Author name: oisinkelly

It was weekend of tragedy In Donegal with two fatal road crashes claiming the lives of three men On Saturday morning a father and son from Castle Street in Ramelton died when their vehicle collided with another close to the Slab Road Junction. 59 year-old John Gallagher and his 24 year-old son Sean had been […]

Three people have died on the county’s roads. A man in his 60’s  died when he was struck by a car in Carrigart shortly after 8’clock last (Friday) night. Gardai in Milford are appealing for witnesses. Meanwhile shortly before 10 o’clock this (Saturday) morning two vehicles collided at the Slab Road junction at Burt. Gardai

A new survey shows that house prices continued to fall dramatically last year The Sunday Times Property price guide says last year was the worst in living memory In Donegal the average price of a new home 155,000, the Average price of a second-hand home is 140,000  – that is down: 19%.

It’s emerged that the Value of Court Judgments against companies in the Republic of Ireland for the recovery of unpaid debt increased by 54% last year. In Donegal, the increase was even more stark, with the value of judgements in the last three months of the year almost trebling. In the fourth quarter of last

A man has died following in a car crash in East Donegal The man in his 60’s, and from the local area, died in the collision shortly after 8’clock last night. Gardai in Milford are appealing for witnesses. Meanwhile shortly before 10 o’clock this morning two vehicles collided at the Slab Road junction at Burt.

As police renew their appeal for infiormation about the shooting of a Derry businessman in his shop this week, a rally has taken place condemning the shooting. 53 year-old Raymond Coyle is in a stable condition after being shot three times in the legs in his shop “Red Star” on Waterloo Street at about 5.30pm

A Bus Eireann service which was used by school pupils in St Johnston to get to school in Raphoe and other areas will not be available from next Monday. The Derry to Stranorlar route is being changed, to travel via Newtowncunningham and Letterkenny instead. Bus Eireann say any school pupils will be accomodated on alternative

There was a marked increase in the number of reported Burglaries, thefts and drug possession cases in the Donegal Garda division. However most other crime offences showed a decrease when compared to 2008. The figures from the CSO show that last year there was 40% increase in cases of Drugs possession with intent to supply,

Donegal Farmers are being urged to attend a public protest meeting in Abbeyleaks in Co Cork this weekend during which the controversial new beef price grade will be discussed. The event hosted by the ICMSA we here how some farmers are seeing losses of up to 80 euro per head under the new pricing system.

Hundreds of Tourism service providers from Donegal  will meet in Sligo on Monday for what Failte Ireland Northwest is describing as one of most important events ever hosted in the region. The tourism roadshow comes off the back of a difficult January for the tourism industry in Donegal with some slight optimism of an upturn

Talks between Sinn Fein and the DUP have resumed this morning as the devolution deadline fast approaches The parties have until this afternoon to strike a deal on the transfer of policing and justice powers. The Taoiseach and Gordon Brown will publish their own proposals for a way forward unless a compromise is reached Senator

Former chief constable Hugh Orde and former Policing Board chairman Desmond Rea head the list of distinguished figures to be honoured by the University of Ulster today The two will receive honorary degrees at the university’s Magee Campus in Derry. Both men will receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws while Degrees will be

Newly published figures show that almost half of children born in Donegal in the first half of last year were to unmarried parents. The figures from the Central Statistics Office cover Janaury to June of 2009, in that period 1,156 children were born –  there were 10% more male babies born than female. The statistics

A Donegal man has been convicted of anally raping a 15-year-old girl and having sex with the same teenager two years ago. The 23-year-old accused, who can not be identified for legal reasons, had pleaded not (NOT) guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, anal rape and defilement of the girl on a date

A Derry man who admitted burgling a house in the city on Wednesday appeared in court today with visible injuries to his face which he alleged were caused by the householder who detained him. Ciaran Carr (24) of Cornshell Fields in the city appeared at the local Magistrate’s Court with a black eye and other

