Author name: oisinkelly

A brand new online film starring actor Richard E Grant exploring Donegal and the Wild Atlantic Way has been unveiled. It’s the third in a series of short films created by Tourism Ireland and Smooth Radio to highlight the island of Ireland to holidaymakers in Great Britain this year. In the film, viewers see Richard

Police in Derry say both lanes travelling from the Waterside to the Cityside on the Foyle Bridge are closed due to a road traffic collision. Diversions are in place and motorists are advised to use alternative routes. No injuries have been reported.  

Ballybofey still has highest commercial vacancy rate in Ireland, according to Geodirectory. 31.3% of commercial premises in the town are empty, twice the Donegal average of 15%, which itself is above the national average of 13%. Buncrana had a vacancy rate of 15.5%, Bundoran 13.6%, Donegal Town 13.2% and Letterkenny 21.8%. Dara Keogh is Managing

A Derry councillor says the discovery of a viable explosive device in Galliagh on Saturday was deeply worrying, not only because the device had the capacity to kill and injury, but also because it kept other good news stories out of the headlines. Cllr Brian Tierney says the device was found in a building site

The Chair of Donegal County Council has welcomed news that just over a million euro has been approved by Housing MInister Simon Coveney to allow the council take over 40 housing developments. As part of the arrangement, the coubncil will raise almost €348,000 through bonds and other sources, in order to help finance this initiative.

Junior Gaeltacht Minister Sean Kyne has invited groups in The Rosses to begin the language planning process that could determine their future status. Groups have two months from today to submit expressions of interest, with the successful organisation working with Udaras na Gaeltachta to prepare a language plan. They will then have 7 years to

A new report published later today will suggest different ways that the Government could deal with the current funding crisis in third level education. One suggestion could see students given loans to cover fees of 5-thousand euro a year. The Education Minister Richard Bruton will launch the latest effort later to tackle the funding crisis

Donegal had the fourth highest number of drink driving fatalities in the country in 2013 accordint to figures published at the weekend by Gardai and the RSA. The preliminary figures from the National Drug Related Death INdex shows 32% of drivers who died in 2013 were drink driving. 7.6% of those deaths were in Donegal,

  Calls are growing for the location of a National Driver Licence Service office in Inishowen Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn has been raising the issue with Transport Minister Shane Ross and the Road Safety Authority, who have told him that 95% of customers are within 50km of an office. The RSA also says options such

The Minister of State with responsibility for overseas aid has pledged 600-thousand euro in humanitarian funding for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda. Minister Joe McHugh made the announcement today as he visited Uganda’s border region with South Sudan in the wake of a renewal of hostilities. The announcement brings the total Irish Aid funding to

A woman is being treated at Sligo Regional Hospital after falling from a horse at a beach at Muckross Head near Kilcar yesterday afternoon. Killybegs Coast Guard were tasked to the area when the reports of the accident were received. The Sligo based Rescue 118 Coastguard helicopter was also tasked, and after the woman received

A man arrested by police following a house search in Derry has been released unconditonally. The 48 year old man was detained following the search of a house in the Creggan area on Friday night. Further searches took place on Saturday morning in the Creggan and Galliagh areas, during which a viable improvised explosive device

A man has died in a crash in county Tyrone. The 24 year old lost his life in the single vehicle incident in Fivemiletown just after five o’clock this morning. He was riding a quad bike at the time. The PSNI is appealing to anyone with witnessed the incident to get in contact with officers

A million people have visited Derry’s Guildhall since the completion of a major restoration programme three years ago. Mayor  Alderman Hilary McClintock, made a special presentation to Kevin and Christine Keenan from Randalstown whose visit yesterday saw the one million figure achieved. Derry City and Strabane District Council says since completion of its major restoration in

More than €245,000 in capital funding has been allocated through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to 36 of Donegal’s 145 pre-school service providers operating across the county. €62,533 was allocated to community managed early childhood services with privately managed early childhood services receiving the larger allocation of €182,635. Avril McMonagle is Manager of

The annual Twelfth of July parade takes place today in Rossnowlagh, three days ahead of the main demonstrations which take place on Tuesday next across the North. Fifty lodges from Donegal, Cavan, Leitrim and Monaghan will take part in the parade, joined by lodges and visitors from the North, Scotland and further afield. The parade

There were 2,000 less people on the live register in Donegal last month when compared to June of 2015 The live register figure in Donegal now stands at just short of 16,000. All offices across Donegal recorded a fall in those signing on last month compared to the same time a year ago. The numbers

There will be no second EU referendum for the UK following last month’s vote to leave Europe. The British government has officially responded to a petition saying the decision of the people ‘must be respected’. The online document attracted more than 4-million signatures in the days following the BREXIT vote. In Northern Ireland, 5,634 signed

There’s a major boost for Killybegs after An Bord Pleanala granted planning permission for a new bio-marine ingredients facility. Bio-marine Ingredients Ireland Ltd was originally given permission for the project in 2015 but An Taisce appealed the decision delaying the project for 17 months. The company says that now up to 120 new jobs could

The Chair of the Donegal Hospice Committee says there is no question of the services at the hospice being compromised as a result of a quarter of a million euro overspend last year. Dr James Mc Daid says a rise in costs and a fall in money raised by the hospice has seen a gap

The first batch of Funding Agreements under the LEADER Programme have been signed today, with local funding expected to begin kicking in in the early autumn. Donegal will just over €12.9 million funding as part of the Rural Development Programme package. Diaspora Minister Joe Mc Hugh acknowledges that the figure is down, but he expects