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The hard-working students of St Columba’s College in Stranorlar are involved in a national competition to win solar panels for their school, and they need your help.
Simply check out their YouTube video below and give it a like.
Have a look and see all the inspiring work they’ve done through their ‘Sunny Side Out’ project on climate change and environmental issues.
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The responsible for the quality and safety of our food products.
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Closing Date for applications: 5th March 2020
A leading Donegal charity is looking to recover a lamp which was sold from its Donegal Town shop by mistake.
The lamp was in the Animals In Need shop and was sold on February 13th last.
However, it turns out that the lamp was mistakenly brought to the charity shop and is of great sentimental value to its original owner.
The lamp is described as being made of bog oak and its base is between 16 and 20 inches wide with a brass-coloured light fitting.
Please contact the Donegal Animals in Need if you have this lamp or know who bought it.
THE launch of the 2020 North West 10k Run & Walk will take place on Monday evening, March 2, at 7pm in Mount Errigal Hotel.
Last year, three charities – Little Angels School, Letterkenny; Donegal Cancer Flights & Services and Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Ireland, Donegal Branch – benefited to the tune of €51,020
The 24th North West 10k Charity Walk & Run will take place on Sunday, May 3 in Letterkenny.
Last year the three charities each received €17,000 each from the 23rd staging of the event.
The overall total raised since the Northwest 10k started in 1997 is now just over €827,000, benefitting over 30 charity organisations. On-line entries are now being taken for May’s charity event by going to northwest10k.com where runners and walkers will find all the information required.
Northwest 10k Chairperson Neil Martin said he was looking forward to naming the benefiting charities at Monday night’s launch. Work for the 2020 event started in October when expressions of interest were sought from charities in Donegal.
He said: “We started the process early and work for 2020 began in October when expressions of interest were invited.
“We interviewed the charities and outlined the volume of work that would be required.
“It is a big undertaking and it takes a lot of volunteers to make it a successful fundraiser for any charity.”
He also expressed his appreciation to the five sponsors. DonegalDaily.com and Brian McCormick Interpsports have been backers for a number of years.
Last year the committee went out and sought more sponsors and were delighted to secure the support of Century Cinemas, the Mount Errigal Hotel and the Value Centre.
Mr Martin also acknowledged the work done annually by the Gardai under the direction of Sergeant Eunan Walsh who worked closely with the 10k Traffic and Route Management members Neily McDaid and Brendan McDaid.
He said: “It takes a big team to run the event on the day so we have five chief stewards and they need over 60 marshals to cover the route.
“The Gardai’s expertise is vital to ensuring the safe running of the 10k. Every year we acknowledge the public and residents of Letterkenny for their continued support, despite some inconvenience during the day and this is much appreciated.
“We also have all the other sponsors who are listed on the sponsor cards who we want to thank again. Our committee does great work and shows great commitment to the North West 10k every year.”
The €50,000 raised last year was significantly higher than 2018 but then there were just two charities chosen. Breastcare North West and the Donegal Diabetes organization were each presented with cheques for €6,198 from the 22nd North West 10k charity Race and Walk. The total figure raised was €12,396.
The 21st Northwest 10k in 2017 lifted €19,284 for two charities. Cheque presentations of €9642 each were made to the Families and Friends of Abbey Village Kilmacrennan and the Donegal Sexual Abuse & Rape Crisis Centre.
PAUL BROWNE says yesterday’s Ulster final win has helped bring a smile back to St Eunan’s College.
A black cloud has hung over Sentry Hill of late. The school has had to attempt to come to terms with the death of student and talented sportsman Callum Friel, which rocked the corridors.
St Eunan’s have rallied around and yesterday their senior soccer team overcame Crana College 2-0 in the Ulster final at the Brandywell.
“It’s nice to bring a smile back to St Eunan’s,” Browne told Donegal Daily/Donegal Sport Hub.
“We’ve had a tough few weeks. Some of those lads have been through the mill. It’s great that those lads have something to bring back to Letterkenny.”
Dylan Doogan and Jack Dwyer netted the goals yesterday as St Eunan’s took the prize. Now, they face the Leinster champions (the Leinster final is to be played this Friday) next Tuesday in Monaghan.
Browne said: “I hope we can push on. I think if we can keep them fit we can push on and get something out of it. We still have a lot to do.”
Listen to the full interview below …
DONEGAL welterweight Matthew McCole lost out in last night’s Ulster Elite final at The Ulster Hall.
Illies Golden Gloves puncher McCole was beaten on a 4-1 split decision by Eugene McKeever (Holy Family, Drogheda).