Councillor Terence Slowey has called on Donegal County Council to do more of its project consultancy in house after he was furnished with figures outlining the millions the council has paid out recently. Between 2005 and 2009 the council has spent 42 million euro on consultancy fees for water, roads and other infrastructural projects. Councillor

The Dail has been told there are currently 468 gardai deployed in Donegal, with 181 of these assigned to the Letterkenny Garda District. The figures are contained in the answer to a question posed by Deputy Dinny Mc Ginley, who has also met recently with the garda commissioner. He’s calling for extra Gardai to be

Almost 100 new jobs are being created by Seagate in the North, 85 of them at the company’s Springtown base in Derry. During a visit to the plant today, Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster announced two Research and Development investments, totalling almost £60 million. Invest Northern Ireland has offered £12.7million towards the total cost of these

A Donegal man has been convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old girl two years ago. The 23-year-old accused, who can not be identified for legal reasons, had pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two counts of rape, and defilement of the girl on a date in February 2008. Last evening, the

Tomorrow is the last day for nominations for this year’s Enterprising Donegal Business Awards, with businesses in the county being urged to submit entries. The award ceremony on March 12th will mark the culmination of the County Enterprise Boards Enterprising Donegal Week, with spiokesperson Ursula Donnelly saying that a lot of Donegal businesses are punching

After six months of discussions, the EU and Norway have reached agreement on mackerel fishing arrangements which are being welcomed by the Donegal fleet. Speaking after the conclusion of the talks, Fisheries Minister Tony Killeen expressed relief that a ten year deal has been reached which will put the mackerel fishey on a more stable

There’s been condemnation of the shooting of a Derry businessman at his city centre shop. 52 year old Raymond Coyle was shot in Red Star in Waterloo Street, which sells substances referred to as “legal highs”. His family believe that is the reason he was targetted, but deny that he had been warned against selling

New rules which give cross border recognition to driving disqualifications come into force today, on foot of an agreement between ministers in the Republic, the North and Britian. Under the new rules, Northern or British drivers disqualified for serious motoring offences in the Republic will no longer escape punishment when they cross the border, and

Two minor earthquakes have been measured in Donegal, one just before 9 o’clock last night, and the other just before 8 o’clock this morning. The slight tremors, which measured 1.5 and 1.7 on the richter scale were felt in Fanad and Inishowen. They follow another minor quake in the county on January 7th, which measured

A meeting will take place at Donegal County Council’s headquarters next week between council officials and engineers from the OPW to identify how best to prevent future flooding in Raphoe. The issue was raised in the Seanad last night by Senator Brian O’Domhnaill, who called for commitments to be given on funding a flood prevention

Despite a date having yet been set for a by-election in Donegal South West to replace MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher the list of candidates continues to grow. Senator Pearse Doherty is expected to contest for Sinn Fein, Frank McBrearty for Labour, Fine Gael select their candidate next month while Fianna Fail have yet to

There are calls for Donegal County Council to get its fair share of the 300 million euro announced this week by the environment minister for replacing water mains around the country. Water issues were high on the agenda at this week’s meeting of Donegal County Council. Councillor Core Harvey highlighted the plight of 25 homes

The campaign group University for Derry is welcoming what is says is a positive offer by the University of Ulster to enter into a partnership approach to the development and expansion of the Magee campus. According to U4D, recent statements from the University of Ulster demonstrate a realisation of the need for co-operation with all

Over a year after the disappearance of Dr Deidre Donnelly O’Flaherty gardai have made a national appeal for information. The Strabane women’s abandoned car was found close to the holiday home she owned in Culdaff. Dr O’Flaherty, married woman with three children, went missing on the morning of Sunday January 11th 2009. The married mother

There has been strong condemnation of what is being described as a surge in graffiti in the Castlederg area. The graffiti is said to range from the vulgar to the sectarian with a number of public and private properties being targeted. Ulster Unionist Derg Councillor Derek Hussey says the graffiti serves no purpose other than

