A community alert has been issued in the Ardara, Glenties and Killybegs area following reports that a group of men have been calling to house offering power washing and painting services. 

Gardai have issued an alert to the public to be on the lookout for a white van offering such services.

Gardai feel the service may be a cover for a gang who are building up security information on houses with a view to committing burglaries in the area.

Community groups in the area are planning a meeting with Gardai in the coming days.

A total of 28 dogs have been seized from a house in Lifford in what have been described as “appalling conditions.”

The dogs were found in a horrific state.

The dogs, both pups and adults, were found after a man contacted Donegal Pet Rescue to hand over some puppies.

Ryan McCauley from Donegal Pet Rescue met the man who handed over a total of eleven dogs.

However he became suspicious when the man refused to allow Ryan to see the conditions in which the dogs had been kept.

Ryan then contacted the IPSCA offices who are carrying out a full investigation into the owner.

Upon inspection of the premises a further 17 dogs, both pups and adults, were removed from the premises.

The dogs are terrified of human contact.

Inspector Kevin McGinley of the ISPCA told Donegal Daily the man did the right thing in making contact over the dogs.

“The dogs were in a state of neglect but this man did the right thing.

“This was not a puppy farm situation and these dogs were not being bred for commercial gain. They simply became too much for him.

“We are pleased this man came forward because help is there for people in these situations,” he said.

Ryan McCauley of DPR said he has never seen dogs in such poor condition.

“I have to say we were shocked. I have seen dogs in poor condition but certainly not pups – they were in a very bad way,” he said.

Some of the dogs were covered in excrement and some of the older dogs had to be taken to dog grooming services because their coats had grown too long.

The dogs were also extremely frightened as they had not appeared to have had much human contact.

Ryan said that while he was happy that the man came forward with the dogs, he is still outraged at the situation.

“I would guess that these puppies may have been for the Christmas market and did not sell.

“But the conditions they were kept in and their condition was just horrendous,” he said.

A full investigation is expected to be carried out into the incident.

A Donegal man has denied murdering four British soldiers in an IRA bomb attack in London’s Hyde Park in July 1982.

John Downey

John Downey, 62, from Creeslough is accused of killing Roy Bright, Dennis Daly, Simon Tipper and Geoffrey Young.

The Household Cavalry members were killed as they rode from their barracks in Knightsbridge to Buckingham Palace.

The BBC reports that Mr Downey also denied intending to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.

The bomb that Mr Downey is charged with planting was the first of two that caused carnage in London on 20 July 1982.

In the first incident, a nail bomb in a blue Austin car was detonated as the Household Cavalry members made their way through the park to the Changing of the Guard parade at Buckingham Palace.

As well as the four men, seven horses were killed and a number of police officers and civilians were injured.

In the second explosion, less than two hours later, seven Royal Green Jackets bandsmen in a Regent’s Park bandstand were killed.

Mr Downey, who was arrested at Gatwick Airport last May, entered the pleas at the Old Bailey. He remains on conditional bail.

Donegal County Council has received notice of potentially extreme weather conditions this weekend.

An Atlantic storm depression will develop in mid Atlantic on Saturday and is likely to track north-eastwards across the Atlantic and will pass the North West of Ireland during Sunday. The exact track is still not certain.

“There is potential that some severe southwest to westerly winds will develop on the Atlantic Seaboard during Sunday, on Sunday night and early Monday. There is potential for some very high waves from Sunday afternoon onwards.

“Donegal County Council is urging members of the public to exercise caution particularly in areas adjacent to the coastline and areas which are susceptible to coastal flooding.”

The Council will continue to monitor conditions and staff are on standby over the weekend to respond to emergency call outs.

In the event of an out of hours emergency call 074 9172288 for Roads Service or 074 91 72399 for Water Service.

To keep up to date on all road conditions this Winter follow us on Twitter @roadsdcc or @donegalcouncil or on our Facebook page

The Emergency Department/Acute Medical Assessment Unit at Letterkenny General Hospital is on schedule to re-open in mid March.

An update on the hospital’s progress today revealed that by that time essential diagnostic equipment such as the MRI and CT scanners will be becoming operational and the new pharmacy will be completed.

The Pulmonary Laboratory and the Cardiac Investigations unit will follow shortly afterwards.

