Author name: oisinkelly

The closing ceremony of this years Donegal Relay for Life has just ended. The event, which took place in the L.Y.I.T. saw thousands of people taking part over the duration of the weekend, amidst the bad weather. Around three thousand people turned out for this evening’s closing ceremony, led by singer Daniel O’Donnell. Chairman of

Concerns have been raised following figures published under the Common Agricultural Scheme regarding payment to farmers. Figures released show that farmers in Donegal received over 85 million euro in payments last year. Over the past few days, the Department of Agriculture began publishing figures for every county. Farmers paid above €1,250 have their names published.

  The amount of passengers using Donegal Airport increased by 5% last year. In 2014, over 35 thousand passed through Carrickfin. Although passenger numbers using the airport on a daily basis are still below 100, those figures expected to grow again in 2015. Donegal Deputy Dinny McGinley says it’s good news:

  According to a report commissioned by Údarás na Gaeltachta, Irish is dying out in Gaeltacht areas. The study was conducted using census figures for 2006 and 2011, it says that use of the Irish language in Gaeltacht regions is confined to the classroom, and is declining in communities. The research concludes that of the

A Donegal Priest has said that suicide often goes unrecorded in Ireland. Tragically, there were 459 suicides registered in 2014 or 10 per 100,000 of the population in the country. In Co Donegal there were 15 suicides recorded, 8 men and 7 women. Bruckless based priest, Fr James Sweeney said the recorded figures nationally are

Donegal County Council put 150 dogs to sleep last year. And a large portion of the dogs that were put down were greyhounds whose owners handed them over to the council once they had finished racing. The council now re-homes 76% of dogs that passed though its shelter however many of those that are put

The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association is advising farmers still thinking about joining the Beef Data & Genomics Scheme to be very careful about doing so. Yesterday, Junior Minister Joe Mc Hugh told Highland Radio News that farmers’ concerns about the scheme are being addressed by MInister Suimon Coveney. However, Henry O’Donnell, the INHFA’s

The Tobacco Free Campus Policy  is being extended to all 11 Community Hospitals in Donegal from next Monday. The policy was introduced into Letterkenny General Hospital in 2012, and   This means tobacco use, including electronic cigarettes, is no longer permitted anywhere on the hospital grounds including entrances, doorways, walkways, internal roads, car parks, mortuary, and

Oisin and James were the most popular boy’s baby names in Donegal in 2014. Emily and Ella were tied as the most popular names in the county for Girls last year, replacing Sophie which was most popular in 2013. The most popular names across the country were Emily and James. Incidentally, the most popular names

The Transport and Tourism Minister says Malin Head is an integral element of the Wild Atlantic Way, and is being prioritised by Failte Ireland. This week, Donegal County Council approved planning permission for toilet and car parking facilities there, and Deputy Charlie Mc Conalogue told the Dail last night that with support, Malin Head can

Irish Water has confirmed that the two drinking water treatment plants at will be upgraded. The upgrade will eventually mean a long term clean drinking water for these areas. The utility says this will ensure sufficient clean drinking water to the West Donegal region, including the area supplied by the Glenties/Ardara Public Supply. The current

Met Eireann are forecasting a wet and cold weekend in the Northwest for the Bank Holiday weekend. The June Bank Holiday is set to be a busy weekend in Co Donegal, with the world sheep shearing championships in Burt, Relay for Life in Letterkenny and the Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon. Forecaster John Eagleton says

9 million cigarettes worth 4.5 million euro have been seized in Dublin Port. The discovery was made during the search of a container from China which arrived into Dublin Port on board a different vessel. Meanwhile, in a separate operation five men were arrested and more than 4 million cigarettes along with a suspected mobile

Rathmullan has lost its Green Flag as a result of a fall in water quality there. An Taisce has this afternoon published its list of Blue and Green Flag awards, with the county retaining 13 blue and five green flags. There are now calls on Irish Water to address the situation as a matter of

The Garda Ombudsman is investigating a sudden death at Ballyshannon Garda Station. It is understood that the death of the man is not being treated as suspicious. The Garda Press Office has confirmed that the matter has been referred to GSOC for investigation.

It is claimed that the HSE is planning to employ the use of a robot at Letterkenny General hospital in the medical assessment unit. Donegal Councillor Dessie Sheils says a tender has been issued for the robot which would allow patients to be assessed by a consultant remotely from outside the hospital. The Councillor says

The deadline for the new Beef Genomics Scheme has been extended by a week. Applications for the scheme, which replaces the previous Suckler Cow scheme were to have closed tomorrow, but Junior MInister Joe Mc Hugh says questions over elements of the programme meant many farmers have not yet signed up. He says the Agriculture

A Midlands North West MEP says the fanfare over final agreement on the Rural Development Programme masks the fact that funding to rural Ireland is being cut by over 30%. Marian Harkin says 6% of the cut is from the EU, with the rest resulting from a sharp reduction in the amount of matching funding

  Gardaí are appealing to drivers to help reduce bank holiday fatalities. Since 2010, 256 people have been killed between June and August in Ireland. The majority of fatalities occur on rural roads, and between 2010 and 2014 twenty-two people in Co Donegal tragically died on during the summer months. Garda Traffic Inspector, MIchael Harrison

  A Donegal born economist has said that a CSO study into income levels proves that the county is one of the poorest in the state. The recently published CSO figures looked at incomes per head across the country between 2000 and 2012. It calculated income per head for each county, made up of wages,