Gardai are warning of severe traffic delays on the road between Castlefinn and Crossroads following a collision shortly before 5 o’clock. The road is being used as a diversion because of road works on the main road, and gardai say as a result, delays of up to half an hour are being experienced. So far,

A new report’s recommending a shake-up of garda rosters that would see more officers on the beat. The Head of the Garda Inspectorate Kathleen O’Toole says rosters were last negotiated in the 1970s and will have to change. However, the Garda Representitive Association says it will not cooperate with any attempt to being in new

The HSE has confirmed that Letterkenny General Hospital is now free from the winter vomitting bug, and all visiting restrictions have been lifted. We would like to emphasise that members of the public should confine visiting to the official visiting times which are 2.30pm to 4pm and 6.30pm to 8pm. Children under 14 years of

The full extent of the job losses incurred at Donegal County Council has been revealed with a considerable amount of jobs to be lost this year. The problems facing the council and the restructing of its services have also been highlighted given the current strike action being undertaken by staff. In a report to council

Five million euro of tax payers money is set to literally wash away following the government’s indication that it is withdrawing its support for the Greencastle Harbour Project. That is according to Labour Councillor Martin Farren who says the decision is a major blow for Greencastle and could leave its harbour in a very dangerous

A Donegal member of the board of Udaras na Gaeltachta says there is no question of the future of the authority being under threat. Senator Brian O’Domhnaill was speaking after the publication of Udaras’s annual report for 2009, which showed 204 jobs were created in Donegal  but 225 jobs lost, a net loss of just

A young Donegal man has claimed at the Central Criminal Court that he had sex with a teenage girl who is accusing his friend of rape weeks before the alleged incident. Under cross-examination from prosecuting counsel, the man denied that he had been called in “like the cavalry” to rescue his friend in a “cynical

Sinn Fein is refuting in the strongest terms claims that the Republican Movement used Donegal as a “dumping ground” for sex offenders within its ranks. The claim was made by a spokesperson for the Belfast Rape Crisis centre in yesterday’s ‘Donegal on Sunday’ newspaper. Senator Pearse Doherty says these claims are part of a wider

It’s emerged that Udaras na Gaeltachta sustained a net loss of 21 jobs in Donegal last year. The figure is contained in the authority’s annual report, which has just been published. A total of 204 new jobs were created in the Donegal Gaeltacht in 2009. When job losses are taken into account, overall employment declined

It seems the governments involvement in the Greencastle Harbour Project is coming to an end.Concerns were raised earlier this month when the government said only 104,000 euro would be made available for the 35,000,000 euro project this year.  It was confirmed at today’s council meeting that to date 8,000,000 euro has been spent on constructing

There were heated exchanges in the council chamber this afternoon when the issue of the Stranorlar Leisure Centre was raised. Councillor Martin Harley raised the subject calling on the local authority to increase efforts to progress the project – however the ensuing debate soon turned to farce when a round of name calling erupted. Commenting

The Labour Relations Commission has been asked to intervene in major industrial action due to get underway across the public sector today. More than 300 thousand teachers, nurses and members of IMPACT and the Craft group of unions are staging a work-to-rule in protest at Government pay cuts in December’s Budget. Meanwhile the IMPACT union

The SDLP are moving a motion in the assembly today calling the Executive to implement the Bain report recommendations of decentralising government jobs as a matter of urgency. The motion will be moved by Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Tommy Gallagher and Foyle MLA Pat Ramsey. Mr Gallagher, the SDLP’s Western Development spokesperson,  says as

Critical talks are being held in Belfast and London today to determine the future of the Northern Assembly. At Stormont, the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness will hold an urgent meeting with DUP leader Peter Robinson. While the British Prime Minister and the Taoiseach meet at Downing Street to try and break the deadlock over