Karol Duggan was the winner of the Ballyraine National School 5k last night.

Duggan led the way in 15 minutes and 35 seconds.

Ivan Toner was second (16:20.9) and Charlie O’Donnell came home in third spot (16:23.9).

Fionnuala Larkin was the leading female, finishing in 20:03.9.

In all, 190 competed.

IT WAS A tight battle for this week’s Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub Sports Person of the Week in association with O’Reilly’s – and there were only FOUR votes in it at the end up!

Adrienne Gallen of Lifford-Strabane AC edged out St Oran’s NS, Cockhill student Luke O’Donnell with just four votes between them at noon yesterday, when the polls closed.

Adrienne had 391 votes to Luke’s 387 in a neck-and-neck race.

Gallen, competing for St Columba’s College, Stranorlar, not only won the junior hammer at the Irish Schools Championships last weekend, but broke the Irish Schools record in reaching out to 57.24 metres, beating Jade Williams’ 2015 mark by over three metres.

Each weekly award winner will receive a kitbag, a jacket and a bobble hat, supplied by O’Reilly’s.

The award winner will be chosen via a public vote from a shortlist selected by our panel.

O’Reilly’s Sportswear was founded in 2017 by well-known Twin Towns sporting brothers Steven and Martin O’Reilly.

Seamus Coleman says some pointed jibes from the Denmark camp will fire the Republic of Ireland up for tonight’s Euro 2020 qualifier.

Ireland are in Copenhagen to face the Danes, who disposed of the Boys in Green 5-1 at Aviva Stadium in a World Cup play-off in 2017. That result followed a 0-0 draw in Denmark.

Ireland, the managed by Martin O’Neill are back at the Parken Stadium tonight, now under Mick McCarthy’s watch.

“You can change the manager, but cannot change the players,” Denmark’s Mathias Jorgensen said this week. “We all know which way Ireland will play. They will come to our stadium, sit back and be happy to play for a draw.”

Coleman, speaking at a press conference in Copenhagen yesterday, said the comments could be used in the visitors’ camp.

“It’s never nice to hear other players maybe speaking down about your team, but it can also be a bit of motivation as well,” the Killybegs man said.

“Those games are in the past and we are not looking at them.

“It wouldn’t be my thing to do, come out and speak bad of other players, definitely not.

“If that’s their way of doing it, if that’s their tactic, it can be a great motivation for the boys if that’s the case.”

Coleman was stung earlier this season by some criticism from Everton’s supporters about his performances. His passionate celebration after a goal in a 3-1 win over Brighton showed what that had meant.

He reflected: “I take good comments, bad comments the same way – it doesn’t have any influence on what I do on a match day.

“You can say I’m brilliant or you can say I’m crap, it doesn’t really bother me; I go out there to do a job.

“I’ve been crap sometimes this season and I’ve been good sometimes this season.

“But it doesn’t affect my mindset during a game.”

Met Eireann has revealed that the highest wind speeds of spring 2019 were recorded in Malin Head.

Ireland’s most northernly point saw the worst of Storm Gareth at the beginning of March. Damaging gusts of 70 knots (130 km/h) were registered at the Malin Head station on 12th March. This was the highest reading in the country between March, April and May.

Malin Head also recorded the highest mean wind speeds of 15.0 knots (27.8 km/h) throughout the three months.

The latest Spring report from Met Eireann showed that Cork enjoyed the highest average sunshine of the season. Dublin had the lowest total monthly sunshine in the country.

St Eunans U14 hurlers are making the long trip to Cork for the Feile na nGael 2019.

The black and amber lads are today traveling to the Tracton GAA club for the competition.

“Travelling to compete in the Feile would not be possible without the help of our generous sponsors,” the club said.

“Damien Daly of Kernans Spar, Lower Main, St Letterkenny and Kieran Barron of the Value Centre, Letterkenny kindly sponsored the St Eunans under 14 hurlers this year.

“We are very grateful for their support and no doubt our boys will do them proud.”

Local tennis players availed of an opportunity to improve their skills at a performance coaching weekend hosted recently by Letterkenny Tennis Club in conjunction with NW Sporting Pathways through Donegal Sports Partnership (DSP).

