Author name: oisinkelly

Convicted sex offender Arthur McElhill killed himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh, Co Tyrone, because his partner threatened to leave him, Northern Ireland coroner Suzanne Anderson ruled today. Arthur McElhill, Lorraine McGovern and their five children died in the blaze at Lammy Crescent in 2007. He had been having sex with […]

As final preparations are put in place for tomorrow’s budget, speculation is focussing on how independent and non-aligned TDs will vote, with aignificant attention being paid to what Donegal North East TD Dr James Mc Daid will do. Taoiseach Brian Cowen is today meeting with former Progressive Democrat TD Noel Grealish to secure his support

Two Letterkenny men have expanded their business into Northern Ireland, with the launch of self retail website flogitni.com in Derry. Paddy Farren and John Mc Namara say the flogitdonegal.com website has been a huge success since it was launched just uinder ten months ago. Since it opened in March, the Donegal website has had 1

The North’s Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has announced that three contracts have been awarded for three different sections of the A5 Dual Carriageway Route. It’s intended that work will start after a public enquiry in 2011, but Mr Murphy says he wantas to ensure that the contractors are ready as soon as the final

A man suspected of killing himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh was having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl, an inquest has heard today. Arthur McElhill, his partner Lorraine McGovern and their five children all died after he doused their terraced home in Lammy Crescent, Omagh, with petrol and white

Donegal Gardai and the PSNI have launched their joint Anti Drink Driving Campaign, which will continue until the end of the christmas period. The launch took place at Lifford Bridge, with the Donegal Road Safety Working Group saying it demonstrates the continued collaboration between the two forces, particularly in the enforcement of Drink Driving legislation.

PSNI officers were attacked while dealing with two security alerts in the Creggan area of Derry last night. Between 40 and 50 people threw petrol bombs and other missiles after police and army bomb officers were called after a pipe bomb was thrown through the window of a car on Circular Road at around 8.30.

Tourism Ireland will today brief industry representitives from Donegal on its plans to restore overseas tourism to growth next year. However, the event at the Mill Park Hotel could prove confrontational, with the head of North West Tourism claiming last week that previous initiatives have not worked for Donegal, and the industry here is losing

The Union of Students in Ireland has condemned a letter sent to students at Letterkenny Institute of Technology threatening sanctions if a portion of their registration fees is not paid this week. The letter demands that €500 of the outstanding fees be paid by the end of this week. Many students are still awaiting the

Gardai will attend a public meeting in the Carrigans and St Johnston Resource Centre this evening to discuss crime in the area and what measures can be adopted to prevent it. Previous meetings were not attended by gardai, and their decision to attend tonight has been welcomed by local councillor Frank Mc Brearty, who will

A woman in her twenties has died following a two car collision on the Glenshane Road near Maghera in County Derry. The car she was driving collided with another car near a petrol stationshprtly after 7 o’clock last night. A woman who was driving the other car was taken to hospital, but her injuries are

Stranorlar area Councillor Cora Harvey has described the housing crisis in the Stranorlar Electoral Area as totally unacceptable, and says that urgent action needs to be taken. Cllr Harvey has requested a meeting with the County Manager in a bid to address some of the problems being faced by the Housing Section team in the

The annual Apprentice Boys Lundy’s Day commemeration is underway with an estimatyed two and a half thousand marchers and 30 bands making their way through the city centre. The celebrations will culminate in the burning of an effigy of the traitor Lundy later today. Police are maintaining a presence along the route, and have erected

Donegal Senator Brian O’Domhnaill has called on the heads of Irish Universities and third level colleges to come before the Oireachtas Education Committee to explain reported discrepancies in the use of the student registration fee by colleges. Senator O’Domhnaill, the Government Spokesperson for Life Long Learning in the Seanad, says it’s emerged that colleges are

A group has succeeded in breaking the World Record for the most trees planted on one site, in one hour. The bid took place at Western Health Trust land at Gransha Park this morning. The target was to plant 23,000 trees, the actual number planted was 26,400.

The number of redundancies in Donegal has doubled this year. There were 1,275 redundancies in Donegal between January and November, compared to 634 over the same period last year, a rise of 101%. That’s slightly above the national average.

The Solis Lough Eske Hotel has been named the World’s top luxury Country hotel. It was also shortlisted for the The Luxury Spa Hotel and Luxury Hotel awards, which were won by hotels in Thailand and the Maldives. The hotel near Donegal Town was restored from a ruined castle just two years ago.

