Author name: oisinkelly

Two separate weather warnings have been issued as Storm Caroline bears down on Ireland. Donegal, Galway, Mayo and Kerry are included in both of the warnings, while Leitrim, Sligo and Clare are included in the second warning. The first warning will be valid from now until 11pm tonight. Met Éireann says, southerly winds of up […]

Concerns have been raised over the absence of a roster at both Tory and Arranmore Island fire stations. This comes after a report commissioned earlier this year by the Donegal Fire Association highlighted a number of concerns in relation to facilities at the two offshore stations. There are now calls for a full complement of

  Government Chief Whip Minister Joe McHugh has emphasised the importance of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the gains and benefits of the peace process, including the open border, as Brexit negotiations continue. Minister McHugh says communities in the border region want the protection of the movement of people and goods after the UK

The Government once again has been criticised for their lack of action on seasonal workers entitlements. A comitment was given last year that a review into the issues facing seasonal and part time workers in terms of their entitlements to social protection payments would be carried out. Meanwhile, Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty says it

Police are this evening dealing with an ongoing security alert in the Townsend Street area of Strabane. It is believed a suspect device was discovered at a property during searches in the area this afternoon with army technical officers currently at the scene. The incident follows the arrest of a 43 year old man in

Met Eireann have issued a status yellow wind warning for the west of the country on Thursday. Storm Caroline is due to hit Scotland and strong and blustery winds will be over Ireland also. Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry are all to be affected. Winds of up to 110 km/h are expected

The Garda Road Policing Unit in Donegal stopped a lorry which was found bearing ‘very badly worn tyres’. Gardai say prosecution is to follow and are reminding motorists to check tyres regularly.

A 43 year old man has been arrested in Strabane today in connection with ongoing investigations into suspected dissident republican activity. Detectives from the PSNI’s Terrorism Investigation Unit arrested the man following an operation in the town. Detective Inspector Orr said: “The investigation is currently ongoing. Searches were conducted of land in Back Row and

Donegal Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher has welcomed what he has described as a belated announcement in the Minor Works Grant Scheme. All 177 schools in Donegal are to receive a flat rate grant allowance of €5,500. Deputy Gallagher says while the announcement is welcome news for the schools he says, the grants were due to

Consultations have commenced to develop a scheme for the Buncrana Road widening project. However, Councillor Brian Tierney has given the announcement a cautious welcome. He says the widening of the Buncrana Road has been a priority for motorists and commuters from Donegal and Derry for years, while tailbacks and traffic congestion has been a daily

A Convoy man appeared at Omagh Magistrates Court this morning charged with the murder of his wife in April this year at Devenish Island Co Fermanagh. Stephen McKinney was also charged with possession of the drug Zopiclone. Objecting to bail a police witness said “people have expressed genuine fear of his actions should he be

There were 31 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. 18 people were on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 13 were on wards. Cork University Hospital was the most overcrowded today with 41 people waiting there. Nationally there were 542 people waiting for a

Significant progress is being made on preparations ahead of the Irish Open in Ballyliffen next year. It follows a meeting involving Donegal County Council, the Golf Club and the European tour in recent days where areas such as a traffic management plan and a schedule of works necessary to support the event were discussed in

  People in Donegal are being urged not to engage with scam telephone calls after further reports of bogus callers doing the rounds in the county. In the most recent instances, a man with an Asian accent claims to be from Microsoft telling the homeowner that their computer has multiple viruses and offers to assist

Drink driving stats for Donegal this year are up by 13% and are slightly above the national average. It comes as Gardai in Donegal launch a cross-border Christmas drink-driving campaign today. The initiative will see both the Gardai and the PSNI co-operating at unprecedented levels in relation to drink-driving operations. Head of Donegal Traffic Corps Inspector

Every primary school in Donegal is to be given a Minor Works Grant. All 177 schools in the county are to receive a flat rate grant allowance of €5,500. The grant will be topped up by €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil attending a special school or class. The grant is

A video has emerged of a motorist notably breaking a red light outside Ballyraine School in Letterkenny as a child was about to cross the road. The incident is said to have taken place in recent days and follows numerous complaints about similar near misses. It has prompted further calls on the Council to place

A man’s due in court in Omagh this morning charged in connection with the murder of a Donegal woman who drowned in County Fermanagh. 35-year-old Lu Na McKinney fell from a boat on Lough Erne back in April. The accused – who’s 41 – was detained in Derry last Wednesday. He’s also charged with Possession

Representatives from Donegal Action for Cancer Care are travelling to Brussels today where they will meet with a number of key EU Commission Health officials to discuss the impact Brexit could have for patients in Donegal. DACC feel the urgent and important cross-border health service issues have been forgotten in the midst of Brexit discussions.

