Author name: oisinkelly

The Government chief whip is calling for more Irish-British ties ahead of Brexit. Joe Mc Hugh says people feel they don’t have a voice on Brexit in the absence of the Stormont Assembly and political institutions. Stressing the need to protect the peace process, Mr Mc Hugh described the UK position papers published this week […]

People are being urged to make submissions on the County Development Plan before the deadline in two weeks time. The plan sets out a land use policy framework which the council says will guide how Donegal develop into the future. When adopted, the plan will be key factor in making decisions on planning applications. Hoewever,

A Donegal Deputy says the latest allocations of childcare funding to Donegal falls far short of what is required. Almost 30 thousand euro in funding was announced yesterday by the Government to share between seven childcare facilities in the county. However Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher says this equates to just 2.4% of the overall

A Donegal woman has revealed how she was caught up in today’s terror attack in Barcelona.  Amy McColgan from Letterkenny has been living in Barcelona for some time and works close to where today’s events unfolded. A van was driven into a crowd on Las Ramblas – an area popular with tourists. Spanish government officials

A quantity of arms and ammunition has been found in Castlefinn. It’s understood that Council men were working on a house in the Hillhead area of the town earlier today and made the discovery while excavating a manhole. Gardai have currently sealed off the area and are awaiting army technical experts to arrive on scene.

Detectives in Derry have arrested two men today in the Claudy and Shantallow areas in connection with a pipe bomb attack in the Earhart Park area of the city in January this year. The men, aged 22 and 29, have been taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning.

  Almost €30,000  has been announced in funding to childcare facilities in Donegal. The Strand C funding stream is to benefit seven organisations in the county and comes after more than €70,000 was allocated to groups in the county earlier this month. In a statement Minister Joe McHugh said the funding will help improve the

  Gardai in Milford are continuing their investigation into a weekend burglary which occurred at McAteers shop in Fanad. The burglary took place between 7.30pm and 8pm on Sunday evening last. It’s understood that two criminals gained entry to the premises through the front door and a number of items were stolen including a sum

There are concerns Irish children aren’t having their first dental check up early enough in their development. International guidelines suggest children should have their first dental exam by their first birthday. But here, many are having to wait until they’re 12 to have their first check-up. Dr Gerard Roarty is a dentist in Donegal. He

Plans are being drawn up to make improvements to Castle Park in Castlederg following last month’s Dergfest music festival. Cllr Derek Hussey was one of a number of local Derg Councillors who met recently with Council Officials and festival organisers at the park to consider improvements that could be undertaken. He says upgrading the infrastructure

There were 22 patients awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning, according to the INMO, 13 of them on Emergency Department trolleys. That’s down from yesterday’s figure of 30. Nationally, there were 393 patients awaiting admission around the country, Universit Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded with 43.

A man arrested in Derry in connection with a paramilitary style shooting in Lisfannon Park on Tuesday of last week has been released unconditionally. The 48 year old was detained on Tuesday in connection with the attack a week previously in which a man was shot in the legs and abdomen. He’s the second man

Police in Derry have found a handgun and ammunition and other items in the Southway area of the city. It follows a security operation which lasted for much of yesterday. The items have been removed for further examination, and officers are appealing to anyone with information to come forward. Local Councillor, Colly Kelly has welcomed

There’s been an increase in the number of people based in Northern Ireland looking to Donegal border villages for new homes. A Letterkenny based financial services company say they’ve experienced a significant increase in mortgage enquiries from young couples seeking homes across the border. Pascal Curran of Advice First says the number of mortgage enquiries

Progess is being made on the new school building for Gaelscoil na gCeithre Maistrí in Donegal Town with the Department of Education confirming that it is now progressing to Architectural and Design stage. The project is included in the government’s six year capital programme, with the school set to go to construction betwen 2019 and

  349 new .ie domains were registered in Donegal in the first half of 2017. That’s according to the latest dot ie Domain Profile Report published today by the IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the company that manages and maintains Ireland’s official country domain name, .ie. The figure is a 45 percent year-on-year increase. Overall new

  Ireland won’t be used as a pawn in Brexit negotiations, according to the Foreign Affairs Minister. Simon Coveney has welcomed a British position paper that says the UK government want to see a friction-less border with the north. However he said there is still a lack of detail about the border issue which needs

  It’s been confirmed that the A6 dualling scheme between Drumahoe and Dungiven is set to begin in Spring 2018. Foyle MP Elisha McCallion has welcomed progress on the development: “News that the A6 dualling scheme between Drumahoe and Dungiven is set to begin in Spring 2018 is a positive step forward for the city.

