Author name: oisinkelly

The key to catching the killers of Constable Ronan Kerr lies with local communities, the detective in charge of the murder investigation has said. The 25-year-old died in a booby-trap car bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone, on 2 April 2011. No-one has ever been convicted. On the fourth anniversary of Constable Ronan Kerrs murder in

A Derry and Strabane Councillor has hit out at vandalism on the walkway between Glenowen and the Creggan Country Park, saying he fears someone could be seriously injured or even worse if it continues. Councillor Colly Kelly was called to the area this week after a number of incidents, including the removal of a cover

The North’s Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry said today he is conscious of the strong case being made for the further expansion of the University of Ulster’s Magee campus in Derry. He was speaking as he confirmed that the development of the new teaching block at Ulster University’s Magee campus will go ahead this

It’s been confirmed that Letterkenny’s two branches of Dunnes Stores are not affected by a national one day work stoppage today. 107 Dunnes outlets across the republic are being picketted in a dispute coordinated by the Mandate Trade Union, but the union has no members in Donegal, so no pickets are being placed in Letterkenny.

It’s reported today that former Tanaiste Mary Coughlan will not contest the next General Election. In today’s Donegal Democrat, Ms Coughlan is quoted as saying that while she’s honoured by the level of support for her to run within Fianna Fail locally, she does not believe that now is the time to re-enter public life.

31 primary and post primary schools in County Donegal will benefit from the Summer Works Scheme 2015. The schools are part of a national investment of almost €36 million in the first round of school improvements which will be carried out during the Summer. Last year €36 million was invested nationally, but only seven schools

A junior minister says the government is undermining its own plan to save post offices. Joe McHugh says the entire government has to be on the same page if rural post offices are to be saved. Last month the Department of Social Protection wrote to some welfare recipients encouraging them to have payments made directly

The importance of providing a new bridge at Cockhill in Buncrana was emphasised in a meeting with the Minister for Transport yesterday. A delegation of councillors from Inishowen attended a meeting in Dublin with Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe. Earlier this week the community in Glenties received good news with the announcement of funding for the

Gardai are investigating a serious extortion at a betting shop in Lifford. The incident happened when the manager of Toots Takes All bookmakers was threatened and ordered to hand over money. On Friday evening the Lifford betting shop received a phone call. A staff member was told to place a large sum of money in

Concerns have been raised for the future of jobs at B&Q in Derry. The store, which employs 60 people at the Faustina Retail Park on the Buncrana Road, is set to close in January next year. B&Qs parent company Kingfisher announced yesterday that they were to close 60 stores across the UK and Ireland after

€34 million is to be invested in social housing in Donegal between now and the end of 2017 as part of a €1.5 billion euro national programme. The initiative, a mixture of building, buying and leasing will see 507 new units made available in Donegal over the next three years, with the government predicting it

A radical change in local politics has taken place in the North, with the 11 new ‘supercouncils’ now in place. As of midnight, Derry City Council and Strabane District Council ceased to exist, with their functions now transferred to the new Derry and Strabane Council. The council has been operating on a shadow basis since

A Donegal TD is claiming that Irish Water’s “First Fix Scheme” is an attempt to prepare for privatisation rather than a genuine attempt to fix leaks and improve the water network. Deputy Thomas Pringle, who previously worked for Donegal County Council’s water services says money shuld be spent carrying out a leakage programme on the

  A Donegal councillor has again called on the Government to replace the Jobbridge scheme. Sinn Fein Cllr Mick Quinn says Sinn Féin in government would scrap the employment initiative and replace it with “a new participant-centred model for internships”. He said JobBridge as currently constructed was too narrowly focused on the unemployed and he proposed

Donegal County Council are to spend €350,000 for works on an old dumping site that has been closed for fifteen years. The dump, just outside Lifford, has been shut since August 2000. For years the dump at Churchtown, between Lifford and Castlefin, took vast quantities of all sorts of rubbish. The dump, which is situated

