Author name: oisinkelly

Celebrations are taking place this week to celebrate the Feast Day of St Colmcille on 9th June. This year marks the 1500th anniversary of the Saint’s birth. Celebrations start tomorrow with the 2021 American Conference for Irish Studies which will be broadcast live from Ulster University’s Magee campus, where academics and historians from across the

A pilot online booking system for Covid tests has been rolled out in Donegal this week. From today, anyone living in the Letterkenny area, will be able to log onto the online booking system and book their Covid test 24 hours in advance. Letterkenny is one of three centres nationwide taking part in the pilot.

Gardai are appealing for information after damage was caused to a car in Raphoe. It’s believed that between 11:50pm and midnight last Wednesday, a car pulled up at a house in the Maherahane area and a person wearing dark clothing smashed a number of windows of the homeowners car. Anyone with information is being asked

A motorist has been arrested in the Buncrana area after being caught drug driving. Buncrana Roads Policing Unit arrested the driver on Sunday last after they tested positive for the presence of cannabis. Meanwhile, a motorist has been caught speeding in the Donegal Town area. Donegal Town Roads Policing Unit detected the driver travelling at

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is to be entirely removed by February 2022. The wage support will be phased out in three stages starting in September under plans going to Cabinet. The government promised no cliff edge end to these payments and instead it is more of a gentle slope. Last night the government party leaders

There has been a further 378 Covid-19 cases. 98 patients are in hospital are in hospital with the disease, down 1 in the past 24 hours. 35 are in ICU, which is unchanged over the same period.

Visiting restrictions for birthing partners have been eased at Letterkenny University Hospital’s Maternity Department. Access is now allowed for birthing partners of women in labour at Letterkenny University Hospital. Partners, subject to screening questions and PPE can also attend a caesarean section. Partners are now also permitted a 30 minute daily visit after the baby

Online registration for the Covid vaccine for those aged 40 to 44 will begin on Wednesday. Those aged 44 should register on Wednesday and those aged 43 on Thursday. The portal will open to those a year younger on each subsequent day.

39 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the north in the last 24 hours. There have been no additional covid related deaths. Just over 1.7 million covid vaccines have been administered in Northern Ireland.

Six remote working hubs are to be established in Donegal. Minister Heather Humphreys today, announced the Connected Hubs Network, Ireland’s first national network of remote working hubs Connectedhubs.ie is a key action of Our Rural Future and will see over 100 hubs connected by the end of 2021. In Donegal, the hubs will be connected

Patients attending the Emergency Department at Letterkenny University Hospital are advised to expect long delays as the radiology, laboratory and pharmacy systems are not up and running. The Saolta Hospital Group says essential services like blood tests and diagnostic services are taking much longer to operate than usual as a result of the cyber attack.

Donegal County Council says there is no scope to put protocols in place that would amount to the general exclusion of a particular supplier from entering all or certain categories of Council tenders. The local authority was responding to a motion put forward by Councillor Liam Blaney who called for management of the council to

Police in Strabane are treating a fire at the old Adria site yesterday evening as arson. At around 6pm, police received a report that a dumper truck had been set on fire in the Beechmount Avenue area. Police attended the scene along with NIFRS and discovered that a truck had been set alight deliberately. Police

Mica has taken precedence at today’s meeting of Donegal County Council. Councillors across the county have called for a 100% redress scheme for affected homeowners. Councillors Michael McBride, Frank McBrearty, Jack Murray Liam Blaney and Nicholas Crossan brought forward motions at today’s sitting on the Mica issue. Councillor Michael McBride, proposed a motion calling on

As part of the EU- PEACE IV Action Plan, Donegal County Council is delighted to announce a new Community Play Park in the village of Killea. Construction is due to begin on the playground this week and the aim is to have it open by the end of August. The playground will be fully inclusive,

The General Manager of Letterkenny University Hospital has confirmed that there has been a slight increase in the number of infectious cases of Covid-19 at the hospital. There are currently 9 cases at the hospital. Sean Murphy says there has also been an increase in the number of people with the virus presenting at the

Local lockdowns are a possibility heading into the summer, according to the Tanaiste as concerns grow around the so-called Indian variant. Latest figures show there’s 128 cases of the mutation in Ireland, however it is believed to be more transmissible than previous strains. It comes following large crowds socialising in Dublin and other cities prompted

The SDLP leader is calling for the new head of the DUP in Northern Ireland to support the sensible solution offered in the Northern Ireland Protocol. Edwin Poots has insisted since taking over the DUP earlier this month that he wants to eradicate the protocol which is part of the Brexit agreement and prevents a

Health officials have confirmed 374 new cases of Covid-19. 99 patients with the virus are currently being treated in hospital. 35 of those are in intensive care. The HSE has confirmed that half of the adult population have now received a Covid-19 vaccine. May has been a bumper month with over 1 million people receiving