A team of climate aware students from Scoil Mhuire Buncrana have won recognition in the national Young Environmentalist Awards.

The 27-strong group picked up an award in the Senior Eco-Community Development Category for their positive eco efforts in their community over two years.

After starting their project back in 2018, the group has written articles to create awareness on climate change, striked in support of Greta Thunberg, introduced bike racks to encourage more eco-friendly transport methods and have promoted the use of reusable products. Teacher Denise Dowds, a climate ambassador and climate hero 2018, has been with the group as they made their ecofriendly dreams come true.

The CLI-MATES goal is to have a cli-mate group in every school across Ireland. They are also working towards publishing a book on climate change.

Now in their 21st year, the Young Environmentalist Awards hosted by ECO-UNESCO recognises the efforts made by young people aged 10 to 18 years old across Ireland who have worked towards improving the environment. ECO-UNESCO, Ireland’s Environmental Education and Youth Organisation has seen over 50,000 young people involved in the Young Environmentalist Awards since 1999.

Nine artists from Donegal have made a stellar contribution to a special auction this week in aid of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.

The artists will remain anonymous until their work is sold and sent to the successful purchaser. The buyer will then find the artist’s signature on the back of the artwork.

The  INCOGNITO – Part Two  Collection will be auctioned on Thursday to raise much-needed funds for Jack & Jill as they help struggling families across Ireland.

Seven Donegal families utilised the Jack and Jill foundation’s services in April this year, with 65 local families to date this year seeking help from the charity.

Purchasing just one painting is the equivalent of three hours of specialist nursing home care for any one of these families.  

Supported by William Fry, the affordable, accessible, and imaginative online collection of 978 original pieces of art, all donated to the charity, began previewing on Monday 11th May on www.incognito.ie; with the online sale starting at 10am on 28th May.    

The original artworks will be sold online on a first-click-first-served basis for €50 each, with the exciting prospect of acquiring a very valuable piece of art.  

Featuring both Irish and international artists, the virtual gallery is a joy to browse, and features art from members of the Munster rugby squad alongside art from Bruce and Patti Springsteen, Una Sealey, The Project Twins, Vincent Devine, Martin Mooney, Mick O’Dea, Sylvia Parkinson Brown, Victor Richardson, Martin Gale, Guggi, Bridget Flinn and Adrian+Shane to name but a few.  

‘We had over 15,000 visitors to the Incognito online store to buy 1,814 artworks at the first sale last month, raising over €90,000 for Jack & Jill within 15 minutes, and we are hoping to repeat this success with INCOGNITO  – PART TWO, when the charity most needs this fundraising boost’ said Bryan Bourke, Managing Partner of William Fry.  

Carmel Doyle, CEO of the Jack & Jill Foundation added: “Each €50 purchase equates to 3 hours of specialist home nursing care for one of our 340 Jack & Jill families. The Foundation provides specialist home nursing care and support to children with complex medical and life-threatening conditions, many of whom may never walk or talk or paint a picture themselves.”

To browse the artwork collection and pre-register for the 28th May sale please log on to www.incognito.ie    

Hundreds of homes are expected to be without water in the Finn Valley area until tomorrow.

Irish Water has confirmed that many homes will be without water until 10am tomorrow (Sat).

It is due to necessary repairs on a pump after an incident to a pump caused by the weather.

The areas hit include Dooish, Kinletter, Drumboe, Dunwiley, Ballybofey, Killygordon, Castlefin, parts of Lifford, Convoy, Raphoe and many other townlands in the Finn Valley area.

Irish Water also warned that it may take two to three hours after the repairs are completed at 10am on Saturday morning for water to be fully restored to all areas.

Cllr Patrick McGowan said he has been informed of the outages.

He understands the outage is as a result of problems at main Finn Valley treatment plant and reservoir at Lough Mourne.

It is understood that possible water outage followed by discolouration over next few hours will be widespread in the area.

It is understood the wind is blowing grass and vegetation against the water intake filter also.

Fears over high winds at St Eunans GAA Club in Letterkenny have resulted in Covid testing being cancelled today.

