Author name: oisinkelly

The National Lottery has confirmed that last night’s winning ticket was sold in Ramelton. Whoriskey’s EuroSpar Store sold the winning €500,000 EuroMillions Plus ticket yesterday. The winning numbers were 16, 17, 43, 47, 49. Proprietor of Whoriskey’s EuroSpar, John Whoriskey said; “This is unbelievable. Ramelton is a small town just outside Letterkenny so you can

A new hourly train service from Derry to Belfast will be of huge benefit to the Donegal economy. Thats according to Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney who was speaking after Translink NI announced details of the new timetable which begins this coming Monday. McCartney says the service will open up the whole tourist product for Donegal

The British Prime Minister has spoken by phone overnight, with the leaders of the DUP and Sinn Fein in a bid to boost power-sharing talks at Stormont. Theresa May assured the DUP’s Arlene Foster about the UK Government’s priority to restore devolved Government as soon as possible. In a separate call, Mrs May spoke to

A Donegal man described by police as ‘a significant member of an organised crime gang’ involved in the importation of drugs into the North has appeared at Derry Magistrate’s Court. 25 year old Blaine Curtis of Drumitoland, St Johnston faced a total of five charges, relating to dates in August last year and June 20

Work has begun on replacing a key footpath in West Donegal following a local campaign highlighting serious health and safety concerns. The footpath, which had been situated outside Loch an Luir school, was removed last year due to road works being carried out and had not been replaced. Since then, residents participated in protests while

Police in the North have discovered a body of a male at Magilligan Point, Co Derry. Police were conducting a search for missing west Belfast man Gerard Stevenson this morning when the body was located. A formal identification and post mortem examination will take place in due course however, at this time police are not

Calls have been made to Tusla to immediately formally and publicly clarify their position on the closure of Letterkenny’s Knocknamona residential unit. Trade Union IMPACT say they have correspondence dating back to the closure of the centre in May 2016 when the Child and Family Agency confirmed their intention to reopen the facility. Reports suggest

The number of drink driving detections in Donegal has risen by a staggering 24% in the first six months of 2017. There were 227 drink driving instances recorded in the first half of 2017 compared with 173 in the same period last year – a rise of 54. Nationally there were over 1000 more detections

Six year prison sentence for 18 year old who killed Derry man on night out An 18 year old Derry man has today been sentenced to 6 years in prison, 3 of which will be served on licence, for killing Gerard Quinn and injuring his twin brother following an altercation in the city last year.

The family of Denis Donaldson has called on the Police Ombudsman to take legal action against Gardai to gain full access to a journal seized from his home after his murder in 2006. BBC News reports that the family claim a journal seized by Gardaí from Donaldson’s home has “significant investigative value”. Denis Donaldson was

  There were 20 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according to the INMO. The latest trolley watch report has revealed that two people were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 18 were waiting on wards. University Hospital Limerick was the most overcrowded today with 34

Sources close to the DUP and Sinn Féin negotiating teams suggest they’re no closer to restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland. They’re apparently not convinced they can reach a deal before Monday’s revised deadline. The political crisis could mean a return to direct rule from Westminster for citizens in the north or another round of elections.

  Councillors in Inishowen are to put forward motion at the next sitting of Donegal County Council to insist on a redress scheme for those affected by the defective block issue in the county. This is despite the Government’s lack of commitment on the issue. In the Dail yesterday, Deputy Charlie McConalogue called on the

  Hundreds of people turned out for the official opening of the Sinn Fein offices in Letterkenny last evening. The Eddie Fullerton/Bobby Sands centre was initially meant to be opened by Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams however due to on-going discussions at Stormont he could not attend. The centre located on the High Road in

A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Tanaiste to seek a response from the Health Minister following an announcement that 1 in 5 women in Donegal are waiting over a year to be seen at the symptomatic breast cancer clinic. Earlier this week, Deputy Pearse Doherty revealed that 143 patients referred to the clinic by

  House prices nationally over the last year have risen by more than €2,000 a month, according to the latest House Price Report released by Daft.ie. In Donegal, prices in the second quarter of 2017 were 5% higher than a year previously, compared to a rise of 12% seen a year ago. The average house

  Concern has been raised after a number of used syringes and an unknown substance were found in a residential area in Derry. Yesterday a teenager came upon the items which included a number of used syringes, small clear plastic bags with a white unkown substance in Cromore Gardens in the Creggan area of the