A total of 64 local players of all ages and levels participated in the the two-day event which was delivered by MacXTennis Academy elite coaches, John McGahon and Paul Casey, who are based in Dundalk.

Picture: The adult group with coaches John McMahon and Paul Casey.

John holds a Bsc in Sport and PE and is a level three Tennis Ireland High Performance coach. He is head coach at the Leinster Tennis Academy and personal coach to multiple national and international champions.

Paul Casey is a former national coach with over 25 years experience as a professional performance coach. He was head coach of the Leinster squad for 15 years.

The weekend of clinics and workshops was co-ordinated by Maggie Farrelly, education and training coordinator with DSP and is the latest initiative to be rolled out under the North West Sporting Pathways Programme in Donegal.

“The whole idea of this programme was to help tennis players from Letterkenny and the North West region,” Maggie commented.

“It afforded dozens of tennis players an opportunity to learn and improve. They gained elite technical and tactical knowledge and experience from two of Ireland’s finest performance coaches. John McGahon and Paul Casey brought energy, encouragement and huge know-how to each session,” she added.

“This pioneering event was a huge success and is another great example of good cross-community cooperation. Technical and physical development was the focus. The participants were all shown different warm-up routines. The weekend was really interesting and really different.

The under-15 tennis players.

“The quality of the coaching was of the highest level and there was a lot of spotting and fixing. It was top quality coaching. The coaches have great expertise and the manner in which they conducted their sessions was superb,” Maggie commented.

“Other parts of the game that were covered included basis serving actions and rallying. I would be hopeful that a second weekend of performance coaching will be organised later in the year. I believe there is a huge benefit to be had from events like this.”

The under-12 tennis players.

The coaches were extremely impressed with the senior and junior players that took part.

“All the groups we worked with had a tremendous attitude. They all wanted to listen, all wanted to improve and all wanted to learn – you don’t find that everywhere,” John said at the end of the weekend.

Teens academy players who took part in the coaching weekend at Letterkenny Tennis Club.

Paul had a similar view of the two days in Letterkenny.

“It was a fantastic weekend and with the the right guidance, there is no reason why tennis players in Letterkenny and the North West region can’t move up to the next level,” he commented.

A crowd of more than 200 people last night attended a meeting to hear concerns over plans to prospect for gold and silver in the Glenfin area.

The meeting, held at Coimin National School, was called over fears of the lack of consultation with locals over the plans.

The Government is considering granting four such licences for various parts of Donegal to an English company.

Locals only have a number of days to send in objections to the Department of Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment’s Richard Bruton proposal to grant prospecting licences under the Minerals Development Acts, 1940-1999 appeared on Donegal County Council’s website.

Those wishing to object to the licenses have 30 days from the appearance of the notice which was issued on May 16th.

The company behind the plans are Great Glen Resources Limited, of Queensway, Hertfordshire in England.

Those at last night’s meeting were told not to allow any member of the company onto their lands.

Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher hoisted the two flags at the school on Friday morning.

The Donegal TD said both initiatives play an essential part in creating awareness about protecting the environment and the importance of physical education and fitness towards our overall wellbeing.

Pat the Cope said: “The green flag schools initiative creates awareness in our primary and secondary schools about the single biggest challenge facing each and every one of us; is how we manage the environment, how we deal with waste and plastics that we create and how we minimalize damage we do to our shared environment with that waste.

“Unlike in the past, we now have record population levels on our planet, record levels of waste and no effective ways of dealing with the ever-growing mountains of waste.

“We see this daily with the amounts of waste and plastics in our seas, oceans, countryside, it is alarming,” stated Pat the Cope.

“Unfortunately, it is all due to human recklessness and poor understanding of how to manage our countryside and environment.

“The green flag initiative is an important first step in instilling how to manage waste and to better care for our environment.

Speaking after launching Gartan NS their active flag award, Pat the Cope said: “For the overall wellbeing of the student and for the physical and mental health of the individual, it is essential that we have the correct amount of physical education and exercise.

“That is the reason why initiatives such as the active school flag are critical programmes nowadays to have incorporated in our schools.

“I wish to commend and congratulate Gartan National School for undertaking both initiatives and for promoting these programmes within their school.

