Author name: oisinkelly

Tanaiste Mary Coughlan has been made Minister for Education as part of a cabinet reshuffle announced by the Taoiseach this afternoon. Minister Batt O’Keeffe has moved in the opposite direction to the newly named Department of Enterprise Trade and Innovation. Minister Eamon O’Cuiv moves from the Department of Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to the newly […]

The jury in the rape trial of a Donegal man has been directed to find him not guilty after the judge ruled there was deliberate tampering with the evidence. The man had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping his ex-partner in the county on July 1, 2004. Mr Justice Barry White

A Donegal Publican has sued an insurance company for 3 million euro over its alleged failure to pay out under a policy following a blaze which destroyed the bar. The case is due to come before the Commercial Court. Seamus McLaughlin, owner and operator of the Waterfront in Moville claims Aviva Insurance is liable to

NOTE:  SOME CONTENT MAY OFFEND The trial of a Donegal man accused of raping his ex-partner has reached its closing stages at the Central Criminal Court. Earlier the complainant denied under cross-examination that she cut her own knickers with a blade to allege her ex-partner ripped them off while raping her. Mr Brendan Grehan SC,

Communications with HSE services in Donegal are likely to be affected today as a result of continued industrial action this week. IMPACT has confirmed that telephones will not be answered in the HSE West area from 9am until 1pm today. The union has agreed to grant a derogation for switchboards, and for direct line emergency

A 31-year-old forger claimed to be dead after swindling her lover and banks in Donegal out of €26,800. Leading up to her escape from her fiancé before he ran out of cash Diane Connelly first pretended her father died in a plane crash between the US and Canada. Step two meant she told her fiancé

A Fianna Fail Councillor in Donegal says he believes the Community Hospital in Lifford is being subjected to the death of a thousand cuts. There’s been speculation about the future of Lifford Hospital for some time, and Cllr Gerry Crawford says he now believes the HSE plans to close the facility. He’s written to the

The IFA President John Bryan is urging Donegal farmers to put pressure on government TDs to ensure a proper replacement is provided for the REPS scheme. Speaking during his first official visit to the county last night, John Bryan told the Donegal IFA AGM that money was set aside in last year’s budget, but the

The BMW Regional Assembly says a plan to put regional airports at the centre of tourism development is necessary. The assembly has recently completed a detailed study on the economic impact of the regional airports in Donegal, Galway, Knock and Sligo. It finds they contribute to the regional economy in a number of ways, including

Gardai in Letterkenny say the telephone system at the station has broken down, and there is currently only one line operational on ther switchboard. Calls are being answered, but ling delays are being experienced, and anyone with an emergency is being advised to ring 999.

A lawyer for a man accused of sex with a schoolgirl when she was 12 and 13 today (Mon) complained about public concern at the trial delay. Peter Nolan said his client – one of five accused of a series of sex offences against the girl – is ready for his trial for offences committed

A crucial meeting of the IFA takes place in Letterkenny this evening during which the controversial REPS scheme will be discussed. John Bryan will be the special guest at the meeting in his first visit to the county since his election as President of the Irish Farmers Association. William Monagle is chair of the Donegal

A Strabane Councillor has described a recent increase in anti social behaviour in and around Castlederg as unacceptable. Derg based Councillor Derek Hussey says that recently there has been a major increase in attacks on businesses premises with windows being smashed and other damaged caused. In some cases the same businesses have been targetted on

A daylight attack on a 67 year-old women in Strabane at the weekend has been described as shocking and sickening. The woman was attacked in the Melmount Road area of the town on Saturday afternoon by a young teen male who then attempted to steel her bag. He ran off when others intervened. The woman

Donegal Firefighters battled 16 gorse and hill fires over the course of the weekend. These included a fire on the side of Sliabh Sneacht between Buncrana and Carndonagh and a gorse fire in the Kinnego / Illies area near Buncrana. Other fires were reported in the west of the county. Donegal’s Chief Fire Officer Bobby