Large marquees housing the test bays at O’Donnell Park were inspected yesterday amid high winds.

With a further yellow wind warning for today, a decision has been made to cancel testing today (Sat).

The large marquees were taken down yesterday.

It is hoped the testing centres will be back up and running again once the weather warning has passed.

Testing is scheduled to resume again at the Letterkenny centre on Sunday afternoon, weather permitting.

The Letterkenny club has been at the forefront in the community fight against Covid.

At the start of the pandemic concerns, the club contacted the HSE with a view to housing a drive-thru test centre.

Manned by medical professionals and club volunteers, the centre has tested hundreds of people for Covid in recent weeks.

THREE Donegal men will climb a mountain 20 times over a 48-hour period next month to raise money for a baby girl who needs life-saving surgery.

Little Olivia Mulhern, whose father, Keith, is from Donegal Town, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) this year.

The best hope for a better life for Livie is a once-off gene therapy called Zolgensma, which is currently only available in USA and costs over $2 million.

A fundraising campaign which began around two weeks ago has raised almost €350,000.

Donegal GAA coach Aaron Kyles along with James McGroary and Kevin McBrearty will climb Carnaween mountain in Letterkenny 20 times on the weekend of June 5-7. The trip will camp overnight during their endeavour, which will see them climb the equivalent of Everest.

Little Livie.

They aim to raise €10,000 from the mammoth hike and a GoFundMe page has already raised over €7,700. To donate, click here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/everest-for-olivia

Without treatment, Olivia’s condition would continue to deteriorate and it would be unlikely she would survive past her second birthday.

Her parents, Keith and Karen, are doing everything they can to provide the quality of life for their child.

The condition affects just one of 10,000 babies and means a deterioration of Livie’s nerve cells connecting her brain and spinal cord to her body’s muscles.

Luxury self-catering accommodation at Arranmore lighthouse and new facilities for the Dunlewey Centre are among four projects allocated Government funding today, Minister Joe McHugh has announced.

The projects are being funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development through its Leader programme.

Minister McHugh says the projects included are:

· To renovate and update two Lightkeepers Dwellings at Arranmore Lighthouse to high standard to provide luxury self-catering rental accommodation – grant €34,000

· To Improve at play facilities for children at Dún Luiche Lakeside Centre. The centre has been operating as a tourism axis for 28 years and the facilities are in need of improvement- grant €48,000

· The old school in Bun an Inbhir is to be extended to build two new toilets, one is to be unisex and the second to accessable to those with disabilities – grant €12,000

· To re-roof the Mín an Aoire Centre as well as install a soundproof panel – grant €36,000.

“I want to congratulate all those hard-working community groups who do such much here in Donegal,” said Minister McHugh.

“The Leader programme is vital for our rural communities seeking to expand facilities and services for residents in their areas.

“I want to thank all community organsations for that work, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis recently.”

The Minister revealed that Donegal has the highest allocations of Leader funding of any county in the country and is amongst the highest in the country when it comes to take-up rates.

“There is an allocation of more than €10.5M for Donegal,” said McHugh.

“So far 172 projects in Donegal have been approved for funding with an allocation of €7.3M already. Another 26 projects are being assessed with an expected allocation for those different schemes of €2.2M.

“Once again I want to welcome today’s funding for Arranmore, Dún Luiche, Bun an Inbhir and Min An Aoire and I want to thank Minister Ring and all those involved in Leader projects in Donegal for their vital work.

“Comhghairdeas mór le na grúpaí uilig fríd an chontae a bhfuair maoiniú inniu fríd an Scéim Leader.

“Tá súil agam go ndéanfaidh an infheistíocht seo difear mór do na grúpaí seo agus iad ag cur a gceantracha chun cinn agus a gcuid áiseanna ar fáil ar mhaitheas muintir na gceantracha seo agus do thurasóirí chomh maith. Guím gach rath orthu uilig amach anseo.”

Daniel O’Donnell and wife Majella have impressed fans with an amazing performance on RTE’s Late Late Show.

The couple were described as a “breath of fresh air” by Late Late Show viewers.