Mr Seán Murphy, General Manager, Letterkenny Hospital said these areas have been a priority.

“There will be a tangible improvement in patient services when they are fully operational again. We continue to make progress on other key areas, including:

“Coronary Care Unit: specification for the new unit was submitted to National Capital Steering Committee to commence late 2014 for completion September 2015;

“Kitchen/Dining Room rebuild will commence in June with completion in December 2014;

“Laboratory will commence mid March 2014 with completion late 2014.

“Radiology – Approval received for multi-purpose Interventional Suite for project completion April 2016.”

Dr Colm O’Donnell, consultant radiologist in Letterkenny General Hospital and one of four new clinical directors for the West/North West Hospitals Group added, “With the installation of the MRI scanner, we should resume scanning on a phased basis in early February. When fully operational we will bring back scanning of adult inpatients and outpatients from the North West Independent Hospital in Ballykelly.

“Very importantly, we will bring back scanning of the vast majority of our paediatric patients to Letterkenny from Temple Street Children’s Hospital and from Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Dublin. This will result in a considerable improvement in service for our patients. Of course we are immensely grateful to the other facilities for the support they provided since the July flood.

“Looking to the future, we are very excited that Letterkenny will be getting a new multi-purpose interventional suite. This will allow us carry out a variety of diagnostic and treatment procedures within our own hospital facilities, greatly improving the services for many patients each year who would have had to travel to Dublin previously for their treatments, including cancer and cardiac procedures such as the insertion of pacemakers.

Mr Seán Murphy said flood management at the hospital is being assessed on a continual basis.

“As previously advised, there are improved interim arrangements in place at the culvert with additional monitoring and clearing. The rebuilding works will include a new culvert, now estimated to cost in excess of €600,000 due to enhancements to the design.

“A planning application is being advanced with Donegal County Council. Internal flood management measures such as flood doors are also being designed into the new building works. A detailed flood management strategy involving the culvert and buildings is being advanced by HSE Estates.”

The indicative budget for the rebuild works is in excess of €15m and overall costs will exceed €30m when equipment and contingency costs are taken into account. Discussions are ongoing with insurers.

Despite the significant disruption caused by the flood, patient services at Letterkenny General Hospital continued to improve during 2013 with better patient access, the appointment of more consultants, the establishment of multidisciplinary teams with St James’s Hospital Dublin for colposcopy services and the introduction of audiology screening of all newborns.

Improving patient access will remain a priority for 2014 with the appointment of more consultants. NCHD recruitment and compliance with the EWTD is one of the challenges facing the hospital during 2014, said a spokesman.

Mr Bill Maher, Group CEO of the West/North West Hospitals Group, stated, “I’m very pleased to report that across the Group, including at Letterkenny despite the considerable disruption, we achieved the national waiting list target that no inpatient is now waiting more than eight months for an appointment.”

Mr Maher outlined the Group’s priorities including the continued integration of patient services across the hospitals in the Group and the preparation of the Group for Trust status; the development of a centre for learning and innovation and the re-building of Letterkenny Hospital.

An emergency meeting is to be held on Arranmore Island tonight after a decision to remove the island’s only full-time nurse.

Arranmore Island

The HSE has taken the decision to replace the current Public Health Nurse, Susan McGarvey, with a part-time registered nurse on the Donegal island.

The action has led to anger among the island’s 500 strong population.

Chairman of the local Co-op Jerry Early described the situation as “ludicrous.”

“Like many others I am appalled that such steps are being considered. In my role as Chairman of the Coop and Island development, I would like to call a public meeting to discuss how best the people of Arranmore should respond to this ludicrous decision.

“I am calling on all concerned members of the community to attend this very important meeting, and from this we shall formulate a plan,” he said.

Mr Early said he contacted the island’s here TDs Dinny McGinley, Thomas Pringle and Pearse Doherty about the situation.

“Deputy McGinley did return my call, however I am Still awaiting replies from Deputies Pringle And Doherty. I am of the opinion that if they are not willing to come to us, then we can go to them. I will also be contacting all our local councillors, and our MEP Pat the Cope inviting their input in this very important matter.”

And he added “Our community has taken more than our fair share of cuts and we are not prepared to take anymore.”