“I fully appreciate that these measures take quite an amount of time, both school staff and management have been great advocates for these two initiatives,” concluded Pat the Cope.

MICKEY HARTE WAS different in 2016.

More vocal.

Emotional, even.

Tyrone, after enjoying a duopoly in the province with Armagh since the late 1990s, were starved since 2010. Donegal took over, beating them in four of the five Championships before 2016.

The pendulum had swung from Tyrone, but in 2016 they snatched it right from under Donegal’s noses in Clones.

They came from three points down to secure the title through a pair of points by Peter Harte and Kieran McGeary.

It was Joe McMahon’s final afternoon in an Ulster Championship dressing room. By the time the 2017 version rolled around, the Omagh man had retired from inter-county football.

For some time just a few years previously, Tyrone celebrations after provincial success had almost seemed muted.

Not in 2016.

Their dressing room in St Tiernach’s Park was just like the good old days again.

“The elation in the changing rooms and the celebrations afterwards, there was just this emotion,” McMahon says.

“There had been dominance from Donegal and they had all this success; up there, just like we had been. That day, it was total obsession from the squad to achieve what we set out to do. All the frustrations had come through and we toppled Donegal.

“That day was a great confidence boost for young lads coming into the squad who had never beaten Donegal. It was huge pressure off the shoulders.

Mickey had us so well drilled. Before the game, he’d talk to the different lines of the field about the expectation. He posed questions in terms of what Donegal would be thinking, some questions about different scenarios. It was a case of ‘we have met this before, we know how to address it’.

“It wasn’t normal for Mickey to raise his voice, but in recent times he has become more emotional and vocal. He’d raise the voice a bit more to rally the troops. Fellas respond to that.”

McMahon believes the hard days against Donegal from 2011-2015 schooled Harte’s new pupils to the sometimes dark ways of Ulster’s theatre.

Their battles with Donegal certainly added an edge.

“It was just so physical,” McMahon says.

“There was a total win to win. Donegal worked so hard and then you had Tyrone itching so bad to get back to the top table. Results might not have gone for us, but those days paved the way.”

Donegal have the Anglo-Celt on the line tomorrow in an Ulster semi-final in Cavan, with Tyrone looking to continue their recent dominance over Donegal, having won the last three Championship meetings.

McMahon will watch from a perch in the Breffni Park press box and knows the old urges will still be there.

“I miss that,” he says.

“Without a doubt, players miss that when they return. I don’t miss what’s needed to get out there, but I miss being out there. That feeling of running out for Tyrone, in front of the Tyrone fans, the total emotion of representing the county.

“When there’s a wee exchange on the pitch now, I’d go a wee inch forward and just want to be out there. I was lucky to experience all of that.”

Joe McMahon challenges Michael Murphy

BY HIS own admission, McMahon was ‘naive’ in 2004. He’d just joined the ranks of a Tyrone squad still dizzy from winning the county’s first All-Ireland the previous September.

Tyrone were, in many ways, ripe for the picking, in spite of wins over Derry and Fermanagh, when they met Donegal in Clones and felt the wrath of Colm McFadden’s left foot in an Ulster semi-final. They still had Sam, but the Anglo Celt was snatched from their grasp by Donegal.

McMahon scored his first Championship point that afternoon, but it was a forgettable hour for the Red Hands.

“I was young and naive,” McMahon says, 15 years on.

“I didn’t think too much about it. I didn’t have as much baggage as others. Tyrone were riding the crest of a wave as All-Ireland champions and those boys were my heroes. All of a sudden, there I am, lining out alongside them.

“I was sort of in my own wee bubble. That day was an introduction to what the rivalry would be like.

“Donegal have really developed from then, though. They were the party boys back then, but McGuinness just brought them a totally different attitude and a want to work.”

In 2007, Donegal entered on the crest of a wave. Brian McIver guided Tir Chonaill to a Division One title in the spring and they managed to topple Armagh via a dramatic late goal by Kevin Cassidy.

Donegal were sitting ducks when they headed for Clones and were pummelled by Tyrone.

Four years later, though, it was a very different Donegal and the rivalry took a new meaning.