Slippery southpaw McCole, who hails from Dungloe, had his moments and landed several sharp punches on defending champ McKeever.
The Mullaghbawn man stopped Pegasus puncher Dylan Duffy in the first round of last year’s final.
And McKeever showed his worth at times with some fire cracking shots.
McKeever overcame Edgar Vuskans in his semi-final while McCole – on the back of an Irish senior title win in November – defeated Tiernan Duffy to make to the final.
McKeever stayed patient throughout the three rounds and the hammer might have fallen either way after a game of inches.
It fell for McKeever on a wide split and it was agony for McCole, who could certainly feel hard done by.
An Inishowen school has taken the decision not to send pupils home from school after they returned from a school trip in Italy amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
A total of 72 pupils, as well as teachers from Carndonagh Community School returned from a ski trip last week.
The pupils stayed at a region north of Lombardi which is not a restricted area.
None of the pupils have shown any symptoms of the virus.
The school said they have liaised with the HSE and are following guidelines set down.
It has also given pupils the option to stay at home but no pupils have taken up this option.
A new snow and ice warning has been issued for Donegal as more wintry weather is due in the next few days.
Donegal remains on a yellow snow/ice alert until midday Thursday, as hail, sleet and snow are all set to continue in the north west.
There is a risk of ice and snow accumulations over high ground, according to Met Eireann.
Temperatures will remain below average throughout the week, with highs of just 4 – 7C today.
Frost and icy stretches with patchy lying snow to begin today. A cold and bright day will follow, with sunny spells and scattered showers. The showers mainly a mix of rain, hail and sleet, but snow showers still possible in the north and northwest. Highs of just 4 to 7 degrees. pic.twitter.com/5vdFmtVS8S
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 26, 2020
Temperatures will plunge again tonight to freezing levels and lows of -2C. Further snow showers are expected, leading to frost and icy conditions with lying snow.
Conditions will become “noticeably milder” on Friday before an unsettled weekend.
DONEGAL County Council hosted a Civic Reception for the Tug of War International Federation (TWIF) in the Public Service Centre in Letterkenny on Thursday.
The Governing body for the international sport of tug of war was in Letterkenny to oversee the World Indoor Tug of War Championship 2020.
The event takes place every second year and this year was held in the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny.
Speaking the Civic Reception, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Nicholas Crossan acknowledged the hard work and determination of Danny McGonigle from Clonmany in securing the Championships for Donegal.
He said: “It has been a long-held dream for Danny that Donegal would host the World Indoor Tug of War Championship and Donegal County Council are privileged to host a Civic Reception to honour such a world class event.”
Mayor of the Letterkenny /Milford Municipal District Cllr John O’Donnell echoed the sentiments of the Cathaoirleach, and also acknowledged the enormous tourism benefit and boost for the hospitality sector that an event of this size brought to Donegal.
A number of gift presentations were made and received by the Cathaoirleach and Mayor to acknowledge the event being held in Donegal and to mark the 60th anniversary of the TWIF.
The TWIF was represented by the President Anton Rabe and a number of representatives from the organisation.
There were 13 Countries with over 500 participants taking part in the Championships, including 2 local teams from Clonmany.
A Donegal County Councillor has accused the HSE of “putting up a smokescreen” over the failure to appoint a second breast surgeon for Letterkenny University Hospital.
Cllr Gerry McMonagle raised the issue at yesterday’s meeting of the Health Forum West in Galway.
A second full-time breast surgeon for the hospital was announced last year but there has still been no firm announcement on the appointment.
There is currently one full-time surgeon and a locum working in the region.
Cllr McMonagle was told that the HSE was still seeking further information and statistics before the official appointment of the new full-time surgeon.
However, the Sinn Fein councillor accused the HSE of hiding behind a smokescreen on the issue.
He added that once again it appeared that Donegal was being left out because of its geographical location which he said he simply did not accept.
“How many times have we been told that the HSE are finding it difficult to find a suitable candidate because of attracting the right people to the region.
“I simply don’t accept that. Donegal has so much to offer and people living here have an excellent quality of life.
“In Letterkenny where such professionals would be based we have services which are as good as anyone you will find,” he said.
He added that as far as he knew al the stats and information had been provided to the HSE a long time ago with regard to advertising and appointing a news breast surgeon.
He said the reality was now that Donegal is fast becoming one of the worst places in Ireland to become sick.
“Th reality is that if you live in Donegal and you become ill then you have to travel for treatment be that to Galway or Dublin. It is not good enough.
“People are spending days traveling for tests and spending money they simply don’t have on travel and staying overnight in hotels for a test or procedure that lasts a few minutes.
