Author name: oisinkelly

Ulster Bank says the closure of its Donegal branches in Ardara and Raphoe will go ahead as planned. In a meeting with Donegal Deputies Pearse Doherty, Thomas Pringle and Pat the Cope Gallagher senior bank officials said the decision would not be reversed. They committed to keep ATMs in place while they own the buildings […]

Deputies Pat the Cope Gallagher and Pearse Doherty are meeting with the Gaeltacht Minster tomorrow after it emerged that funding has been withdrawn for Amharclann Gaoth Dobhair by his Department. The theatre opened in 1961 but closed down in 2007 before re-opening again last month after the government allocated almost half a million euro in

The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is appealing to people to donate blood before Easter, with clinics at two locations in Donegal this week. There are clinics at the Abbey Hotel in Donegal Town this evening from 6.30 to 9.30, and from 2.30 to 5pm and 7pm to 9.30pm tomorrow. On Thursday, the service moves to

One in every four calls made for ambulances in Inishowen has to come from outside the peninsula. Cllr Martin Mc Dermott says an analysis of almost 2,000 ambulance calls made in Inishowen shows 500 of them neccessitated the calling of an ambulnce from Letterkenny or another station. Cllr Mc Dermott says this shows the need

The sister of missing coastguard worker Ciarán Smith says she wakes up everyday hoping he’ll be found. Orla Smith has appealed to local sailors and fishermen in the Northwest to help find her brother’s body, and that of his fellow winchman Paul Ormsby. It’s three weeks to the day since the rescue helicopter he was

The Mica Action Group in Donegal has been told the clearance of the report of an expert panel into the effects of defective blocks in Donegal and Mayo has been prioritised by the Attorney General, and should be available within weeks. The report has been complete since February, but must be approved by the Attorney

The widower of murdered Irish honeymooner Michaela McAreavey has returned to the holiday island where she died to make a fresh appeal for help in catching her killer. John McAreavey had meetings with the Mauritian police, prosecutors and the Prime Minister yesterday – he’s due to hold a major press conference today. 27-year-old Michaela was

The Irish Wildlife Trust has raised concerns about illegal dumping at Glenveagh National Park. The trust says it has found substantial amount of builders rubble, as well as suspected asbestos. The trustr has also expressed concern at evidence of mechanical turf cutting. Donegal County Council is currently investigating the matter. Irish Wildlife Trust Campaign Officer

A local councillor is calling on the Government to take immediate action to ensure roaming charges are not re-introduced after Britain’s exit from the EU. Romaing charges are due to be abolished throughout the entire EU this June, however Councillor Gary Doherty has raised the issue that those travelling to the UK, or living in

  A call’s gone out to fishing boats all along the northwest coast to join the search for missing Rescue 116 crewmen Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby. The RNLI is helping to co-ordinate crews who volunteer for the operation. The search has broadened after no trace was found of the men off Blacksod in Mayo.

John F Loughrey Financial Services in Letterkenny was crowned the regional broker of the year at the prestigious Irish Brokers Association (IBA) Life, Pensions and Investment Awards in Dublin last week. The event, held in Croke Park last Thursday night, gives recognition to the life, pension and investment brokers who have proved their excellence, professionalism

Champion Rally driver, Ronnie Foreman is in Donegal today as part of a fundraising rally taking place throughout the country. The rally is in aid of Haven, an Irish NGO providing on-ground support in Haiti following hurricane Matthew which hit Haiti 6 months ago. Ronnie has travelled from Lisburn today, stopping in Belfast and Derry

It’s been reported that discussions on the redeployment of Garda Whistleblower Keith Harrison will begin this month, with his legal team and garda management set to engage in mediation, overseen by Kieran Mulvey, the former head of the Workplace Relations Commission Kieran Mulvey. Garda Harrison, whose claims of harassment will be considered by the upcoming

Donegal Senator Pádraig Mac Lochlainn has expressed his “real concerns” about the pressure on the Tusla, child and family service in the county. He says there has been considerable pressure on the duty or intake team over the last while and that the numbers of workers dealing with new cases across Donegal has reached as

Gardai are investigating the theft of a fire engine from Stranorlar Fire Station. The vehicle, worth 400,000 euro, was stolen overnight and later found dumped at near the border. The vehicle remains at the scene for a technical examination while gardai are also examining the scene at Stranorlar Fire Station. While the vehicle wasn’t extensively

The AA says a survey which identifies drivers in Donegal as being the second worst in the country should not be taken seriously, but should instead serve as a springboard for a discussion on road safety and driver behaviour across the country. The questionnaire, issued by the AA asked people which county they believed had

The Mayor of the Letterkenny Municipal District has hit out at those responsible for illegal dumping at New Mills in the town at the weekend. Councillor James Pat McDaid says those responsible for dumping a mattress, and other recent cases of fly tipping, have no respect for their county and should stop. He was speaking

Following a recent daft.ie report that showed house prices in Donegal have increased by over 7%, Donegal Deputy Pearse Doherty says the Help to Buy Scheme must now be suspended. The average house price in Donegal is now over €142,000 which Deputy Doherty says is €10,500 more than this time last year. The Sinn Féin

A 42 year old man has been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and cultivating cannabis. He is expected to appear before Derry Magistrates Court later today. The charges are linked to an incident in which a 60 year old man was found injured inside a property in Sperrin Park at around 8 o’clock

Around 30 per cent of the government’s investment in infrastructure is concentrated in the Greater Dublin Area. The Construction Industry Federation says there needs to be immediate spending on regional infrastructure or we’ll be at a serious competitive disadvantage. It’s calling for the percentage of our GDP – spent on things like roads, rail and

The wreckage of the Irish Coast Guard helicopter which crashed last month has been recovered from the sea. Dive teams still haven’t managed to locate the two missing crew members, Ciaran Smith and Paul Ormsby – but searchers say they won’t give up. The Irish Coast Guard’s Gerard O’Flynn says the fuselage from Rescue 116

Trade Union UNITE has called on elected representatives from Donegal to use their political power to put pressure on Transport Minister Shane Ross amidst the ongoing Bus Eireann strike. UNITE hawve singled out Minister Joe McHugh and Fianna Fail Deputies Pat the Cope Gallagher and Charlie McConalogue, saying they should engage with the Government in

Minister Michael Creed has announced that Donegal County Council will recieve €291,000 in funding for maintenance and repair works at piers in the county, with the biggest allocation going to Greencastle. The allocated funding will in addition, support the ongoing development and enchancement of harbour facilities including some marine leisure developments. The funding has been

  Gerry Adams has criticised the British Government for under-funding the peace process in the North. Talks to reform a power-sharing executive in Stormont restart tomorrow and agreement is needed between Loyalists and Nationalists. The Sinn Féin president says he might be willing to talk about his role in ‘the troubles’ for the first time

The recent Daft.ie report shows that in Donegal, house prices have increased by 7.4% this annum. The average cost of a house in the county is just over €142,000. Nationally, prices are up all over the country – but Dublin is still the most expensive place to buy with an average price tag of 340-thousand

A 60 year-old man remains in a serious condition in hospital after he was discovered seriously injured inside a property in Derry. The man was discovered at around 8am this morning in a house in Sperrin Park and has since been taken to hospital where he is understood to be in a very serious condition.

In response to Minister Joe McHugh’s announcement yesterday that 18 schools within Donegal are being included in the School Meals Programme, a local Councillor believes schools in the county are being treated unequally by the Government. Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig welcomes the news for the schools that have been highlighted, however, he feels