Author name: oisinkelly

Two families have been left homeless after an oil tank was deliberately set on fire in Strabane. The Fire Service was called to the fire on the Ballycolman estate shortly after 3 o clock this morning. Two bungalows were badly damaged and a shed of neighbouring property destroyed in the incident. Fire officer Mark Deeney […]

Hopes that air services in and out of Donegal and Derry might resume this evening have been dashed. Aer Arann had hoped to restore their Dublin services in and out of the North West, but have now confirmed all flights have been cancelled. Aer Lingus has also cancelled all its flights into and out of

Donegal County Council officials are assessing the Water Services Investment Programme for the next three years which has now been published by the Minister for the Environment. The investment includes funding of almost 100 million euro to schemes in Co Donegal, many of which have been previously flagged. As expected, the biggest single investment of

Crime levels have fallen substantially in the Letterkenny Garda District this year, with crime down between 40 and 45% across the board. Superintendent Vincent O’Brien told a public meeting of the local Joint Policing Committee this is partly due to the success of the CCTV system in the town. He said he would like to

A man has been shot in both legs in Strabane. Four men went into a house at Lisnafin Park at 11 o’clock last night. They forced the 24-year-old man into the garden, where the shooting took place. The man is currently being treated in hospital. Meanwhile, two houses were evacuated in the early hours after

1,480 primary and secondary schools across the country will benefit from small and medium scale building works this summer, 50 of them in Donegal. It follows confirmation of this year’s Summer Works Scheme, with a €122m investment confirmed by Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan, The scheme covers electrical and mechanical works, roof replacements and

The HSE’s Local Health Manager for Donegal says decisions will be made on the future of Community Hospital Services in the county by the early summer. John Hayes was responding to ongoing fears about the future of Lifford Community Hospital, and The Rock in Ballyshannon, both of which are believed to be facing closure as

Health Minister Mary Harney says she doesn’t believe the decision to withdraw cancer services from Sligo General Hospital will be reversed in the future, no matter who is in the role. Ms Harney was speaking at Letterkenny General Hospital, where she launched the Sexual Assault Treatment Units’ Annual Report for 2009. Asked about cancer services

Letterkenny’s Mayor has denied suggestions that he may resign when his term in the chair ends in the summer, and seek to have a family member coopted onto Letterkenny Town Council in his place. Cllr Jim Lynch says he has served as a councillor for over 25 years, and claims that he may resign from

It has been claimed that sexual assault treatment services in Donegal are now on a par with the rest of the country. That is according to Dr Maeve Eogan, the Medical Director of the Sexual Assault Treatment Unit in Rotunda Hospital. Previously a victim of a sexual assault could be forced to face a round

The Irish Government has been accused of abusing partition in applying Vehicle Registration Tax to cars imported from the north to the south. Foyle MLA Martina Anderson says she has been inundated with calls from people angry at the VRT charge and a perceived local crack down though a series of customs checkpoints. Ms Anderson

Letterkenny’s Mayor has denied suggestions that he may resign when his term in the chair ends in the summer, and seek to have a family member coopted onto Letterkenny Town Council in his place. Cllr Jim Lynch says he has served as a councillor for over 25 years, and claims that he may resign from

Community groups in Donegal are being urged to attend consultation meetings on the second phase of the Peace 3 programme, which get underway in Letterkenny tomorrow. Over 4 million euro was spent in Donegal during the last phase of the programme, and the county’s Peace Three Partnership is urging groups to become involved now so

European Transport Ministers will hold a video conference later to discuss the ash crisis. Airlines have been calling for a review of no-fly bans after conducting test flights at the weekend without any apparent problems from Iceland’s ash cloud. Austria has reopened its airports this morning and Italy’s planning to do the same later. Here

Health Minister Mary Harney is visiting Letterkenny General Hospital today to launch the 2009 National Sexual Assualt Treament Unit statistics. Staff attached to the unit in Letterkenny were among the first to secure a new qualification. Previously, women who were sexually assaulted in Donegal had to be brought as far away as Dublin for treatment

There’s speculation that Letterkenny’s Mayor Cllr Jim Lynch will resign his seat after his Mayoral term ends in the summer. Cllr Lynch, who previously served as a member of Independent Fianna Fail has been an independent in the chamber for several years now, and his continued exclusion from the mayor’s chair, despite being one of

