were 282 hospital admissions for diabetic foot disease in Donegal between 2005-2009, which Diabetes Actions says, would be 70% less with

It’s emerged 44 million euro was spent on 12 sites which are now lying idle because decentralisation has been put on hold. A report from the says that six of the sites were also found to have been bought at prices above the benchmark set by consultants engaged by the Office of Public Works. One

The HSE has confirmed it’s examining the possibility that in the long term, services at the Shiel and Rock hospitals in Ballyshannon will be centralised at a single site. Preliminary discussions with the Shiel Hospital Trust which owns the facility have been opened, but as of yet there is no timeframe for change. Any guarantees

Junior Certificate students will get their results today. Over 56 thousand students sat the exams across the country, almost 2,200 of them in Donegal. Results are similar to previous years, but there was a slight drop in the number of students who achieved A grades in higher maths. Tanaiste Mary Coughlan says students should be

Letterkenny Town Council has asked officials to investigate how works on the Kirkstown Road at Ballymacool can be completed. Cllr Ciaran Brogan says while important work was done last year, it’s not been completed, and the road is now in a dangerous state because of an increase in traffic in the area. He says finishing

A public meeting has been called in Ballyshannonn Tuesday evening to discuss the unemployment crisis in the town. The town has been hit by a string of job loss announcement most recently the news that BWG Foods is closing next month with 21 jobs set to go. The theme of the meeting is ‘what went

Plans to bring a jobs fair to  Strabane have had to be shelved because there are not enough vacancies in the area to justify the event. Strabane has the highest unemployment rate in the north and last year a total of 800 people applied for 400 posts at the jobs fair. But Strabane Councillor, Eugene