The two specialists who’s advice to Donegal County Council has been questioned by local government auditors will attend a corporate policy group meeting in Lifford today. They will also attend a special meeting of council on Thursday next. It comes after an audit of the council’s accounts for the year ending December 31st 2008 questioned

Donegal Deputy Joe McHugh has said that strike action by workers in the passport office is causing severe disruption for many Donegal people and is turning into a PR disaster for the unions. As part of strike action against government pay cuts the passport office was closed on Friday and in general  there are serious

A post mortem will be carried out later today on a man whose body was taken from the sea off the Donegal coast at the weekend. The body of 67 year-old Bernard Hanlon was discovered by people diving on Sheephaven Bay on Saturday. Mr Hanlon, who lived in Dunfanaghy was found about a half mile

Firefighters are battling a major hill fire in Inishowen tonight. The fire on the side of Sliabh Sneacht between Buncrana and Carndonagh has been blazing since before 9 o’clock tonight. There are also firecrews  battling a gorse fire in the  Kinnego / Illies area near Buncrana. These are the latest in a series of hill

The 67-year-old woman has been attacked a teenager in Strabane. Shehad just left her home in the Melmount Road area of the town on Saturday evening when she was attacked by the boy. Polie say he punched the woman in the face and as she fell, tried to grab her bag which was attached to

The Pope’s Words – Extracts from the Pastoral Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland 1. DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE CHURCH IN IRELAND, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by

The body of a man has been brought ashore at the pier in Downings. We understand the body was spotted in Downings Bay by divers this morning, and the coastguard was called. The body was recovered, and has been brought to Letterkenny General Hospital for a post mortem examination. The identity of the man has

The Deputy leader of Fine Gael says Anglo Irish Bank should be ‘handed over’ to its creditors in October when the guarantee scheme expires and let them recover what they can. Richard Bruton’s told his party’s national conference the Government’s plan is to pump 20 billion – or 12,500 euro for every family – into

A Donegal woman has told a Central Criminal Court jury that her ex-boyfriend raped her after he refused to leave their home because he wanted to discuss their reconciliation. The woman said that after the attack the accused turned to her and said: “The next thing you are going to do is tell the child

Senior Management with the HSE in Donegal have said that the future of the Buncrana Nursing Unit is safe despite it being included in an overall HSE review of services. Local concerns had been expressed over the future of the home and folllow simillar concerns expressed about the future of the Lifford Community Hospital and

Security alerts are continuing in Derry after the Real IRA said they left four devices in the city. A hijacked milk van has been left outside Strand Road Police Station and the roads between Lawrence Hill and Asylum Road are cordoned off. An area around Bishop Street Courthouse is also closed after another hijacked vehicle

The Bus Eireann Dublin service through Pettigo in South Donegal is to be withdrawn. From Monday the 22nd of March the service will cease. The service has been in place in the border village since 1985. Independent local Councillor, Thomas Pringle, says Bus Eireann need to reverse there decision immediately

Senator Cecilia Keaveney says she is furious after learning that people applying to have the car NTC’d in Carndonagh are now being referred to Letterkenny or offered far off distant dates. The Carn centre, when opened, promised to offer the people of Inishowen a local service which would see them avoid having to travel great

A 500 million euro stimulus package will help get 50 thousand young people off the dole queues, according to Sinn Fein. The party is launching proposals in Dublin today aimed at tackling youth unemployment. The measures will also include a thousand extra third level conversion courses, 5 thousand ECDL advance places and an aim to

A Councillor is calling on the government recruitment ban to be lifted for the FAS agency as it is claimed that in some cases those losing their jobs are faced with a wait of up to a month before seeing a FAS official. Stranorlar Councillor Martin Harley says the situation seems to be particularly bad

The Bishop of Derry says his diocese was not behind the confidentiality agreement in an out of court settlement with a woman who claims she was abused. Seamus Hegarty was involved in reaching the deal with a woman who alleged she was abused by an unnamed priest between 1979 and 1989. In a statement this

A Donegal man has gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court accused of a raping his ex-girfriend in the county almost six years ago. The man has pleaded not guilty to raping the now 26-year-old woman on July 1, 2004. Mr Alex Owens SC (with Mr Paul Greene SC), prosecuting, said it was the

A Derry councillor says thete is a massive rise in the amount of people taking the legal high mephadrone. SDLP Health spokesperson, Mark H Durkan, is calling on the government to immediately ban such substances. He says urgent action is needed following the deaths of two teenagers in England after they took the drug.