The margins of Donegal’s wins in the Ulster semi-finals of 2011 and 2012 were as thin as a cigarette paper. Tyrone were in danger of running away with it in 2011, but Donegal managed to hang onto the tails and 2012 is remembered for Paul Durcan’s wonder save to deny Martin Penrose.

Joe McMahon in action against Donegal’s Ryan Bradley

“The big difference in Donegal…as a Tyrone player, you didn’t fear them in a sense that you knew their mentality, their attitude, their mental strength wasn’t there before 2011,” McMahon says.

“There’s no doubt, 2011 was a turning point. McGuinness touches on that in the book he wrote, about the obsession they had with Tyrone, The obsession paid off. Tyrone were in control in 2011 and Donegal probably thought: ‘Here we go again’. But they had a mindset, a belief and a quality at that stage. That day was a massive day for Donegal. They didn’t fear Tyrone.

“That period was very intense for the rivalry between Donegal and Tyrone. Tyrone were probably coming to an end from the success that we had. Donegal were the new kids on the block.

“These games were always small margins and there’s an element of luck to it too. In a way, you make your own luck and when chances present themselves you just have to take them. Even look at us back in 2008, Dessie Dolan missing by inches on the outside of the post we’d have been gone or (Conor) Mortimer, in the (All-Ireland) quarter-final, blasting the ball over the bar, those are little things that go for any team during a campaign.”

Tyrone were drummed into Donegal by McGuinness.

Week after week.

Night after night.

Rory Kavanagh recalls in his book, ‘Winning’: ‘It was Tyrone, not Armagh, who sat centre stage in Jim McGuinness’ mind from the very beginning. Mickey Harte was Jim McGuinness’ No.1 target…It was all Tyrone, Tyrone … Tyrone! At times, it seemed they were the only team he was interested in talking about…Beating Tyrone will; define us, he told us. Or losing to Tyrone will leave us nowhere, he told us.’

It was, as McMahon puts it, an ‘obsession’.

Former Tyrone player Joe McMahon

Tyrone, as Donegal had done for a decade beforehand, were now watching enviously as Donegal reached the summit. Ulster was won in 2011 and Sam Maguire captured in 2012.

The obsession had turned. Tyrone, by now, were obsessed with knocking Donegal off their perch.

McMahon says: “That’s fair to say. Donegal were up there and were the team everyone looked to beat. It was just a complete role reversal. The obsession was there.

“I remember us going to Ballybofey to play them and I have an image in my head of someone standing at the door of a house pointing out the back as if we were headed for the back door. That stuff was always there in the border towns. You felt that at the time.”

McMahon was sent off in a preliminary round game in 2013, when Donegal – as the defending All-Ireland champions – defeated the Red Hands in a hostile contest.

He says: “The build-up was feisty and there was a lot of frustrations. Part of your job as player is to control the emotions and use it to get the right result. I was disappointed that day because I felt we had a big chance to win it. It was a frustration about my own performance, our performance.”

It was a day remembered for Niall Morgan’s free-taking. The Tyrone goalkeeper was berated by Donegal’s supporters at The Town End and would rue the cupped-ear taunt after scoring an early point. The afternoon lengthened for Morgan and Tyrone with a series of wides.

“Maybe management should have had a plan B as it was unfair every time he walked up. Maybe they should have changed the kicker,” muses McMahon.

“That affected Niall. We knew the quality he possessed, but it was a difficult situation, Donegal supporters were chipping away and chanting at him. That was a distraction, but as a team-mate you’d be trying to do what you can to allow him hit the free.

“There was a sort of Galatasary feeling heading to Ballybofey. The small changing rooms, warm weather, a stuffy feeling and the smell of Deep Heat. You’d run out there, close to the crowd and there’d be a nice exchange of words with people in the crowd telling you just what they felt about you.

“That was just Ulster football and the emotions attached. You’re aware of that but you know getting that stuff from the crowd you must be doing something right.”

Tempers fray between Donegal and Tyrone players in a Championship clash

AS THE teams prepare for the latest instalment of their rivalry – tomorrow’s Ulster semi-final at Breffni Park will be their eighth Championship clash in nine years – McMahon believes last year’s win for Tyrone in a Super 8 meeting in Ballybofey was seismic.