The Irish Aviation Authority has said it’s unlikely that the country’s airspace will re-open to commercial flights until later in the week. The IAA has grounded flights into and out of Ireland until 1 pm tomorrow at the earliest. The decision is in line with that of several other European countries as the Icelandic volcanic

The Fire Service in Donegal is continuing to warn about the risk of gorse fires, with the service stretched to the limits dealing with several fires in recent days. Last night, a blaze was tackled by the North ireland Fire and Rescue Service on the Tyrone-Donegal border close to Castlefinn, with concern for a time

Jobs, the economy and the banking crisis will take centre stage at the Labour party national conference in Galway today. Among the issues being moved by members in Donegal are a call for the reversal of public sector levies and a call for the Commonm Fisheries Police review to recognise the plight of inshore fishermen.

The Irish Aviation Authority has closed the country’s airspace until six o’clock this evening following a deterioration in the ash coverage over the country. No commercial passenger flights, including North American traffic, will operate from any Irish airport or in Irish airspace during the period. The IAA made the decision based on the latest forecast

More and more people in the North West are exploring the possibility of working on oil or gas rigs. That’s the claim being made by Donegal-based company, Essentail Offshore. The business say that they’ve seen an increase in people applying to work on oil and gas rigs during the recession. And Khris Veldman, from Essential

A former Catholic priest who was convicted of child sexual abuse in Derry more than 20 years ago is being investigated again. The Derry Journal reports today that fresh allegations have been made against 62-year-old Gerard John McCallion. His abuse came to light when he was discovered in bed with a 10-year-old girl in St

Donegal Councillor Ian McGarvery says that he has great concern that 18 jobs will be lost due to the council not fulfilling a funding commitment to the Donegal Ancestry Company. Donegal Ancestry is the official genealogy centre for Donegal offering a comprehensive research service to those tracing their Donegal ancestors. However it is in danger

Health Minister Mary Harney will be launching a report at Letterkenny General Hospital this coming Monday afternoon. And members of the public in Donegal are being urged to confront The Health Minister on any issues with the HSE in the county they may have. County Councillor, Frank McBrearty, says the people of Donegal are second-class

The brothers of murdered Donegal teenager Henry Cunningham have strongly welcomed the announcement by the Irish Government of an annual human rights award named in memory of 16 year Henry. The teenager was shot in 1973 when the van he was travelling in along with his brothers was fired on by a group of UVF

In its latest update the City of Derry Airport says that flights to and from the Airport for today are subject to restrictions and are unlikely to operate due to the ash cloud which is continuing to cause severe disruption. Passengers should contact their airlines directly to arrange alternative flights and/or refunds. Information is also

The HSE is to examine ways to cut down car usage and parking at Letterkenny General Hospital. A major survey of staff will begin on Monday next, with results to be published in May. They will then be used to formulate a travel plan for the hospital. The HSE says the hospital is working with

A local councillor in Letterkenny says the agreement this week to hold celebrations next year to mark the town’s 400th anniversary could provide the impetus to resurrect the Letterkenny Festival. The debate over the date of Letterkennny’s 400th anniversary has not been resolved, but it’s been decided that the handing over of the lands which

Ireland’s skies will remain closed to commercial aircraft until at least tomorrow morning, as a volcano in Iceland continues to spew ash up to 11 kilometres into the atmosphere. Flights at all of the country’s airports are affected, with tens of thousands of passengers forced to delay or cancel their journeys. All commercial flights have

It’s been confirmed today that Monreagh National School bertween Newtowncunningham and Carrigans is to get a new building. The news has been welcomed by Senator Cecilia Keavney, who says she met the then leader of the opposition Bertie Ahern in 1996 along with a number of local politicians and Board of Management members. She says

Letterkenny Town Council is to look at the possibility of making free WiFi internet access available on the town’s main street. It is hoped that the move would assist in attracting people to the area and will form part of a one million euro investment in improving the town centre. The idea has been suggested

City of Derry Airport have confirmed that flights in and out of the airport have been cancelled this morning. Dublin Airport passengers face delays and many flights have been cancelled. All flights in and out of Belfast City Airport have been cancelled while the vast majority have been halted at Belfast International Airport. There’s massive

An investigation will get under way today to establish the cause of a large gorse fire at Gortin Glen Forest in Co Tyrone. Six fire appliances were called to the blaze at the forest park just outside Omagh last night. Residents living near Gortin Glen were told to keep their windows and doors shut as

