Author name: oisinkelly

Over 150 thousand people have taken part in Pieta House Darkness Into Light events across the country this morning. It saw people embark on a 5 km walk or run as dawn broke – it’s aimed at encouraging us to talk about suicide and mental health issues. In Letterkenny over 1600 people took part in

Derry and Strabane District Council have given the green light for a walking trail at Plumbridge and a woodland trail at Donemana. They have agreed to commit £31,000 in Council match funding towards the development of the project at Balix Hill, Plumbridge, and £125,000 of match funding towards the development at Donemana. The Aghnacbrack &

A 64-year-old man has been accused of sex offences dating back 37 years ago. He appeared at Ballyshannon District Court accused of three sexual offences against two females. The man is charged with two counts of indecently assaulting a female on July 20 1980 under Section 6 of the Criminal Law Act. He is further

Donegal County Council is inviting expressions of interest from any groups, towns or villages that are interested in becoming a Tidy Towns group. The Council will provide any support and advice necessary to potential future participants and groups can receive a start-up fund of €250. The closing date for applications is 26th May 2017 at

Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle is calling on the Government to quash what he terms illegal convictions under Inland Fisheries Act 2010. Speaking on the Inland Fisheries Bill 2017 Deputy Pringle says that this legislation was introduced in light of advice that Inland Fisheries Ireland had unlawfully prosecuted people in court for breaches to fishing legislation.

Irish Water is asking consumers living in Donegal to conserve water and minimise water usage for the foreseeable future. The call comes due to the unseasonable dry weather conditions where records indicate that April 2017 has been the driest April experienced for 67 years. Consumers connected from both the Lough Colm source which serves the

The Head of HIQA says it is the case that service providers and planners sometimes use the authorities reports to close a unit or facility. Phelim Quinn was in Donegal as part of the first ever national survey of patients, with those being discharged from Letterkenny University Hospital in May being encouraged to take part.

  Work has begun in Lough Foyle on the construction of a pipeline for use as a storm water outflow in Blackpool. Sections of the pipe are being towed into the lough, and when construction is complete, the pipe will be over 4kms in length, the longest ever constructed in Europe on this way.  

The numbers awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital fell to 23 this morning, 14 of them on Emergency Department trolleys. That’s down 10 from yesterday’s figure of 33. Nationally, the INMO says there were 350 people awaiting in-patient beds this morning, LImerick University Hospital had the highest figure with 42.

There’s been a 17% increase in air passenger numbers on the Donegal Dublin route in the first quarter of 2017. The Aer Lingus Regional route has been operated by Stobart Air on a Public Service Obligation (PSO) basis since February 2015. Over that time, there’s been consistent growth on the route, which saw over 40,000

Donegal is set to benefit from a scheme to have empty local authority properties returned to productive use this year. 128 units are proposed for Donegal, the highest number outside Dublin, with a projected investment of just over €1,875,000. Nationally, a budget of just over €24 million has been set aside for the scheme, announced

There are more people approved for mortgages in Ireland than there will be new houses for them to buy. Around 20 thousand first time buyers have been cleared for a mortgage this year – but only half of this number of new homes are for sale. The average approval amount was € 214,400 in March,

Glenswilly GAA manager Adrian Glackin is to become Donegal’s newest councillor, representing Sinn Fein in the Letterkenny Municipal District. He defeated former Letterkenny Urban Councillor Sean “Johnny” O’Donnell at a selection convention in Termon last night. The convention was called following the decision of Cllr Mick Quinn to step down from the authority for health

Concern has been raised that the fire service in Donegal is being stretched to the limit following a spate of gorse fires in the county in recent days. Numerous fires broke out in the West Donegal area yesterday with fire crews from the locality having to bring all of them under control with very limited

A Donegal Deputy is calling on the Health Minister to address what’s been described as a serious contradiction in relation to the vacant breast surgeon position at Letterkenny University Hospital. It follows confirmation from Minister Simon Harris that a locum consultant post is being pursued. Deputy Pringle says this is a far cry from a