  A security alert is underway in Derry. It’s understood that detectives from PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch investigating dissident republican activity conducted a search in the Southway area of Derry this morning. A suspicious item has been discovered and ATO have been tasked to examine the item. Southway is currently closed to facilitate this examination,

Police in Derry have launched an investigation into what’s been described as a suspected arson with intent to endanger life in the city this morning. Police say at approximately 7.19 this morning, the fire was reported at a terraced house in Lower Bennett Street. A woman, the only person in the house at the time,

The Saolta Hospital Group says it is trying to secure funding for a Maternity Theatre which was built over 15 years ago at Letterkenny University Hospital, but has never been used. Saolta says the theatre was built as part of a four storey building encompassing Day Surgery, Renal Dialysis, Medical on call rooms and Maternity

46 people died in work related accidents in Ireland last year, two of them in Donegal. A Health and Safety Authority report says the national figure marks a 20 per cent reduction on the previous year. The highest number of fatalities occurred in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector, where 24 worker deaths were recorded.

Minister Michael Ring is warning against complacency in the wake of the Wild Atlantic Way being named as one of the ‘world’s ultimate road trips’. The Minister for Rural and Community Development says the recognition Donegal has received illustrates the success of the tourism initiative. However, he has vowed to work with closely with local

The British government’s setting out how it wants to address the problem of the Irish border after Brexit. A long awaited position paper will reject the idea of a customs border in the Irish Sea, as a means of preventing a hard border, but ministers insist they don’t want to see customs posts between Northern

There were some disturbances at a controversial bonfire close to the Lecky Road on Derry’s Bogside last night, but police moved in and quelled the trouble quickly. At one point, there was what’s been described as an exchange of missiles between people at the bonfire and people on the city walls. However, those clashes ended

A man has been arrested in connection with a paramilitary style shooting in Derry last week. The 48 year old man has been taken to the Belfast Serious Crime Suite for questioning. On Tuesday evening last a 33 year-old man was set upon by four masked men in the Lisfannon Park area of Derry. The

Over 58,000 pupils are getting their Leaving Cert results across the country this morning,2,285 of them in Donegal. A new grading system’s been applied to all subjects this year – reducing to eight the number of grades available at each level. More students took higher level papers across almost all subjects this year, and fewer students

Searches in Learmount Forest Park in Claudy, Co Derry have concluded. Detectives from the Serious Crime Branch began searches this afternoon as part of ongoing investigations into dissident republican activity. Police sources saying nothing of interest was found.

Inland Fisheries Ireland have renewed their appeal to anglers in Donegal for help in identifying and reporting pink salmon catches. The non-native Pink Salmon has been sighted in recent times in the Crana and Drowes river in Donegal. Inland Fisheries Ireland say the sightings of the species are of concern. Dr Patrick Gargan, Senior Research

There were 32 people waiting admission to Letterkenny University Hospital this morning. According to the latest figures from the INMO, 19 patients were on trolleys with a further 13 on wards. University Hospital Limerick is the most overcrowded hospital today with 35 people waiting.

There’s been a cautious welcome to proposals by Britain for a 2 year customs union post-Brexit. Brexit Secretary David Davis has suggested a temporary customs arrangement, which would see borderless travel between the UK and the EU and crucially Ireland. The British Irish Chamber of Commerce says the avoidance of a cliff-edge scenario is welcome,

The Deputy Mayor of Derry is calling on the community to work towards ensuring there is no trouble at a bonfire in the Lecky Road area tonight. Police came under attack in the area last night after they responded to an incident in which bottles were thrown at people on the walls. When police arrived,