“The treatment of the people of Donegal is getting worse and worse and it has to stop,” he said.
LETTERKENNY University Hospital is to finally get its long-awaited Acute Stroke Unit.
Funding of €200,000 has been approved and hopes are high that the unit will be operational by this summer.
The issue was raised by way of a motion from Carndonagh-based Sinn Féin Councillor Doherty at yesterday’s Regional Health Forum West.
Ann Cosgrove, Chief Operations Officer of the Saolta University Health Care Group, informed Cllr Doherty that the €200,000 of funding had been secured.
Cllr Doherty confirmed that the recruitment of staff to be deployed to the unit will begin shortly.
“This is certainly the commencement of very positive news,” Cllr Doherty told Donegal Daily.
“It is envisaged that eventually there will be an eight-bed unit. This funding will allow for some staff recruiting to begin.
Professor Ken Mulpeter leading the protest at LUH demanding the opening of an Acute Stroke Unit
“While this does not allow for additional therapy support, that is lobbying for another day.
“The funding will enable the commencement and engagement on the first part of the staff recruiting to get the uni operating by May or June.”
In his motion to yesterday’s meeting, Cllr Doherty asked: ‘That the HSE and incoming government provide and deliver for LUH a new stroke unit, ensuring the immediate commitment from government and the HSE, to open a fully-funded, fully staffed Acute Stroke Unit at LUH for the people of the North West’.
LUH is currently the only acute hospital in Ireland that doesn’t have a vital Acute Stroke Unit.
Earlier this month, 1,000 protestors walked the grounds of the hospital demanding that a stroke unit be opened at LUH.
The protest was led by Consultant Geriatrician Professor Ken Mulpeter, who said the lack of basic services caused as many as 16 deaths or severe disabilities per year.
Cllr Doherty said: “I do believe that the role played by the people, the support from Donegal County Council and the issues that Mr Mulpeter brought to the fore has pushed this along.
“That there is no stroke support in Donegal currently is medically unjustified.”
In 2019, LUH had as many as 170 stroke patients.
An eight-bed dedicated unit was agreed for prior to the hospital flooding in 2013. It is said that three nurses, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and a health care assistant would be needed to open a unit.
A Buncrana school who had pupils on a ski trip to Italy has now sent home pupils who were on the trip amidst the ongoing coronavirus concerns.
Scoil Mhuire had originally advised parents not to be concerned after a group of students visited northern Italy last week.
The students were on a mid-term skiing trip in the Trento region and were allowed to return to the school this week.
However, in the past couple of hours parents of those pupils who were on the trip have been telephoned to collect their children.
One case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Trentino, but the Buncrana school students had visited the area two days prior to the infected person arriving in the area. The Trentino region is not currently in the lockdown area.
Management at Scoil Mhuire Buncrana had issued a Facebook notice last night to assure parents that no action is required with the returning students.
Parents were told that Deputy Principal, Mr Cathal Davis, contacted the HSE on Saturday to get advice regarding the coronavirus.
The statement said: “At this point, we were advised that no action was required. The person with the virus did not arrive in our ski area until last Friday and we had left two days earlier on the Wednesday. However, we will continue to liaise with the HSE and keep you updated.”
Any parent with any concerns has been advised to contact their GP or the HSE.
No new public posting has yet been released on the school’s Facebook page.
PETER O’Donnell was last night honoured for Services to Boxing by the Ulster Council.
The Raphoe man was recognised during the Ulster Elite finals at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.
The long-time boxing administrator and supporter took up his customary position as the ringside master of ceremonies for Ulster boxing’s showpiece night.
He is the voice of the country’s boxing stadia and the local halls with his distinctive tones bringing shows to life on a weekly basis.
O’Donnell was a founder member of Raphoe ABC in the late 1980s.
He has traveled the world in support of boxing and last year created history at the IABA’s annual convention when he was elected as a part of the eight-member Central Council – becoming the first Donegal Boxing member elected in the IABA’s 108-year history.
Leah Gallen with Raphoe ABC’s Peter O’Donnell
Peter is the President and PRO of the Donegal Boxing Board who works tirelessly to keep the sweet science at the forefront of the headlines locally.
He has also been Irish team manager at all levels including the 2015 European Elite finals in Bulgaria.
A seasoned traveller in support of his sport, he has been to most of Jason Quigley’s professional fights.
Last night, he was honoured by the Ulster Council alongside the great former European lightweight champion Charlie Nash European, former Olympic bronze medalist and pro boxer turned photographer Hugh Russell, Immaculate trainer Gerry ‘Nugget’ Nugent and St John Bosco secretary George Boyd.