Tyrone hadn’t won a Championship game in Ballybofey for 45 years and Donegal were unbeaten at the venue in League and Championship football since 2010.

Tyrone, though, powered home in the final quarter.

“Last year winning there was a huge weight off Tyrone’s shoulders,” McMahon says.

“Some players, because of where they live or whatever, might be a wee bit more bitter. They’d listen to stuff growing up, or they’d have their own history. But you always want to go and prove a point.

“It’s almost become like a club rivalry, it seems very parochial. ‘We’re just as good as them and we have to prove that’ sort of a thing. I think the pressure is off Tyrone this weekend, but Donegal are sitting quietly and that’s a danger for me.”

His heart tells him that Tyrone will have ‘too much’, but the head delivers a reminder.

“I imagine Donegal’s game plan will be a sharp, fast start, keep themselves in the game for as long as they can. They did that in 2011 and 2012…”

A lucky EuroMillions player from Donegal could see their own name added to Ireland’s Rich List tonight!

Whoever scoops the €130 million jackpot will go straight in at number 124, above Irish golfer, Rory McIlroy; Irish businessman, Ben Dunne; and Irish actor Liam Neeson if they win tonight’s massive EuroMillions jackpot.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s EuroMillions Mega Draw, Dermot Griffin, Chief Executive of the National Lottery said: “Every so often EuroMillions gives back to its players by offering special draws. Together with the National Lottery’s EuroMillions partners, we have boosted the jackpot to an incredible €130 million.”

“This is the largest EuroMillions jackpot since the Naul Family Syndicate won €175.4 million on a ticket sold in Co. Dublin in February – the highest ever jackpot won in Ireland.

“We are expecting huge interest from our players who hope to become Ireland’s 15th EuroMillions jackpot winner. It would be incredible to get a second Irish EuroMillions jackpot winner in the space of a few months”.

Ireland ranks as the third luckiest country when it comes to Euromillion jackpot wins per capita, behind Portugal and Luxembourg.[2]

To be in with a chance of being the 15th lucky Irish EuroMillions jackpot winner, play EuroMillions in-store, on the National Lottery App or online by 7:30pm this Friday.

Here is the roll call of the lucky 14 Irish EuroMillions jackpot winners to date:

July 2005: Dolores McNamara from Limerick, was Ireland’s first and biggest EuroMillions winner scooping over €115 million.

July 2008: A lucky player from Co. Tipperary won a €15 million jackpot with a ticket bought in Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary.

June 2009: A family syndicate shared the jackpot with a British winner, taking home over €29.4 million with a ticket they purchased in Dublin.

June 2013: A winning ticket sold in Beaumount, Dublin, shared a EuroMillions jackpot worth over €187 million. A Dublin player earned half of the jackpot and picked up over €93 million.

September 2013: A young man from the South East shared a jackpot of over €25 million with a player in Spain, taking home over €12.8 million.

April 2014: A jackpot prize worth €15 million was claimed on a ticket sold in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

September 2014: An €86.7 million jackpot was won by a syndicate from Dublin. The ticket was sold in Centra, Ballybrack, Co. Dublin.

January 2016: A syndicate of friends won over €66 million, splitting the jackpot of €132,376,632. The ticket was sold in Eason’s store, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow.

July 2016: 22 colleagues from Dublin Bus won the €23.8 million. The ticket was sold in O’Hanlon’s Portarlington.

January 2017: A Dublin work syndicate claimed the €88.5 million EuroMillions jackpot. The winning ticket was sold at the Applegreen Service Station on the M1 Northbound in Lusk, Co. Dublin.

July 2017: A syndicate from the West of Ireland won a €29 million EuroMillions jackpot. The ticket was sold in Garryduff XL Store on Pound Road, Castlebar in Co. Mayo.

December 2017: A small family syndicate from Dublin won €38.9 million on a ticket purchased in The Village Shop in Malahide Shopping Centre

In June 2018: 32 colleagues from Stakelums Hardware store in Thurles Co. Tipperary share a €17 million EuroMillions jackpot with a ticket they purchased at Eason’s Store in Thurles Shopping Centre in Co. Tipperary.