Despite a nationwide increase of 30% in those waiting over three months for a test that will tell them if they have bowel cancer, the number at Letterkenny General has actually fallen. The Irish Cancer Society says November figures show that over 800 people are waiting over three months for a colonoscopy which is the

The PSNI has warned troublemakers to stay away from the annual Lundy’s Day parade in Derry tomorrow or they will face “robust action”. Up to three thousand people are expected in the city for the Apprentice Boys of Derrys’ parade which commemorates the Siege of Derry. The parade is one of the main events in

With just a few weeks to go before Christmas a Glenties area councillor has urged those facing financial difficulty to not fall prey to moneylenders or loan sharks. Marie Therese Gallagher says loan shark’s interest rates are extortionate and they can often be violent. Even legal moneylenders can offer loans based on APRs of as

Donegal Deputy Dr James McDaid has indicated that he will follow through with a threat to vote against the government as early as in next weeks budget. Dr McDaid, who feels he is superfluous to Fianna Fail following an acrimonious local meeting, says he will not back the budget if it includes 12 days unpaid

EirGrid, the operator of the national grid, will brief major stakeholders in Letterkenny today on their planned €750 million investment in electricity infrastructure in the North West region. The 750 million euro investment is part of the Grid25 strategy. Earlier this year permission was granted for a controversial overhead network of cable to support a

SDLP leader Mark Durkan is to contest the Foyle seat in the next general election. Mr Durkan, the sitting MP in the constituency, was selected as the party’s Westminster candidate at a convention in Derry yesterday. He will stay on as leader until the party’s annual conference in February. Mr Durkan, who is 49, replaced

The head of North West Tourism has claimed that Donegal has been failed by Tourism Ireland as anything they have tried to do to attract visitors here hasn’t worked. Paul McLoone was speaking after Tourism Ireland confirmed plans to spend around a million euro each month next year to woo British holidaymakers to Ireland. Mr

Following a meeting with the Finance Minister Donegal North East Deputy Niall Blaney says he has received no guarantees from him that VAT will be reduced in next weeks budget. Deputy Blaney met with businesses representatives last month during which he heard calls for government action on VAT rates and the general cost of doing

Simply Red musicians Mick Hucknall and Christ De Margary have clashed with a neighbour in Ballybofey over fishing and shooting rights on adjoining estates. Lead singer Hucknall and saxplayer De Margary claimed in Letterkenny Circuit Court that their neighbour John Wilde interfered with their rights and those of their guests on the Glenmore Estate at

Gardaí in Milford are seeking the public’s assistance in relation to a two vehicle road traffic collision which occurred at Dunlewey, Co. Donegal on 13th September 2009 at approximately 3.10pm. The collision involved two vehicles a red Toyota Carina and a black Toyota Celica. A 66 year old man died in Letterkenny General Hospital on

It’s emerged that an Inishowen couple endured a nightmare minibus journey to Dublin with the body of their dead infant last month, because there are no qualified paediatric pathologists in Donegal. The two week baby died in his sleep on the 25th of November, but because neither of the two pathologists in Donegal are qualified

A group set up in the North West to help homeowners at risk of losing their home says it shouldn’t be left up to the mortgage lender alone to decide on the future of a family’s house. Thousands of people across the country are now in mortgage arrears with many facing the prospect of home

An Oireachtas Committee has been told that proposals to amalgamate Community Development Programmes and the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme into a single partnership board would have a massive impact on community initiatives. Senator Pearse Doherty told the combined Arts, Sports, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs committee that there are nine CDPs in Donegal,

The impact of the recession on people with disability is being discussed at a workshop in the Ramada Encore hotel in Letterkenny this afternoon. Today is International Day of People with a Disability, and the campaign group People with Disabilities in Ireland is hosting the event, which all disabled people and their families are being

The expenses of Government Ministers are back in the spotlight this morning, with the focus on Tanaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan. It’s emerged that the Tanáiste clocked up a 9-thousand euro bill to keep a chauffeur on standby at the World Trade Organisation talks in Switzerland. According to this morning’s Irish Independent, Minister Coughlan’s

Donegal has the state’s third highest level of car imports from the North and Great Britain at almost 4,400, with only Dublin and Cork importing more. Figures released by motorcheck.ie show that new car sales in Donegal have fallen by 57% since the beginning of the year, while imports have fallen by only 7%. This

