Author name: oisinkelly

Mary Lou McDonald is set to be the new Sinn Féin leader. She was the only person nominated to succeed Gerry Adams, who’s held the position since 1983. Deputy McDonald currently holds the role of deputy leader. At a Sinn Féin meeting in Belfast, Mr Adams announced his successor:

Gardaí in Donegal are reporting snow and black ice on roads in Letterkenny, Milford and Buncrana this morning, Saturday January 20th 2018. Conditions are especially bad along secondary routes. The AA are reminding motorists that stopping distances are up to ten times longer in icy conditions and are urging people to slow down and allow

Donegal GAA will receive €300,000 additional funding from Croke Park towards the Donegal Training Centre in Convoy. Speaking last night from Croke Park, County Chairman Mick McGrath welcomed the news that the GAA Management committee has rubber stamped the sum after a proposal from the National Finance and National Infrastructure committees No further comment will

A Donegal Court has been asked to ban a schoolboy from the County. The 17 year-old appeared yesterday at Ballyshannon District Court charged with assault causing harm and producing a knife during intimidation at Assaroe Falls, Ballyshannon on June 2nd last year. Prosecuting Inspector Dennis Joyce made the request for the teenager to be banned

The Donegal National Roads Office has confirmed that the Ballybofey/ Stranorlar resurfacing works will be delayed until next year. Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle received confirmation that the planned resurfacing of the road from Lidl to the Road House Bar will go ahead and is likely to take place early next year, however the Ballybofey/ Stranorlar

Figures from the Irish Independent property price survey: How much is your house worth? show that house prices in Donegal are up 11%. The average price for a four bedroom semi-detached house in urban areas of the county is now €160,000, expected to increase by €5,000 during 2018. Mark Keenan is Residential Property Editor with

The Donegal Association in Dublin this evening announced Shay Given as the Donegal Person of the Year 2017. He will be officially bestowed the title at a Gala Event in Dublin in early march. He succeeds the 2016 person of the year Stephen McCahill and joins the likes of Daniel O’Donnell, Gerry Robinson and Brian

Three men are due before court this evening, charged in connection with a series of burglaries in County Sligo. They were arrested yesterday near Kinnegad in County Westmeath as part of Operation Thor. It followed a number of burglaries earlier in the day in Sligo. The men will be brought to a special sitting at

A number of Donegal Fire Service personnel were today presented with their 10 Year Long Service Awards at a special event at Milford Fire Station. Fire Fighters Shane McGettigan, Manus O’Donnell and Declan McWilliams each received their award from Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Councillor Gerry McMonagle at the special ceremony. Substation Officer Noel Gillespie

The National Lottery have confirmed a Donegal man has claimed over €280,000 after buying a winning ticket at G&S Supermarket in Carndonagh. The man in his 20s said he has not yet told anyone about his €283,274 windfall and is unsure if he will make it public. He says: “I saw on Facebook that there was

A meeting was held today on Tory Island to discuss the new proposed ferry service that is due to commence in April. Government Chief Whip Minister Joe McHugh, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty and department officials met with the island community who previously expressed concerns over the boats suitability and safety. The Department of Culture, Heritage

Main Evening News, Sport, Nuacht and Obituaries Friday 19th January:

There were 46 people homeless in the North West between 25th and 31st December last year. Of those 19 were recorded homeless in Donegal with a further 27 in Sligo. Nationally, 5508 adults were homeless during the week following Christmas with a total of 1408 families homeless. During the last week in December 46 people

The exposure for the Irish Open at Ballyliffen Golf Course could be boosted further with news that negotiations are ongoing to have the legendary Tiger Woods play the event. Hundreds of millions of people are expected to tune in to the competition which runs from July 5th to the 8th at the Donegal links course.

IFA Connacht Regional Chairman Padraic Joyce has said that more details on the fodder transport subsidy is needed urgently. The Subsidy was announced by the Minister for Agriculture Michael creed at this weeks IFA AGM. The Connacht Chairman welcomed the Minister’s intention to introduce a subsidy but he said the scheme must be progressed without

Milford Fire Station has received a new €400,000 fire appliance. The new tender, will serve the Fanad and Rossguill peninsulas and surrounding areas and is one of 20 commissioned by Government around the country. This is the second appliance delivered to the station in the past 3 months and only the second purchased by Donegal

The HSE in Donegal have launched a free self-management course for people with Type 2 Diabetes. The Diabetes Education and Self Management for Newly Diagnosed course, Desmond for short, is a 6 hour course run by a nurse and dietitian and will take place at various locations throughout the county. Senior Community Dietitian, Marie Boyce,

There’s speculation that Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty may be in the running to become the next Sinn Fein Deputy Leader. His Dail colleague Mary Lou McDonald could be confirmed as the next party leader today. Nominations for the position close this evening and so far the Dublin TD is the only candidate. Last night, Donegal

A public meeting to discuss the future of St Joseph’s Hospital, Stranorlar that was to have taken place this evening has been cancelled. The Save Our St Joseph’s Hospital Stranorlar Action Group says the decision was taken because of the weather. Group Chairperson Fr John Joe Duffy says it’s important that public representatives shed some