A multiple purpose all weather facility for Stranorlar is now a step closer following funding being earmarked for the project. The 1 million euro funding has been allocated through Peace IV with the facility to be located in the Councils Sports Master plan area of the town. Other details including the design of the facility

  We’re being warned we could be rapidly heading towards a housing bubble. New figures released today show mortgage approvals have surged by 62 per cent in first quarter of 2017. However the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland says the money loaned is not being drawn down due to a lack of supply. Donegal Deputy

  Donegal County Council is seeking Expressions of Interest from towns and villages across the county as part of the recently launched Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2017. This scheme is targeting rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000 and is being funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and

  Concern has been raised that public toilets planned for Rathmullen will add to an already serious sewerage issue in the area. It follows reports of a ‘sewerage slick’ spotted by local residents and boat owners in the water at the weekend. There are now fears that new public toilets which are to be constructed

  A vigil is being held in Letterkenny tomorrow evening to mark the 36th anniversary of the death of Bobby Sands on hunger strike. The vigil will take place at 7.30pm at the hunger strike monument at Glencar, Letterkenny. Local Councillor Gerry McMonagle says that there is added poignancy to this year’s event as over

  The coastguard is examining a piece of debris that was recovered by fishermen off Cruit Island this morning, amid speculation that it may be a fragment of Rescue 116, the coastguard helicopter which crashed off County Mayo. An islander told Highland Radio News the piece of debris does have a number stamped on it,

  A number of fire crews from West Donegal are tackling an extensive Gorse fire in Derrybeg. The fire service were alerted to the scene at around 9am however there are reports that the blaze had been on-going since 7.30am. It’s understood that a substantial amount of turf has been destroyed in the blaze with

The number of people awaiting admission at Letterkenny University Hospital rose to 33 this morning, 18 of them on Emergency Department trolleys That’s three up on yesterday’s figure and join highest in the country along with Limerick University Hospital. The INMO says in total, there were 357 people awaiting in-patient beds in Irish hospitals this

Letterkenny University Hospital should be providing services to people in Derry, Tyrone and Fermanagh, according to Donegal Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn. He was speaking ahead of the launch on Monday next of Sinn Fein’s new discussion document on Letterkenny University Hospital. The publication, which has been compiled by the party, includes data which has been

It’s emerged that the number of Community Gardai in Donegal has fallen from 21 to 2, the second lowest figure in the country after Kildare, which has none. The 90% reduction in the number of community officers in the county was confirmed in the answers to two parliamentary questions tabled by Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue.

A Donegal TD has repeated  calls for a full review of service levels, current staffing numbers and the overall budget for Letterkenny University Hospital. The call comes following figures released yesterday by the INMO which show the first four months of this year saw the worst overcrowding in Irish hospitals since records began. The latest trolley

A 45-year-old man has been accused of forcing a girl in her early teens to engage in a sexually explicit card game to strip off her clothes. He has also been accused of involving her in truth or dare sex games. Donegal District Court was told that the charges are among a total of 14

After 16 years as MP for West Tyrone, Pat Doherty has stepped down from the position and will not be contesting next months UK General Election. Last night, Sinn Fein selected West Tyrone MLA Barry Mc Elduff as its candidate. Meanwhile, in Derry, outgoing Foyle MP Mark Durkan was again selected to contest the election

Management and unions at An Post are to begin fresh negotiations on the future of the sector. It comes amid concerns that the company plans to close more than 200 post offices around the country. The Irish Postmasters’ Union wants Post Offices to support more public and financial services – as well as transport, tourism

A package totalling €15 million has been announced for the ‘Blue Banks’ section of the N56 between Coolboy and Kilmacrennan, with tenders for the construction of the road to be issued in the coming weeks. Junuior Minister Joe McHugh says a new water main from Lough Salt to Letterkenny should be constructed by Irish Water