Author name: oisinkelly

Five more rural areas of Donegal have been added to the list of towns and villages to which high speed broadband will be offered. Eircom has confirmd this morning that its ‘Fibre to the Home’ programme is being extended to Churchill, Fintown, Gleneely, Rossnowlagh and Tamney, eventually offering speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per […]

An Post has moved to defend restructuring plans in the Letterkenny area after concerns were expressed this morning. It’s been confirmed that postal staff in Milford, Carrigart, Kerrykeel and Creeslough will move to An Post Letterkenny Delivery Service Unit which was opened in 2011. An Post says the move was fully agreed at national level

Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue says an independent investigation must be established into the circumstances surrounding the death of Garda Sergeant Michael Galvin in Ballyshannon last Thursday morning. He had been the subject of a Garda Ombudsman Commission investigation into an incident on New years Day, about which he was said to be very concerned. It

The 18-year-old man arrested after yesterday morning’s A5 crash in which two cousins died has been released on bail pending further enquiries. The single vehicle crash involving a black Volkswagon Golf happened between Newbuildings and Magheramason. 19 year old Aaron McDonald and his 21 year old cousin Michael McDonald, both from Donemana, lost their lives.

Fianna Fail’s PRO in Donegal says while it seems likely the the county will see two male candidates in the next General Election, she would love to see a woman’s hat in the ring. Aine McGinley was speaking ahead of an event being hosted by the Fianna Fail Women’s Network at the Red Cow in

    Its hoped a Donegal driver safety initiative for those convicted of driving offences will be adopted nationally. The Donegal’s Pro-Social Drivers Programme is targetted mostly at young motorists convicted of road traffic offences such as drink driving and speeding. To date, over 100 offenders have been referred by the local courts to participate

An 18 year-old man has been arrested in connection with a road crash on the A5 between Newbuildings and Magheramason last night. Two cousins male cousins, aged 19 and 21 from the Donemana area near Strabane, died in the crash. The 18-year-old male driver of the car and a 16-year-old girl, who was a passenger,

The Dail has heard calls for the urgent reinstatement of Antenatal services in West Donegal. The service was withdrawn from Dungloe last year due to a consultant going on sick leave with the vacancy yet to be filled. As a result those requiring the service must travel to Letterkenny. Raising the matter in the Dail,

Derry City and Strabane District Council has agreed to make a formal bid to become European Youth Capital 2019. A meeting of the council’s Strategy Committee last evening gave the go-ahead to develop a concept paper for the first phase of the application process. The council will now seek Government and Ministerial endorsements for the

Met Eireann has confirmed that the weather in May was rotten. Malin Head had its wettest May in 120 years, with Atlantic coastal areas and some Midlands stations reporting double or more their average rainfall. The whole country reported below average temperatures – with many reporting the coolest conditions in almost 20 years. In its

Donegal South West Deputy Pearse Doherty is calling on the Health Minister to clarify the future of the Cleary Centre in Donegal Town. Deputy Doherty made his comments about the HSE managed facility which provides services and training for adults with disabilities following recent uncertainty surrounding the long term future of the unit. Last November,

Plans have been announced for a new Health and Wellbeing campus at Altnagelvin Hospital. It will be a joint project between MacMillan and the Western Trust and will provide an information and support centre, particularly for patients with cancer and other long term illnesses. As well as supporting patients, the centre will also offer help

Two young men have been killed in a crash on the A5 Victoria Road between Newbuildings and Magheramason. Two others are in hospital. The one vehicle crash happened at around 3.30 this morning between Duncastle Road and Woodend Road. Diversions are in place, and motorists are advised to avoid the area. The PSNI are appealing

A Donegal Deputy says an increase in resource teaching hours announced by the education Minister will make little impact on the overall resource teacher shortage. Fianna Fail’s Education Spokesperson Charlie McConalogue says Jan O’Sullivan’s announcement of 237 teaching posts for the next term will be offset by an increase in student numbers. Deputy McConalogue says

Almost 119,000 students across the country begin their state examinations this morning. Tests will take place in over 100 subjects, involving four million examination papers and just under 5,000 superintendents supervising the proceedings over the coming days. In Donegal, 2106 students will sit the Leaving Cert, 145 will sit the Leaving Cert Applied and 2263

The family of Sergeant Michael Galvin, who died last week by suicide, says they’ve no confidence in the Garda Ombudsman. The father of three did not know he had been cleared of any wrongdoing by GSOC. The ombudsman was investigating the death of Sheena Stewart, who was struck by a taxi in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal

The AGSI has been heavily critical of the Garda Ombudsman’s level of communication with members of the Gardai. Garda Sergeant Michael Galvin took his own life at Ballyshannon Garda Station in Donegal last Thursday- he was not aware he had been cleared of any wrong-doing in the investigation into a fatal road traffic incident in

A contract has been signed to complete Phase II of the Belfast-Derry railway line. The announcement was made at Stormont this morning by Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy. The works include a passing loop on the line between Derry and Coleraine, which should pave the way for an hourly service between Derry and Belfast. Welcoming

The HSE Smoking Cessation Service in Donegal is running an information day at Letterkenny Shopping Centre tomorrow to mark the fact that Sunday last was World No Tobacco Day. It follows the implementation of the Smoke Free Campus policy at 11 community hospitals and nursing units across Donegal yesterday. Smoking Cessation Officer Fiona Boyle says

In what’s been described as a unique cross border initiative, Crimestoppers has launched an appeal for information in relation to a murder outside Buncrana over three years ago. 24 year old Andrew Allen was shot dead at his home in Links View Park, Lisfannon, on February 9th, 2012. Mr Allen was killed after gunmen fired shots

Serious concerns have been raised regarding unfinished estates in Donegal. At last weeks council meeting, a report entailing a revised arrangement for taking charge of housing developments was introduced to councillors. While adopting the report, some councillors expressed dissatisfaction saying it was too little too late. Seven estates in Stranorlar alone are affected, 22 in