  A Donegal Deputy is warning that any form of customs controls on the island of Ireland will create additional costs for export and import companies here in Ireland and abroad. Deputy Charlie McConalogue’s comments come following confirmation from the UK Brexit Secretary David Davis that the British Government is working towards implementing an ‘invisible

  Health Minister Simon Harris has committed to progress Type 1 diabetes services and care in Donegal. At a meeting with Minister Harris and local elected representatives, the Donegal Diabetes Committe heard promises that approval has been given to appoint a paediatric consultant and a second endocrinologist at Letterkenny University Hospital. Minister Harris has also proposed

Another Stormont deadline has passed without agreement. Politicians have failed to appoint a First and Deputy First minister to the power-sharing government by a 4pm deadline. The DUP and Sinn are at loggerheads over the issue of an Irish Language Act. Earlier Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said he was not giving up hope:

A 29 year old man has been arrested in Derry in connection with a major investigation into organised crime, including the supply of drugs and money laundering. Detectives from the PSNI’s Reactive and Organised Crime Branch arrested the male in the city today on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A and B controlled drugs

Gardai in Milford have seized a vehicle with the motorist found to have no NCT, tax or insurance. The driver was also found to be holding a mobile phone. Court proceedings are to follow. This follows a similar event yesterday when Gardai in Letterkenny seized a  vehicle after stopping the car at a routine checkpoint with

Police in Derry are seeking the public’s assistance in locating missing man, Patrick Pearce Deery. The 42 year old was last seen on Saturday and is believed to have travelled to the Sligo area. He is described as 5’8 in height of a medium build. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the PSNI

The Jobstown Six have all been acquitted of the false imprisonment of former Tánaiste Joan Burton and her adviser Karen O’Connell. The jury cleared all of the accused, including Solidarity TD Paul Murphy, after three hours of deliberations. They’d been accused of trapping the women inside two Garda vehicles during a water charge protest in

  A proposal to postpone the Stormont assembly sitting until this afternoon has been shot down by the DUP. Politicians were due to convene at noon to begin appointing ministers however the SDLP suggested an extension. All other parties agreed to except the DUP. Party whips are due to meet again around now to make

Homeowners in Donegal have called for a Mica Redress Scheme to be set up and implemented ‘straight away’, to compensate those affected by defective concrete blocks. The call was made at a special Seminar in the An Grianán Hotel, in Burt last night. Around 300 homeowners attended the seminar organised by the Mica Action Group,

There were 22 people waiting for a bed at Letterkenny University Hospital this morning according the latest trolley watch report. 3 were waiting on trolleys in its Emergency Department while a further 19 were waiting on wards. The number waiting is down significantly from yesterday’s figure of 35. Cork University Hospital was the most overcrowded

  It’s looking unlikely that a deal will be reached to restore power-sharing at Stormont by this afternoon’s deadline. If there’s no First Minister in Northern Ireland by 4pm, then some form of direct rule from Westminster will return. Yesterday the Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney, backed Sinn Féin’s stance on the importance of the

  Irish Water has started work on replacing a troublesome’ section of water main between Convoy and Raphoe in Co Donegal which has been subject to a high burst frequency and poor water quality. The project represents an investment of €1.1 million by Irish Water for the benefit of over 1,700 customers. Over six kilometres

A Donegal TD says proposals for Town Councils to be re-established do not go far enough. Town Councils were eradicated three years ago but the Dail this week heard calls for Fianna Fail for them to be returned to towns above a certain population. Independent Deputy Thomas Pringle backed the calls but believes more could

There has been outrage in Letterkenny after an iconic statue was vandalised in the town centre. The statue was one of a number situated together at the Market Square depicting local children at hiring fair day in the town. It was discovered knocked over and damaged nearby where it originally stood at some stage this

The Killybegs Coast Guard were tasked by Malin Head Coast Guard yesterday evening after a fishing vessel got into difficulty. The alarm was raised by a member of the public after they spotted a fisherman waving a red flag some distance out from Mountcharles Pier. Both the boat and shore team were called to the

Derry and Strabane Policing and Community Safety Partnership has launched a campaign urging householders to secure their homes and valuables over the coming months. The Close it, Lock it, Check it campaign is warning the public to remain vigilant and alert particularly when holidaying over the summer. The PCSP has revealed that the number of

A Donegal Senator says the rights of local and visitor’s to access natural amenities must be defended. It follows a protest held last weekend at the Pollet Great Arch in Fanad after an access turnstile to the path being blocked and ‘no trespassing’ signs erected. A petition calling for access to the iconic landmark be