Author name: oisinkelly

There was a huge turn out at a public meeting in Raphoe last night to discuss plans by Ulster Bank to close its branch in the town. The bank is closing its branches in Raphoe and Ardara this year and despite numerous representations, the bank insists it won’t reverse its decision. Margaret O’Doherty is a […]

Search efforts to find the remaining missing crew members of Rescue 116 will resume this morning. The RNLI, Coastguard and Naval service will conduct a land and sea search from Donegal to Mayo. Search teams will also be looking for debris from the helicopter that crashed over three weeks ago off the coast of Mayo.

A 14-year-old boy’s appeared in court in the north, charged with trying to buy a sub-machine gun and 100 rounds of ammunition. The teenager was arrested in Coleraine, Co Derry on Thursday. Ballymena Magistrates Court heard he may have planned to intimidate someone, after using the “dark web” to try to get the weapon. The

There are calls from Donegal for the Irish government to ban US military planes landing in Shannon. Independent Councillor Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig reiterated his stance following yesterday’s US airstrikes on Syria. The West Donegal Councillor has labelled the strikes as ‘another chapter in US imperialism’. He says the Irish government has played it’s

Orders were singed in court today allowing sheep stolen from Donegal to be returned to the farmers that own them. The stolen sheep turned up in marts in County Cavan. At Ballyshannon District Court today, Judge Kevin Kilrane heard of the sales of rustled sheep and lamb at different marts in Dowra, Co. Cavan, last

Two Donegal school are to receive extensions for Special Needs areas. The additional accommodation projects will go ahead at Scoil Roisin at Roshine, Dungloe and Finn Valley College in Stranorlar. The School Building Unit of the Department of Education will issue further details to both schools in coming days. The projects will now progress to

It has emerged that up to 20 cats across Donegal have recently died from suspected poisoning. Up to ten cats have been found dead in Porthall Lifford, a further six in Ardara with dead cats also found in St Johnston. It is not yet clear if the cats consumed poison by accident or where intentionally

Letterkenny Municipal District has agreed to take over the maintenance of the monument commemorating the Battle of Scariffholis at New Mills The battle was fought between the Ulster Army commanded by Heber MacMahon, the Catholic Bishop of Clogher, and an English Parliamentarian army commanded by Charles Coote. The Ulster army was routed, with 3,000 men

There are renewed calls for the suspension of all imports of Brazilian beef and poultry into the EU. Midlands North West MEP Matt Carthy says the move is necessary following recent revelations of serious fraud and corruption in the Brazilian beef and poultry trade. A two-year investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police showed that potentially

There’s been a significant drop in the number of patients awaiting admission at Letterkenny University, with eight patients without beds this morning, compared to 30 yesterday. None of the affected patients this morning were on Emergency Department trolleys. Over 300 people are on trolleys at hospitals across the country. According to the Irish Nurses and

The Irish Coastguard has this morning updated its social media sites with details of tomorrow’s search for Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith. This is the post and attached map…… On Saturday the 8th of April the Irish Coast Guard,RNLI, Irish Air Corps, the Irish Naval Service andCivil Defence, boats, aircraft, land search and UAV teams,

Independent MEP Marian Harkin says maintaining equality between businesses on both sides of the border will be a huge issue after Brexit. The Midlands North-West MEP is warning that businesses in the South could be put at a major disadvantage if their counterparts in Northern Ireland can operate under better circumstances. Ms Harkin was speaking

As the search for the remaining crew members from Rescue 116 continues, the Coast Guard is asking all Mariners in the North Mayo – South Donegal area to keep a close lookout for any debris in the course of their routine activities. Any findings should be reported to the Malin Head Coast Guard Coordination Centre.