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A man with an address in Donegal accused of murdering his wife during a boating holiday in County Fermanagh has gone on trial.
Lu Na McKinney, 35, died after entering the water at Devenish Island on Lough Erne in April 2017.
Her husband, Stephen McKinney, 43, denies the charge of murder on a date unknown between 11 and 14 April 2017.
The couple who lived in Convoy, had hired a cruiser with their two children for a three-night Easter break on Lough Erne.
Stephen McKinney, who lives in Castletown Square in Fintona, County Tyrone, but is originally from Strabane, claimed his wife had drowned in a tragic accident.
He told police his wife had fallen into the water after going to check the mooring ropes in the early hours of the morning.
He said his wife could not swim and he had jumped into the water.
Lu Na McKinney, 35, died after entering the water at Devenish Island on Lough Erne
He told a police officer that he had “tried my best to save her” but that she kept pulling him down.
Opening the prosecution case, Richard Weir QC said this was not a tragic accident and Stephen McKinney had caused his wife to enter the water.
He said she would have been incapacitated having taken a number of sleeping tablets obtained by her husband on the internet.
The lawyer said Mr McKinney had given conflicting accounts of how his wife had come to be in the lough.
He said the weather that night was good, with little wind, no rain, calm water and a full moon.
The prosecution lawyer claimed Stephen McKinney was “a controlling man who was tired of his wife but was not prepared to accept her divorcing him and all the consequences that would entail”.
Although a circumstantial case, he told the jury after hearing the strands of evidence “you’ll be sure that Stephen McKinney killed his wife”.
The jury of seven men and five women at Dungannon Crown Court have been told they will hear evidence from more than 100 witnesses.
The trial is expected to last eight weeks.
All routes across Donegal will be gritted this evening.
The county council will send out its team of gritters from 4pm.
The following routes will be gritted:
06: Inishowen West
04: Inishowen South
01: National Primary North
02: National Primary Central
03: National Primary South
07: Milford South
08: Milford North
09: Cill Ulta East
10: Cill Ulta West
11: Na Rosa
12: Binswilly
13: Stranorlar North
14: Stranorlar East
15: Stranorlar West
16: Donegal West
17: Donegal North
18: Donegal South
19: Donegal National Secondary
05: Inishowen East
BT: Buncrana Town
LT: Letterkenny Town
THE SSE Airtricity League Premier Division have announced the rescheduling of two games, including Finn Harps’ clash with Shelbourne.
The Harps-Shelbourne game on Monday was called off due to weather conditions.
Officials have announced that the game now take place on Monday, March 16, with kick-off at 7.45pm.
The St Patrick’s Athletic-Derry City game, which was also postponed on Monday, will also take place on the same date.
The EA SPORTS Cup first round fixture dates and kick-off times have also been confirmed with the full first round schedule below:
Sunday, March 8
Cabinteely v Crumlin United, Stradbrook, 3.30pm
Monday, March 9
Drogheda United v UCD AFC, United Park, 7.45pm
Tuesday, March 10
U.C.C. v Cobh Ramblers, Mardyke Sports Ground, 7.30pm
Galway United v Athlone Town, Eamonn Deacy Park, 7.45pm
Longford Town v Cockhill Celtic, Bishopsgate, 7.45pm
Wexford v Bray Wanderers, Ferrycarrig Park, 7.45pm
THE Ulster Council has confirmed the arrangements for Saturday’s EirGrid Ulster Under-20 Championship semi-finals.
Donegal Under-20s will face Down at The Loup on Saturday at 2.30pm.
Donegal showed nerves of steel in torrid conditions at the weekend to beat fancied Monaghan in a quarter-final at Pairc Aodh Ruadh, Ballyshannon.
Shaun Paul Barrett’s team are eyeing up a final charge as they head for Saturday’s semi-final.
In the other semi-final, Antrim meet Tyrone at Lavey, also at 2.30pm.
A man has been arrested in Letterkenny after a spate of suspected shoplifting crimes.
The man was apprehended in The Elms housing estate and a quantity of property recovered.
The PSNI were investigating the man who is suspected of offending in both Derry and Strabane areas.
The man is expected to appear at a future sitting of the local court.
LETTERKENNY Institute of Technology took a memorable victory in the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Corn Padraig Mac Diarmada Senior 7s Hurling Championship.
The LyIT men had a superb afternoon in Abbotsown where they claimed the silverware.
LyIT overcame Marino College and TU Blanchardstown in the group phase.
In the final, LyIT defeated DkIT 2-5 to 0-9. Nigel Flood from Tipperary bagged both the LyIT goals in the final.