The Foreign Affairs Minister says the government is staying focused on getting the best deal for Ireland after Brexit. There was an agreement with the British government on the border issue yesterday morning, but it was pulled around lunchtime. The British Prime Minister asked for more time after the DUP said they wouldn’t support anything

Gardai in Donegal are today launching a cross-border Christmas drink-driving campaign. The joint operation with the PSNI demonstrates continued cooperation between the Gardai and PSNI in the area of road safety and particularly in the enforcement of drink driving legislation on both sides of the border. The cross-border initiative will see both the Gardai and

A Donegal Deputy has welcomed the announcement that Dunkineely National School in Co Donegal is to receive funding for additional accommodation and ancillary works. The Department of Education has approved the grant for the provision of two resource rooms, 1 UA toilet, the removal of a prefab building and other necessary ancillary works. Deputy Pat

€150,000 in Government funding has been released to help re-build Newtowncunningham Orange Hall which was destroyed in an arson attack three years ago. Government Chief Whip Minister Joe McHugh has confirmed the funding, delivered through the LEADER programme will go towards floor finishes, internal wall, external wall and ceiling finishes, decoration, new stairs and internal

The Taoiseach says he’s surprised and disappointed that a deal on Brexit couldn’t be agreed today. Leo Varadkar says a deal looked done this morning that would have allowed negotiations to move to the next stage. The Irish government were satisfied the text agreed meant we wouldn’t see a hard border on the island of

Main Evening News, Sport and Obituaries Monday 4th December

A 41 year old man has been charged with the murder of Donegal woman, Lu Na McKinney. The 35 year old from Convoy died while on a boating holiday with her family in Fermanagh earlier this year. The man was arrested in Derry last week after Police carried out a review into the circumstances surrounding

Foyle Search & Rescue have today released statistics which reveal the service dealt with a total of 36 incidents in September. Foyle Search and Rescue Duty Teams and the Emergency Response Team rescued two people from the river and removed 15 people from the railings or rivers edge while 19 people who were in distress

The demand for cancer counselling services has increased by 68% over the past 4 years and over 490% since 2010. According to the Irish Cancer Society demand for the cancer counselling services in Donegal has grown almost 4%, with 58 people availing of the service. Dorothy Thomas, Community Support Network Coordinator at the Irish Cancer

The DUP says Northern Ireland must leave the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK. It comes as a deal is close to finalisation that could see a hard border avoided by ensuring no change of key laws between the EU and post-Brexit Britain. But the DUP’s Arlene Foster says there

A fixed charged penalty notice has been issued to a motorist in Letterkenny after failing to have tax or NCT. The vehicle was subsequently seized by the Letterkenny Traffic Unit.

  Tourism Ireland campaigns for Star Wars and Game of Thrones last year reached 224 million people around the world. That’s worth around € 40 million euro in advertising. Over ten million people visited Ireland from overseas in 2017, spending 5.78 billion euro. Niall Gibbons is CEO of Tourism Ireland:

People in Donegal are being urged to attend a meeting this week about a senior alert scheme. The latest security initiative provides older people with a free personal monitor alarm which is installed in their home and connected to a national helpline. Those who are keen to sign up to the scheme are asked to

There were 22 people awaiting admission to Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. 9 people were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 13 were waiting wards. Cork University Hospital was the most overcrowded in the country with 41 people waiting there. Nationally, there were 437 people waiting at

A Donegal hotelier is warning that the increase in business rates by 5% will do irreparable damage. On Friday last, the majority of Councillors voted in favour of the increase while also increasing the small business grant in Donegal by way of alleviating the rates bill. However, the hike in commercial rates means that McGettigans

  There’s a special cabinet meeting this morning to update ministers on Brexit talks. It’s thought there’s been no breakthrough on the issue of the border with Northern Ireland. Diplomats in London and Dublin were talking all through the weekend trying to reach some agreement on the border issue. Without it Theresa May will head

  Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Deputy Pearse Doherty and Sinn Féin Senator Pádraig MacLochlainn have been officially named as the party’s candidates to contest the next general election for the constituency of Donegal. The pair were officially endorsed at the party’s Selection Convention which took place last night at Letterkenny’s Mount Errigal Hotel. The event

Letterkenny University Hospital returned one of the highest numbers of patients on trolleys in Ireland last month. There were a total of 502 people waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department over the course of November.   However the latest figures nationally, for the month of November, confirm a 7% reduction when compared to November

Public Consultation events have been taking place on Draft Local Area Plans for seven towns in Donegal with more events to take place over the coming weeks. The events, organised by Donegal County Council are aimed at allowing the general public to have an input on the future of their towns. Donegal County Council has