The pair spoke of missing their grandchildren while the country is in lockdown.

However, Daniel admitted that he’s grateful for technology to help them keep in touch with family.

Majella said: “We’re absolutely missing them and the thing is Archie’s only two and at that age, we haven’t seen them since January.”

Daniel added: “But you know we’re on the WhatsApp and the video. It’s terrific really that we have technology and Olivia has a guitar, she’s five and she says to me a few days ago ‘Grandad will I play you a song?’ I said, ‘I’d love that’.

“When she finished strumming for me she says, ‘where’s nana? I’ll play nana a tune too’ and Archie has a mouth organ.”

Majella made a plea for people at home to donate to St Vincent de Paul as the charity’s funding has taken a hit due to the coronavirus crisis.

She said: “It’s times like this and times of difficulty I feel very proud to be irish. People are just fantastic.

St Vincent de Paul have been around 150 years supporting everybody. It’s in every community at ground level.

“All their shops have closed, all their collections have closed and they desperately need funds.

“I’m aware that every week they’re being asked to support some charity or another and here I am again asking people please please, if you can, it is such a worthwhile charity.”

An investigation has been launched by Gardai amidst claims that Irish people living in Australia are claiming emergency Covod payments here.

Investigators from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau believe dozens of people from Ireland have been receiving payments into their bank accounts here despite living in Oz.

It’s understood the claims were made by people who claimed they were unemployed and still living in Ireland.

A number of payments have already been cancelled as Gardai have verified that those claiming no longer live here.

The Government rushed to hand out payments to ensure that everyone received some income due to the sudden nature of the closure of many jobs.

A Garda source said those found guilty of the fraud will face the full arm rigours of the law.

A source said “The country is doing its best and the Government has tried to be as fair as it can to people. And these you get this happening.

“Many people are still scraping by and are observing lockdown.

“The people doing this would need to take a good look at themselves. They are not only defrauding the Department but they are conning their neighbours and friends.”

The Irish Sun has also reported how fraud investigators – part of the gardai’s Special Crime Operations – have identified how fraudsters in Pakistan and Romania are applying for the €350 payment.

The investigation was launched after banks noticed a number of “suspicious transactions”.

As part of their probe, they established how five payments had been made to one account. A number of searches were also undertaken by gardai on Thursday in connection with the probe.

In some cases, the fraudsters are using the identities of people they have obtained by hacking personal email accounts to make applications for payments.

A Lifford man who has been convicted of drink-related motoring offences three times in less than six months has been warned he will go to jail if caught again.

Michael Doherty appeared at Letterkenny District Court where he was charged with being drunk in control of a vehicle.

Gardai told how they had been informed of a black Ford Focus with a 2012 registration driving dangerously from Lifford on the afternoon of January 23rd, 2019.

At St Patrick’s Terrace in Ballindrait just before 3pm they noticed a similar car.

The driver of the car, Michael Doherty, was in the driver’s seat with the engine turned on and his seatbelt on.

Gardai said they could smell alcohol from his breath and his eyes were heavy and bloodshot.

He was arrested and a breath sample showed a reading of 116 microgrammes of breath per 100 millilitres of blood.

The court heard how 41-year-old Doherty from Aghawee in Lifford had six previous convictions.

Judge Paul Kelly noted this was the third conviction for alcohol-related motoring offences in the past six months.

Doherty has since been banned from driving but was not banned when he was stopped on this occasion, the court noted.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Kieran Dillon said his client had been staying with a friend and had bought a takeaway of alcohol but had consumed it on this occasion.

He said Doherty was going through a tough time but was trying to address his alcohol issues and to get to a better place.

Judge Kelly fined Doherty €350 and warned him that he will be forced to take a more draconian disposal for future transgressions.

Met Eireann has said that Donegal is to suffer the brunt of a weather warning for today.

AThe national forecaster is the warning at 9am today.

It specifically warned that the northwest would get the brunt of some severe weather, and issued a status yellow wind warning for Donegal.

The warning advises that southwesterly winds will reach mean speeds of 50 of 65 km/h, with gusts of 80 to 90 km/h.

The warning will remain in place until 6pm this evening.