The prosecution in the trial of a man accused in the Omagh bombing case say Gardai have delayed handing over mobile phone evidence. 44 year old Seamus Daly is being tried for 29 murders after a 1998 Real IRA blast devastated the busy Co Tyrone market town. Phones used by the alleged bombers were being

The organising committee of this years Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon is appealing for more accommodation for the event, which takes place at the end of May. Festival Chairperson Barry O’Neill says interest in the festival is particularly strong this year, and accomodation in the immediate vicinity is already booked out. He says

A 38-year-old Derry man has been jailed for 10 years for the armed robbery of a bookies. Robert Barry Crossan from Creggan Heights in Derry had been found guilty of the robbery which occurred on December 14 2013. Crossan had been convicted after a trial by a majority verdict. The court was told that Crossan

The reintroduction of a Derry Dublin air service could be on the cards, as could a new service to Birmingham. Start-up grant applications for both routes have been submitted to the British Government’s Regional Air Connectivity Fund. Among 19 bids being considered is a submission by Isle of Man-based regional carrier Citywing to provide a

  A Foyle MLA has accussed the North’s Health Minister of failing people dealing with addiction issues by ruling out cross-border cooperation in the north west. Jim Wells has indicated he does not believe that a service agreement with Whiteoaks in Donegal is viable. However, Maeve Mc Laughlin says health is an area where it

A Stranorlar area councillor has claimed that some of  Donegal’s roads may have to close, because they are in such a bad condition. Cllr Frank Mc Brearty says with maintenance expenditure cut-back by an estimated €80 million over the past five years, many Donegal roads are falling apart. It recently emerged that in the Finn Valley

A translator was present in Donegal Co Council yesterday to translate from Irish to English. A number of Cllrs, who are native Irish speakers, chose to address the Council in Irish only. The majority of Cllrs and the media have little or no Irish, so the Council have had to provide a translator. Headsets were

Donegal South West TD, Deputy Pearse Doherty has welcomed a decision by the HSE to appoint an additional staff nurse to Tobar Training Centre in Gaoth Dobhair. Deputy Doherty raised the issue of on-going service disruptions at the centre in Dail a few weeks ago. Speaking to Highland Radio News, he said there have been

  A security alert in Coleraine is now over. James Street in Coleraine was closed for a time this afternoon. A number of homes have been evacuated and the ATO were tasked to the scene. An unexploded grenade was recovered by the ATO.

A man described in court as the ‘principal member of an organised crime gang’ allegedly involved in the attempted importation of drugs valued at more than £2.1 million into the North and who had been shot and had his house blown up while living in St Johnston in Donegal has been refused bail. Declan Gallagher

Councillors on Donegal Co. Council are objecting to plans to build Ireland’s largest windfarm in the county. Plans have been lodged by Planree Ltd for up to 49 wind turbines stretching from Barnesmore Gap to Castlefin. Almost 200 submissions and objections from members of the public on both sides of the border were received by An Board

The Govnernment has given the green light today to build a new bridge in Glenties. The Department of Transport has announced funding of €800,000 for Mullantyboyle Bridge this afternoon. The bridge collapsed five years ago, and since then the local community had campaigned to have it repaired. Local people said that if the centre of Glenties

It’s emerged that a planning appeal has been lodged in relation to Bio-marine Ingredients Ireland Ltd’s (BII) plan to develop a €40m fish processing facility in Killybegs. Commenting on the development, B.I.I. CEO Jason Whooley said while the company is disappointed at the appeal and the delay which it has the potential to cause, they

Donegal County Council planners are to ask An Board Plenala to reject proposals to build Irelands largest windfarm in the county. Plans have been lodged by Planree Ltd for up to 49 wind turbines stretching from Barnesmore Gap to Castlefin. Planree Ltd have applied to An Board Pleanala to develop Ireland’s biggest onshore windfarm at