Donegal’s Chief Fire Officer has called on the public to be cautious after a number of gorse fires were sparked in the west of the county over recent days. The fire service tackled three gorse fires in the Crolly, Hornhead, Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy areas over recent days stretching the services resources. While it hasnt been

A post-mortem is due to be carried out later today on the body of a young man recovered from the River Erne in Belleek, Co.Fermanagh overnight. A search was launched at eight o’clock last night after a man was spotted going into the water. At 7 o clock last evening the emergency services from north

The SDLP policing spokesperson Alex Attwood says this week’s report by the Westminster Northern Ireland Select Affairs Committee has implications for the devolution of policing and justice powers to the assembly next month. The committee has criticised the British Prime Minister for refusing to disclose the outcome of a report into claims that intelligence was

A Councillor is calling on the government recruitment ban to be lifted for the FAS agency as it is claimed that in some cases those losing their jobs are faced with a wait of up to a month before seeing a FAS official. Stranorlar Councillor Martin Harley says the situation seems to be particularly bad

Donegal’s Chief Fire Officer has called on the public to be cautious after a number of gorse fires were sparked in the west of the county over recent days. The fire service tackled three gorse fires in the Crolly, Hornhead, Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy areas over recent days stretching the services resources. While it hasnt been

The Bishop of Derry has been accused of being involved in a compensation deal to cover up alleged child sex abuse. Dr Seamus Hegarty was one of three priests named in a civil settlement after an eight-year-old girl was abused over a 10-year period from 1979. “The Belfast Telegraph reports £12,000 was paid to the

St Patrick’s Day has been celebrated across Donegal, with parades and community events all over the county. The largest parade was in Letterkenny, where thousasnds lined the streets. The overall winner of the parade was Joe Bonner metal crafts. Best float went to Letterkenny Shopping Centre, while the community award went to An Grianan Theatre.

A 35-year old man has appeared before the Special Criminal Court charged in connection with a fatal shooting in Co Donegal. Andrew Burns, from Strabane in Co Tyrone, was shot twice in a church car park in Doneyloop in Castlefin on the 12th February 2008. Today Martin William Kelly, from Strabane in Co Tyrone, was

The Carndonagh Community and Rural Development Company have said they have now been asured personally that garda cover in the area will not decrease while work is carried out at the local station. Representative of the company recently met with Garda Superintendent William Johnston and Inspector David Kelly who also outlining the garda position on

MPs who have held an inquiry into the security services’ role in the Omagh bombing have said they are “bitterly disappointed” with Gordon Brown. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has been investigating claims in a BBC Panorama programme that the Government’s top secret listening station, GCHQ, monitored suspects’ mobile phone calls as they drove to

Donegal MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher, will make his way to Washington tonight, where he will raise the issue of the “undocumented Irish”. He  says he will speak to as many senators and congress men as possible, urging them to introduce measures to enable an estimated 50,000 undocumented and illegal Irish immigrants to remain in

The body of a missing Derry teenager has been recovered from the river Foyle, police have confirmed. A PSNI spokeswoman said the body of 15-year-old Adam Barr was recovered last night. He had been missing since February 7. The spokeswoman said police are not treating his death as suspicious.

Authorities in Fiji have declared a state of natural disaster as a tropical cyclone continues to batter islands in the east of the country. Tropical Cyclone Tomas has brought down communications and displaced thousands. The weather means authorities are having trouble assessing the extent of the damage. Letterkenny footballers, Donegal captain Rory Kavanagh and his

The American Chamber of Commerce has said that the Northwest must demonstrate competiveness if it is to attract new investment to the region. The group, which includes Pramerica , Solis Lough Eske Castle and Letterekenny IT amongst its members has also called for infrastructural investment to be carried in the region by government. In a