February 2019: The Naul Family Syndicate won €175.4 million on a ticket sold in Reillys Daybreak in Naul, Co. Dublin.

An Inishowen gardener said he was ‘delighted’ to collect the viewers’ choice award last week when he took part in RTE’s Super Garden. 

Paddy McDermott, 35, who recently showcased his ‘Family Togetherness’ design on the RTÉ show gained the most votes to be crowned Super Garden Viewers’ Choice Award winner.

Paddy McDermott with his wife Lynn and daughter Fianna

The Burt man recently featured on the gardening show when he created a ‘Family Togetherness’ design for Kieran and Olivia Kelly from Letterkenny.

McDermott competed against four other gardeners designers on the show but missed out on seeing his garden showcased at the Bloom 2019 garden festival in Dublin.

Paddy McDermott (middle) competed against four other gardeners designers on the show

Speaking after collecting the award, McDermott said: “I know the support from all around Donegal and beyond has been amazing.

“It is an honour to know that people chose my garden, I’m delighted.”

This is what the Kelly’s garden looked like before McDermott’s transformation:

Credit: RTÉ

The garden is now completely transformed with a chill-out space with coloured beanbags for children with potted Bamboo for privacy.

He also has a place for the adults with a raised patio under a wooden pergola with a nest seat to swing out under the lavender bed underneath.

Paddy also brought in a Japanese Acer as his centrepiece that is surrounded by Japanese forest grass.

A water feature is also positioned behind a glass panel on the back wall and spills into a stream running under the patio and can be seen through a reinforced glass panel in the patio floor.

Credit: RTÉ

Credit: RTÉ

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Paddy as in the weeks he had to complete the garden transformation he had bad weather including rain, snow and hail to contend with.

He got there in the end and produced an amazing garden that has a little something for everyone.

Ollie Horgan says Finn Harps must enter Saturday’s meeting with Dundalk in a positive mindset.

Harps have lost their last three League encounters, but did obtain one of their points in their first game against the Lilywhites at Finn Park.

Dundalk have found their mojo since, however, and are top of the table ahead of their latest visit to Finn Park.

“It’s a huge test, but it’s great to have them coming to Finn Park,” Horgan told Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub.

“It’s something to look forward to. We have nothing to lose in it. There will be very little expectation. They’re absolutely flying. We have to go with a positive mind.”

Harps scored three goals last Friday night at Dalymount Park, but still lost 5-3 against Bohemians.

Horgan said: “The disappointing thing was we scored three goals against the best defensive record in the country. They’re certainly up there. Bohs are up there because of their defensive record. To score three and be comfortably beaten is disappointing.”

Listen to the full interview below …

Kelly’s Toyota are hosting their 192 New Generation Event this week to showcase all the offers on their new generation hybrid and petrol models.

The unmissable event runs from now until Saturday 8th June 2019 at Kelly’s Toyota, Port Road Letterkenny and Drumbeigh Mountcharles.

For the first time, all of Toyota’s new generation self-charging hybrid and petrol vehicles will be on display together.

The Corolla Hatchback, Saloon and Touring Sport will all be on show, as well as the Camry, RAV4, Prius, Yaris, and not forgetting Ireland’s best-selling hybrid, the Toyota C-HR.

Fantastic offers will be in place during the New Generation event, for both hybrid and petrol models. With trade-in boosters of up to €3,000, APR’s from 2.9% on passenger cars and 1.9% on commercial vehicles, it has never been easier for Irish drivers to upgrade to Toyota’s new generation models.

Toyota’s self-charging hybrids, which are in electric mode on average over 50% of the time, produce less harmful emissions and allow drivers to make fuel savings on every trip. As an added advantage, all Toyota hybrids are automatic cars. There has been a surge in customers switching from diesel to a self-charging hybrid in the last year and with demand high, customers are encouraged to visit early to avoid disappointment in securing a 192 Toyota.

Kelly’s Toyota, Port Road, Letterkenny

Summer 2019 also sees the return of the legendary, Land Cruiser Business model with a limited amount of first arrivals landing in July. Customers will also be able to inquire and place their orders during the New Generation event.

There’s never been more choice and for 192 there’s more value too.