An initiative to promote the western seaboard from Donegal to Clare as a prime area for investment and relocation has been nominated for a prestigious internet award. The online element of the Western Development Commission’s “Look West” programme has been shortlisted for a Net Visionary e-Government Award by the Irish Internet Association. Spokesperson Joanne Grehan

Any lingering hope that natural gas might have been brought to the North West has been dealt a blow with the publication of a new report by Gaslink. Phase 3 of the New Town Analysis looks at the viability of 39 towns, including Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Donegal Town, Lifford and Letterkenny. However, only four towns are

Click here to see Two Decades of Highland Photo Gallery On the 15th March 1990, Highland Radio starting broadcasting to the North West of Ireland. Since then Highland has grown to become the number one local radio station in the country, holding the top spot for most of that period. In March of this year

A Strabane Councillor says anyone drinking in and around The Meadows on Sunday has to take repsonsibility for the closure of the sports pitches. Broken bottles necks, which were turned upside down with the jagged bits standing upwards, were inserted all over the grounds. Councillor Jarlath McNulty says the bottles were left in a deliberate

A Donegal County Councillor has slammed Customs and Excise for operating a checkpoint in Burnfoot this morning delaying traffice by up to 40 minutes. Councillor Padraig McLoughlinn says the checkpoint was nonsensical and counter productive. He says the majority of those stuck in the resulting tailbacks were law abiding and those that who weren’t could

A former RTE boss accused by a work colleague of sending her sex texts is at the centre of similar probes in which gardai traced messages on mobile phones linked to the Omagh bomb and Rachel O’Reilly murder inquiries. 67 year old  Fred Coll, who was the first Donegal regional manager of Raidio Na Gaeltachta,

The HSE is advising patients and clients that they may experience difficulty in making contact with HSE services due to continued industrial action this week. IMPACT has confirmed that action will take place in the HSE West area from 9am until 1pm today. IMPACT has agreed to grant derogations for switchboards and for all direct

There are fears that a 25 million euro investment for Burtonport could be lost if cash strapped Donegal County Council could not come up with 130 thousand euro. That money would be used to secure an foreshore licence which local Councillor David Alcorn says would see plans for a major hotel, leisure and housing development

Donegal Airport is to receive €2.46 million grant aid for funding in respect of an Instrument Landing System and for reconfiguration and overlay of the runway. Announcing the grant, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said it’s necessary to improve safety, and represents 90% of the cost of the works, with the balance being paid by the

Just one dangerous pothole out of 25 reported in Donegal to a new online road damage watchdog have been repaired since January’s winter freeze. Independent website potholes.ie has claimed that despite the weather improving drastically in recent days, Ireland’s rural roads are still badly damaged as a result of the winter freeze. The website claims 

A 24-year-old man has been shot in the leg Derry. The police have confirmed that around 10 o’clock last night three masked men forced their way into a house at Cable Street in the Bogside area. One went to an upstairs bedroom and fired a number of shots, none of which hit the man. A

The Oireachtas Transport Committee has agreed to meet the families of three young women who died in road crashes allegedly linked to road works which were improperly marked. The committee had initially refused to meet the families, including the parents of Donegal woman Sinead Mc Daid, but has today reversed that decision. North West MEP

A 66-year-old man who was extradited from Donegal has been  ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register after he pleaded guilt to 25 charges of indecent assault and gross indecency against his daughter and his niece when he appeared at Derry Crown Court. The man who cannot be named or legal reasons was extradited last December and

Lettekenny Town Council has committed to providing community allotments next year. The issue has been raised on numerous occasion at Letterkenny Town Council in recent years and last evening councillors agreed that every effort would be made to provide the allotments. A motion on the issue was moved by Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh, he says yesterday’s

Donegal County Councilors have agreed that a name and shame policy and stiffer fines are the only way to tackle the issue of littering and illegal dumping. The issue was raised by Councilor Patrick McGowen with claims that the littering problem in Donegal has never been worsed. He says the level of anger amongst elected

Foyle Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney has been selected as the vice-chair of the new Assembly justice committee. Mr McCartney was chosen following a vote to elect Alliance Party leader David Ford as the North’s new justice minister yesterday afternoon. He becomes the first locally elected politician to hold the office for 38 years. The