Donegal County Council has launched a new scheme to help bring vacant private houses back into use. The Repair and Leasing Scheme will see the council help owners of vacant properties carry out repairs. The local authority will pay for initial costs up to a limit of €40,000, in return for a 10 to 20

Concern has been expressed at the Census 2016 findings which show the number of people speaking the Irish language in Donegal has decreased since April 2011. 56,738 stated that they could speak Irish in Donegal, but there’s a 16% decrease in the number of daily Irish speakers in the county. Deputy Pearse Doherty says the

The Food Safety Authority issued closure orders to six businesses last month. Among those was China Tower Restaurant, Main Street, Ballybofey which was served a closure order under the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998. The order remains in place.

The government says Health Minister Simon Harris will look into the potential problems facing some children requiring specialist treatment in Donegal. Yesterday, it emerged that a specialist in Sligo who runs regular clinics in Donegal to provide pump therapy is leaving her post, and will not be replaced. The issue was raised in the Dail

A 19 year-old man who was arrested yesterday in relation to a shooting incident has been released unconditionally. The man was arrested in the Meenan Square area of Derry in connection with the incident which occurred in the Central Drive area of the city on March 27th.

Gardaí investigating an aggravated burglary on Arranmore Island last year have renewed their appeal for witnesses. The aggravated burglary occurred at Ballintra, Arannmore Island on March last year at approximately 8pm. A man entered a residence, and threatened the lone occupant, an 82 year old man. The suspect left the scene with a sum of

There were almost 4.8 million people living in the Republic of Ireland on census night last year. The first set of results from Census 2016 have been published this morning – showing a population increase of 3.8 percent since April 2011. However, Donegal and Mayo both saw their populations fall. The population of County Donegal

      Fishing boats from Killybegs and other Donegal fishing ports will take part in a search of the waters down to Blackrock island, where helicopter Rescue 116 went down three weeks ago. A convoy of fishing vessels will set out on Saturday morning in a bid to locate missing crewmembers Ciaran Smith and

The Taoiseach has told the Dail wind energy policy is a matter of striking a balance between the need to meet energy needs, and the need to protect communities from intrusion. Enda Kenny was responding to Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty, who urged him to clarify when the Government will publish the long awaited revised planning

The Dail’s Water Committee looks set to adopt its final report later – without the support of Fine Gael. The Government party says it can’t support what it’s calling a ‘fundamentally dishonest’ report. It calls for the scrapping of water charges, makes no reference to wastage and recommends refunds for householders. All attention now turns to

A senior DUP negotiator has accused Sinn Féin of peddling mis-information about the state of talks to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State, James Brokenshire, has given the parties until after Easter to reach a deal. Both parties are accusing each other of holding back on discussions – with legacy and

  It has been announced that the Finn Valley Shopping Centre in Ballybofey has been purchased by the proprietor of Kavanagh’s SuperValu, the facility’s main tenant. The centre has been in receivership for a number of years, and now there are hopes that it will re-open with new tenants. It was sold at Allsops at

The Dail has been told that both Ballyshannon and Bundoran fires stations need to be renovated rather than amalgamated. Deputy Martin Kenny has called on Minister Simon Coveney to act to ensure the continued existence of both fire stations as the people of Donegal deserve better. Calls were previously made to Donegal County Council to stand

The 2017 SuperValu TidyTowns competition is now open for entries from today. The competition encourages voluntary activity and community participation across Ireland, helping to make villages and towns better and more attractive places to live, work and do business in. People in Donegal are being encouraged to take part following the county’s previous success. The

According to the latest trolley and ward watch report from the INMO there were 34 people awaiting admission today at Letterkenny University Hospital. 20 people on trollies and a further 14 on wards. The figure is up from yesterday when Full Capacity Protocol was implemented with 29 people awaiting admission.

A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting in the Central Drive area of Derry last month. The 19 year-old was arrested in the Meenan Square area of Derry today by officers from the Serious Crime Branch. A 23-year-old man was shot in the leg in the incident on March 27th. A number

Gardaí are investigating an assault on a man in his early 20s in Dungloe. The incident occurred at a business premises at Meenmore, on the 26th March at approximately 12.30am. A man in his 40s who was arrested and detained in Milford Garda Station has been released without charge. Gardai have confirmed that investigations are