It’s time to visit Kelly’s Toyota, Port Road Letterkenny & Drumbeigh Mountcharles from 5th -8th June for their 192 New Generation Event.

Demand is high, so don’t miss out.

Toyota, Built for a Better World.

The Tyrone manager, Mickey Harte, has made two changes to his side for tomorrow’s Ulster SFC semi-final against Donegal.

Michael McKernan and Conor McAliskey have been elevated into the starting XV for the game at Breffni Park (throw-in 5pm).

Rory Brennan and Hugh Pat McGeary are the men to make way from the Tyrone side that overcame Antrim two weeks ago.

Tyrone Starting V. Donegal

1 N Morgan

2 P Hampsey

3 R McNamee

4 M McKernan

5 T McCann

6 B McDonnell

7 M Cassidy

8 C Cavanagh

9 R Donnelly

10 M Donnelly

11 N Sludden

12 F Burns

13 C McShane

14 P Harte

15 C McAliskey

— Tyrone GAA (@TyroneGAALive) June 7, 2019

South Inishowen councillor Nicholas Crossan has been named as Cathaoirleach of the newly-formed Donegal County Council.

The Independent councillor has taken up the chain of office today at the first sitting of the 2019-2024 council in Lifford.

It is understood that parties met this week to decide to elect the Buncrana man as chairman. His appointment was formally proposed by Cllr Ian McGarvey and seconded by Cllr Frank McBrearty.

Cllr Crossan, who has 25 years of experience in politics, won the fourth seat in the Buncrana Electoral Area with 1,527 votes in the May local elections.

A total of 37 councillors will take their seats at County House in Lifford with a number of new faces.

Donegal County Councillors take their seats in the Lifford Chamber

Proceedings were delayed for an hour and a half due to meetings outside the chamber.

Notable people missing are outgoing Cathaoirleach Seamus O Domhnaill and veteran Fianna Fail councillor Enda Bonner who were among those who failed to be re-elected.

The chairs for the council’s six strategic policy groups will also be decided upon today as well as who will sit on the 39 various committees and boards.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, has said his party has agreed to back the proposal to introduce a ban on the farming of mink for the production of fur in Ireland.

The Inishowen TD said there has been much public concern expressed around the welfare of animals farmed for fur in recent years.

Over a dozen EU member States have prohibited the activity.

But Ireland has not imposed a ban and Donegal plays host to two of the farms in Glenties.

Deputy McConalogue said “In Ireland, the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) and recently, Veterinary Ireland, have also called for such a ban on animal welfare grounds.

“Following discussion with the party’s Frontbench and Parliamentary Party, these proposals have been backed by my colleagues. There was clear agreement that the government should immediately enter in consultation with stakeholders regarding the introduction of a ban on fur farming.

“We also agreed that the government must agree a compensation package for the remaining three fur establishments in the State. This precedent has taken place in other jurisdictions e.g. the UK, where this activity has been prohibited.

“Today, I have put a motion on the Dáil order paper calling for the government to introduce a ban along with a request for consultation with stakeholders and to bring forward a compensation package for operators.

“I am glad that my party is taking a pragmatic leadership role on this issue and look forward to seeing this policy carried through in the time ahead,” he concluded.

TG4 Ulster champions Donegal have made three changes to the side beaten by Galway in the Lidl NFL Division 1 semi-final for their championship opener against Tyrone on Saturday.

Donegal and Tyrone clash in a double-header alongside their male counterparts at Kingspan Breffni (2.45pm), with a provincial semi-final against Cavan on offer for the winners.

Donegal’s last competitive outing was defeat to Galway on April 20 and manager Maxi Curran has retained 12 of the team that started on that occasion.

TG4 All Star Treasa Doherty, Roisin Rogers and Kate Keeney come into the team for the meeting with the Red Hands, in place of Niamh Boyle, Megan Ryan and Elaine Melaugh.

Tyrone, meanwhile, have nine of the team that lined out in the 2018 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final victory over Meath starting against Donegal, as they prepare for a return to the senior ranks.

Donegal (v Tyrone): A McColgan; A.M. McGlynn, E Gallagher, R Rodgers; N Carr, N McLaughlin, T Doherty; K Herron, E McGinley; K Guthrie, K Keaney, A Boyle Carr; N Hegarty, G McLaughlin, S McGroddy. 