School Closures – Friday 19th January 2018 – Collaiste Ailigh, Knocknamona, Letterkenny. Scoil Mhuire — Cresslough Scoil Naomh Bríd, Downings Lurgybrack School Letterkenny Scoil Eoin Baiste, Carrigart Scoil Mhuire, Ramelton St. Eunans National School, Raphoe Milford Adult Education Centre, Milford

The government will publish its plan on how to adapt to the effects of climate change later. The National Adaptation Framework will look at the possible implications on the country and set out a strategy for dealing with them. The Environment Minister will also announce that four local authority offices are being set up for

The OPW has confirmed consultants have been appointed to examine details of Augusts floods and the recent events of last month at Burnfoot. Following the review the agency say they will re-assess the possible options to manage the risks and economic viability of flood defences in the area. However, Senator Padraig MacLochlainn has conveyed his

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin may face a backlash from his party after revealing his stance on abortion. He told the Dáil last night he was in favour of repealing the 8th amendment and bringing in abortion without restriction for up to 12 weeks. That’s despite the majority of his party holding pro-life views. After

A public meeting is to be held this evening in Ballybofey to discuss the future of St Joseph’s Hospital, Stranorlar. It follows what the Save Our St Joseph’s Hospital Stranorlar Action Group says is confusion over the Government’s plans for the long-stay residential beds at the hospital. The group says it will update the community on

Sub-zero temperatures have brought more snow and ice to much of Donegal. A status yellow warning remains in place until midday. Motorists are being urged to take extra care, with conditions said to be particularly bad in the region of Milford and Letterkenny.

Main Evening News, Sport and Obituaries Thursday 18th January:

The new Northern Ireland Secretary, Karen Bradley, has announced a fresh round of talks to try to re-establish power sharing in the North. Speaking alongside Tanaiste Simon Coveney, she said the negotiations – beginning next week – will be a last chance to form a devolved government. Mr Coveney is striking a positive note:

The Road Traffic Amendment Bill came before the Dail last night where TDs voted in favour of enforcing changes to drink driving penalties. The bill proposes automatic disqualification for motorists convicted of driving over the limit and will now come before the Seanad. TDs voted in favour of the Bill by 85 votes to 8,

The Dáil debate on abortion continues today with he 8th Amendment under scrutiny TDs are debating whether we should repeal the part of the constitution protecting the right to life of the unborn. The majority of last night’s speakers were pro-repeal. Speaking on his return to the Dail, Donegal Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle says that

A Finn Valley councillor says clarity is needed on the timetable for road repairs in Ballybofey and Stranorlar. Cllr Patrick Mc Gowan is asking for an update at next week’s Stranorlar Municipal District Meeting, saying there is a lack of information and understanding about what is happening, particularly with so many projects taking place on

There were 35 patients awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, 22 of them on Emergency Department trolleys. That’s four down on yesterday. According to the INMO’s latest figures, University Hospital Limerick Letterkenny had the highest number of people awaiting in-patient beds this morning with 57. The national figure has fallen slightly to 547.

The government is being urged to act as quickly as possible to address an anomaly which has seen thousands of people, many of them women, lose out on pension entitlements because of changes in the way they were calculated in 2012. Donegal Deputy and Leas Ceann Comhairle Pat the Cope Gallagher says this has led

A West Donegal Councillor says while there is an unparalleled tradition of voluntary and community work in West Donegal, a government backed task force will be necessary to address poverty levels in the area. A recent Pobal report found the area continues to have high levels of deprivation, and Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher says unless

We can’t continue to outsource the issue of abortion, according to the Health Minister. Simon Harris spoke strongly in favour of repealing the 8th amendment as he opened the Dáil debate last night. Most of the speeches were in favour of repeal, with some outlining why they felt the 8th amendment should be kept. Minister

  A new Status Yellow warning snow and ice warning has been issued for the region. Met Eireann says there is a risk of more snow, particularly tonight. An earlier status orange warning has now been lifted for Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan, and gardai are reporting no major problems on the county’s roads after heavy

The Fodder Transport Scheme falls short of addressing the seriousness of the situation facing farmers in the North West. That’s according to Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue who says while the scheme may give some relief to affected farmers, it will not solve the issue. Deputy McConalogue is now calling for a meal voucher scheme to

A new round of talks on the restoration of the executive and assembley at Stormont will be confirmed later today. Tánaiste Simon Coveney and the new Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley will hold a press conference around noon to announce that talks between Sinn Féin and the DUP will resume next week. A number of

A delegation from Derry and Strabane travelled to London yesterday to discuss a City Deal for the region. Derry City and Strabane District Council Chief Executive John Kelpie said, they outlined to Minister Sajid Javid the economic beenfits the deal would bring for the region in terms of job creation, investment and population growth. The

Safety concern has been raised over the condition of a number of bridges in Carndonagh that were severely damaged by the floods on August 22nd. Local Councillor Albert Doherty told an Inishowen Municipal District Meeting this week that problems at the Circular Bridge are causing erosion to nearby properties, while no entry signs have been

Parts of the region were hit by more snow and ice overnight, with reports of cars becoming stuck and very bad driving conditions in many areas last night. A status orange warning has now been lifted for Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan, and gardai are reporting no major problems on the county’s roads this morning. Council