Sentencing has been deferred in the case of a Donegal Town based Libyan teenager who threatened to follow an employee of the Refugee Reception and Integration Office home and burn down her house after his request for accommodation was refused. Hisham Ali Saad became frustrated and overwhelmed at the asylum system following his arrival in

A family group of five from Co Donegal has collected a EuroMillions PLUS win of €500,000 from last Friday’s draw. The group wishes to keep their win private, and are not revealing where they are from. However, the National Lottery is confirming the winning €12 Quick Pick ticket was bought at the Esso Service Station,

A woman who runs The Happy Matchmaker dating agency refused to give a dissatisfied client files for court proceedings, it was claimed today. Happy Matchmaker boss Mary Mitchell of Ballintra, Co. Donegal, has been accused of failing to check out men introduced to Annemarie McBrearty.. Ms McBrearty is suing Ms Mitchell for €6,348.99 for negligence,

It’s been claimed that there could be death or serious injury if something isn’t done to address the issue of derelict buildings in Ramelton. Local Councillor Ian McGarvey has raised the issue and claims that it is only a matter of time before falling debris or slates injure someone. The issue was raised at this

Gardai in Letterkenny have recovered almost two hundred thousand euro of heavy plant machinery including tractors, diggers and tele-porters. The goods were removed to a yard in the Dry Arch area of Letterkenny however, overnight a man entered the yard and used petrol in an attempt to set the equipment on fire. Gardai are appealing

Mix of cloud and sunny spells today, with dry weather for much or all of the day but perhaps the odd heavy shower also. Highest temperatures 8 or 9 C. Becoming cold and windy tonight, with clear spells and occasional heavy showers – these could turn wintry on the mountains. Lowest temperatures 1 to 5

Donegal County Councillors have expressed there growing frustration at the local authorities lack of action in clamping down on contractors who do not fully complete private housing estates. At this weeks council meeting representatives took it in turn to highlight estates in their areas that were still incomplete despite numerous representations Raising the issue Councillor

A Derry MLA says work is expected to begin on a new cancer care centre at Altnagelvin by 2012. While formal announcements have yet to be made, Martina Anderson says a time line for the project was agreed by the North South Ministerial Council last week. Ms Anderson says the provision of cross border cancer

North West MEP Pat the Cope Gallagher says the replacement of Joe Borg as EU Fisheries Commissioner is a sad day for Ireland. Mr Gallagher led a Federation of Irish Fishermen deputation to meet with the commissioner ahead of this month’s crucial quota discussions in Brussels. He says they had a frank discussion, and Mr

Union leaders have announced that the public sector strike action planned for this Thursday has been deferred. It comes as marathon talks on cutbacks in the sector continue at government buildings. No final deal on cuts is expected today – and talks are due to continue at least into tomorrow.

The Gateway to Protestant Participation project was prompted by the belief that while catholic and nationalist groups have been quick to avail of opportunities such as the International Fund for Ireland and the EU Peace programme, traditionally, protestant groups have not done so. Willie Lamrock, from the YMCA in Derry, the lead partner in the

Gardai have renewed their appeal for information about what happened a man who was found seriously injured on the outskirts of Letterkenny six weeks ago. The man was found outside his home at Calhame, Mountaintop in the early hours of Wednesday October 21st with serious head injuries. Sergeant Philip Gillespie is leading the investigation, he

The Revenue Commissioners recouped nearly 18 million euro from tax defaulters in the three months to the end of September. A total of 76 settlements have been published – four of them in Donegal. The biggest settlement in Donegal was made by car dealer and guest house owner Anthony Mulhern of Ardlenagh, Donegal Town, who

The National Cancer Registry has published its first ‘atlas of cancer’ in Ireland  this morning which shows that Donegal has some of the highest rates of certain cancers in the country. The atlas provides detailed geographical information on the distribution of common cancers over a ten year period. Donegal has some of the highests rates

A Donegal County Council report has raised a number of question over the grounds used  An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for the Stranorlar / Ballybofey bypass. The review presented to Councillors yesterday took issue with almost all of the reasons the planning board gave for refusing the project and included options on how

A Donegal County Councillor has claimed that it is unreasonable to expect people to pay for water when the council can’t account for almost half of what it provides. A report last month showed that 43% of potable council water cannot be accounted for, although a drop on previous figures, the council has one of