Tyrone (v Donegal): S Lynch; C Hunter, J Barrett, C Conway; S McCarroll, N McGirr, E Brennan; E.J. Gervin, N Woods; N Hughes, M Canavan, A McHugh; N O’Neill, M Mallon, C Kelly.

Independent councillor Niamh Kennedy has been elected as Leas-Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council.

The South Donegal councillor was appointed to the role at today’s AGM of the newly-formed council in Lifford.

Cllr Kennedy, from Killybegs, topped the poll in her electoral area in the local elections. This is her second term in local politics.

She will take on the role of vice-chairperson alongside new Cathaoirleach Nicholas Crossan.

Cllr Kennedy’s election was proposed by Cllr Frank McBrearty and seconded by Cllr John O’Donnell.

Chloe Magee has been announced as the Irish flag bearer for the European Games in Minsk later this month.

Raphoe woman Magee was confirmed today by the Olympic Federation of Ireland as the flag bearer.

Magee will have the honour of carrying the Irish tricolour to the opening ceremony at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk on June 21.

A total of 65 Irish sports people will participate across nine of the 15 sports at the second edition of the European Games.

Magee – who has competed at the Olympic Games in 2008, 2012 and 2016 – will be joined on the Irish badminton team for the Games by brothers Sam and Joshua and her niece Rachael Darragh.

The European Games in Minsk will see over 4000 athletes from 50 countries compete across 200 events. Irish athletes will be competing in five of the eight sports that are part of the Tokyo 2020 Qualification process; archery, athletics, badminton, cycling road, judo and shooting.

The new Donegal County Council has set up six new committees to address priority issues in the county over the next five years.

As the 37 councillors sat for their first AGM in Lifford today, they decided to establish groups based on problems raised to them during canvassing in May. They are: MICA redress, Emergency Planning, Brexit, Fisheries, Agriculture, and a Donegal County Health Committee.

On the future of MICA redress, North Inishowen Fianna Fáil Cllr Martin McDermott said:

“I think it is vitally important that we start off this new term with a clear road ahead in relation to MICA. Families living in the nightmare that they are living in over the last 6,7,8 years, it has to be resolved.”

As the government delivers funding for redress on MICA-affected homes Cllr McDermott said the council must react to get the scheme up and running.

He added: “I feel now as a council the ball is going to be kicked back into our court and we are the ones that are going to have to deliver here in this county.”

The Emergency Planning committee was set up to set out a protocol for flooding, gorse fires and severe weather events in Donegal. They will meet twice annually.

“This obviously is a very important committee as the weather is so unpredictable and ever-changing. We have very limited resources in this county and such a large county of coast and inland and we have an awful lot of challenges. As the saying goes: Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.”

The Brexit committee plans to meet bimonthly to make plans to prepare Donegal for Brexit and invite Oireachtas members and SPC chairs.

Sinn Féin Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher said: “Brexit is going to be a massive issue and we are living in this county in complete unknown.”

She added: “We have to be as ready as we can be. We have lobbying to do, solutions to come up and coming together, through this committee, as representatives of the county will give greater weight to the outcome.”

Independent Cllr Niamh Kennedy said the Fisheries committee will include Inland Fisheries members.

“There are loads of issues around our inland fisheries, whether it be safety, quotas and there has always been that want to include fisheries in talks,” Cllr Kennedy said.

Cllr Bernard McGuinness said that Agriculture is the largest industry in Donegal and stressed the importance of supporting farmers.

The Fine Gael Cllr said: “There are many difficulties faced in the farming industry but there are many organisations representing many sectors, it would be our hope that we can bring those organisations into work with our committee to examine the difficulties and see can we liaise with government on them.

“But also to support farming communities in every way we can, supporting agricultural shows, supporting one of the biggest problems they have – the insurance industry,” Cllr McGuiness added. 

The Donegal County Health Committee was proposed by Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher, who said it was in response to ‘heart wrenching’ and ‘unspeakable’ stories from the public shared during the canvassing period.

The committee will give the public a voice on health issues with 12 council members, Oireachtas members and administration staff alongside health service representatives and lobby groups.