The general advisory notice, which is also in effect until 6pm this evening, warns: “Unseasonably windy weather is expected to affect the country during the period. Given the time of year, there is potential for wind-related impacts such as debris from trees and movement of unsecured outdoor items”

Gardaí Kieran Langan and Mark O’Sullivan hope to set a blistering pace without many blisters today.

The two Milford-based Gardai set off at 5am at Milford Garda Station to do 100,000 steps for Make A Wish Ireland.

The lads will do a 3.3km loop of Milford throughout today and repeat it many times.

Their challenge will amount to the equivalent of 2 marathons and they are raising funds to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.

They hope to complete their challenge in 13 or 14 hours.

Give them a toot of your horn or say hello if you’re out walking in that area.

Better still if you have a spare euro or two then donate it to the link below and make some child’s wish come through.

Best of luck lads.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/100000stepsformakeawish

Today should have been a very special day for second class pupils at St Safans National School in Doneyloop.

The children were due to make their First Holy Communion which has now been deferred because of the Covid pandemic.

However, this week the disappointed children received some cheer with not one and not two but three surprises.

Each child received a card in the post yesterday from Ms Tracey McBride, Principal at the school.

Then a special video message of well wishes from staff and pupils was posted on their Facebook page this morning.

And to top it all off they had a real-life surprise when teacher Ms Rose Burke paid them all a social distant visit.

Mrs Burke also dropped a little gift bag to each house.

She was guided ’round the rural countryside area of Doneyloop by parent and postman John Crawford on his day off!

A spokesperson for the school thanked all parents, staff and children for making the day so special.

Everyone feels very connected while apart!

The Guinness Express is set to roll again on the streets of Buncrana!

O’Flaherty’s Bar was previously prevented from operating their delivery service of pints of plain after Gardai confiscated 20 pints of porter.

It followed complaints from some members of the public over the service.

However, it has now been confirmed that pubs will now be able to operate during the Covid-19 lockdown, subject to certain restrictions, because of a “lack of clarity” in the liquor licensing laws.

Donegal Daily understands that O’Flahertys is planning to resume their delivery service because of local demand but not this evening because of poor weather conditions.

Garda Headquarters has sought legal advice on pubs delivering drinks and selling takeaway beverages from their premises and has been told that both practices do not contravene liquor licensing laws.

As long as drinks, including poured pints, are paid for on a licensed premises they can be delivered to customers.

Takeaway sales are also permitted once those buying drinks in that manner consume them more than 100 metres away from a pub and not in a public place.

The legal advice received by Garda headquarters is being circulated to every Garda member in the country.

It means pubs can operate delivery and off-sales as an “essential service” during the lockdown, like supermarkets, pharmacies, hardware stores and some other businesses.

However, after the legal advice received in recent days, such deliveries will be possible once the drinks are paid for in advance to a person on a pub’s premises.

“Holders of on-licences may deliver intoxicating liquor to consumers for consumption in their private residences where the sale takes place at the licensed premises,” the legal advice states.

“The law is unclear whether it is lawful for holders of on-licences to pour, prepare or decant intoxicating liquor at the delivery location, which is a public place. Therefore no offence is committed.”

Photo and video: Owen Clarke Photography

Tory Coast Guard was tasked to assist fishermen as huge waves lashed the pier of Tory Island yesterday.

Stormy conditions struck the Donegal coast on Friday, bringing gale force winds and dangerous sea conditions.

Dramatic footage from Tory Island shows a fishing boat being pounded by strong waves during the storm. The boat was rapidly taking in water and filling faster than fishermen could empty it. The Coast Guard was called to their aid to pump out water and bring the situation under control.

Strong stormy conditions are continuing across Donegal today, with a Status Yellow wind warning in place for the county until 6pm. Southwesterly winds will reach mean speeds of 50 of 65 km/h, with gusts of 80 to 90 km/h.

Met Eireann also has a Status Yellow Marine Gale Warning in place on Irish coastal waters. There is a Small Craft Warning due to southwest to west winds reaching force 6 or 7 today on Irish Coasts from Fair Head to Carnsore Point to Erris Head.

A local business is encouraging others to carry out random acts of kindness after painting the premises of another business for free.

KC Home Improvements were so impressed by a free food service for hospital staff that it decided to do something nice for Kitchen owners Pat and Amanda Brady.

The Letterkenny restaurant has been delivering food for over-worked staff at the hospital and other outlets.

A spokesperson for KC Home Improvements said “So we have started it off with giving back to this particular Letterkenny business by painting the outside of The Kitchen with no cost to them.

“It’s a big thanks for everything they have been doing for the staff at Letterkenny hospital.

“I’m sure people are aware of the amazing work they have been doing for the staff at Letterkenny hospital so it is well deserved so thank you.”

The business now want to encourage other people and businesses to do a random act of kindness for some business in the town or across Donegal or even for a neighbour.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to help them out in any way possible and cause a domino effect,” they asked.

#RandomActsOfKindness #SupportYourLocalBusinesses

Another 13 people have died from Covid-19, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has confirmed.

The new deaths bring the overall death toll here to 1,604 people.

As well as the deaths, a further 76 people were confirmed to have tested positive for the virus.

There is now a total of 24,582 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

The HSE is working to identify any contacts the patients may have had to provide them with information and advice to prevent further spread.

As of midnight on Thursday, when there were 24,451 confirmed cases:

* 57% are female and 43% are male

* 7,813 cases are associated with healthcare workers

* 3,211 cases (13%) have been hospitalised

* Of those hospitalised, 393 cases have been admitted to ICU

Majella O’Donnell has laughed off online trolls who claimed she and hubby Daniel took a private plane to appear on RTE’s Late Late Show.

The couple wowed audiences when they chatted about how much they are missing family and spoke out in support of the great work of St Vincent De Paul.

However, some criticised the couple for flying from Donegal to Dublin to appear at the RTE studios in Donnybrook.

Majella joked in the show that it felt like they had taken a “private jet’ as there had been so few people on the flight from Carrickfin.

One troll fumed: ‘Daniel O’Donnell talking about donating to charity when he flies in a private jet from Donegal to Dublin…..’

Others pointed out the reality that it was a public daily flight from Donegal Airport.

He pointed out ‘Gas how everyone thinks Daniel & Majella took a “private plane” from Donegal to Dublin today!

‘Does no one know about @DonegalA and their regional flight service? Facts before judgement!’

Majella retweeted the tweet with her own comment: ‘At last! Someone with common sense! Of course we didn’t take a private plane!!!’

‘It was a joke because there was only 3 of us on the plane it felt like a private plane,’ she said. ‘This flight operates every day to Dublin & has done for years.’

THE Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has urged the Irish public not to get ahead of themselves with regard to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

The first week of the first phase of the lifting of Ireland’s lockdown is not yet completed and, while the Minister acknowledged that, so far, things have been smooth, he warned people not to jump the gun.

The Health Minister said that the measures would not be in place longer than they ought to be and noted that moving through the phases was entirely dependent on the progress made in phase one.

Since the outbreak. 1,604 people have lost their lives from Covid-19 while there have been 24,582 positive cases.

TWO sheep gates were found on a Donegal road by Gardaí overnight

The gates were recovered on the R245 between Carrigart and Cranford.

For further details or to reclaim the property, contact Milford Garda Station on  074-9153060.

DONEGAL’S famous All-Ireland triumph from 1992 will feature next month as part of the latest series of All-Ireland Gold on TG4.

Two classic clashes are shown each Sunday on TG4 and the June schedule will include the ’92 final.

Rank underdogs Donegal toppled raging hot favourites Dublin 0-18 to 0-14 to win their first Sam Maguire.

Manus Boyle hit nine points while Donegal’s last score came from the boot of current senior manager Declan Bonner, whose clenched fist salute remains one of the abiding images of the day.

Ardara’s Anthony Molloy was the Donegal captain and his exclamation ‘Sam’s for the hills’ as he collected Sam will be forever in Donegal sport’s highlights reel.

The Donegal-Dublin game screens on TG4 at 2.35pm on Sunday, June 21.