The meeting takes place tonight in the island community centre at 8pm.

The winner of Friday’s Family Pass to Century Cinemas is Noreen McKelvey Ballinacor, Killygordon.  

Don’t worry if you didn’t win our Film It Friday FREE competition.

There will be chances to win the free family pass every Friday morning.

Good luck!

Follow us on Twitter – https://twitter.com/DonegalDaily

Danny and Amanda O’Carroll with principal Anne Foxe and pupils.

He’s normally dealing in dodgy goods or looking to make a quick pound.

But Buster Brown has shown he also has a very soft and giving side.

That’s because Buster, or the real-life actor behind him Danny O’Carroll, has come to the aid of a Donegal school after donating a trolley-full of laptop computers.

Danny and wife Amanda made the presentation to the pupils of Lurgybrack National School outside Letterkenny this week.

Their son Jamie is in first class at the 431 pupil school.

‘Buster’ checks the computers are good quality!

The school completed a large extension last April and the celebrity couple, stars of Mrs Brown’s Boys, decided they wanted to help.

Principal Anne Foxe said Danny and Amanda simply came into her office and asked what they could do to make the school better.

“There was no airs ad graces with them. They just came in and asked how they could help.

“We went away and thought about it. Like every school we never stop trying to fundraise because that’s what all schools have to do.

“We thought it would be nice to get some computers for the school and Danny and Amanda went away and got the computers.

“It was so good of them. It was a lovely gesture and they never asked for anything in return.

“They didn’t have to do it but they did and it has helped the school and the children so much,” said Principal Foxe.

Dublin Danny, the son of Brendan O’Carroll, met Donegal woman Amanda (nee Woods) from Manorcunningham when he was performing in Letterkenny several years ago.

Just minutes after meeting Amanda, Danny phoned his famous dad and said he had met his ‘Jenny.’

The couple have two sons and they often donate to local charities.

Danny even lines out with local soccer club Lagan Harps.

The scene of this morning’s crash – donegaldaily.com

GARDAÍ are investigating the cause of a crash during terrible weather conditions earlier today.

Officers attended the scene of the incident before 9am on the Ramelton Road, Letterkenny.

The crash happened close to Woodlands National School.

The road was later re-opened and traffic is flowing once again; there were no serious injuries as a result of the collision.

MET Eireann has issued an urgent Orange Alert weather warning for Donegal and western counties.

It applies from 11am today – and will continue until early on Monday.

The warning comes after a similar warning from Donegal County Council yesterday.

Gardaí say driving conditions today are “appalling” as the county is hit with torrential downpours, driven by strong winds.

Officers have already dealt with a traffic collision this morning outside Letterkenny.

ESB is warning customers that supplies could be hit in the high winds later today. There are already widespread power cuts hitting, with homes in Sligo and Galway affected.

If you have updates, please send them to info@donegaldaily.com.

The full STATUS ORANGE alert is here:

Wind Warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare, Kerry and Limerick

There will be some extremely windy, blustery conditions at times during the rest of this weekend, with winds gusting between 100 and 130 km/h at times – highest in coastal areas. The wind direction will be mainly southwest to westerly, but will be southerly for a time later tonight. An additional hazard will be high seas and waves, which will be highest during Sunday afternoon and Sunday night. Occasional heavy, squally, thundery downpours of rain will occur at times too. Some flooding is possible also.

Issued:Saturday 25 January 2014 10:00

Valid:Saturday 25 January 2014 11:00 to Monday 27 January 2014 09:00

STATUS ORANGE - Weather Warning – Be Prepared

This category of ORANGE level weather warnings is for weather conditions which have the capacity to impact significantly on people in the affected areas. The issue of an Orange level weather warning implies that all recipients in the affected areas should prepare themselves in an appropriate way for the anticipated conditions.

LETTERKENNY Blaze U-18s boys team fell short in their bid to win a first All-Ireland basketball title.

The Co Donegal side – with twins Cian and Tagh Hickey leading the charge – gave Dubliners Templeogue a real battle in the national final in the capital today.

Roared on by a huge fan base the Letterkenny boys did their best, staying in touch throughout – going into the second and third quarters just two scores behind.

But they found Templeogue’s Sean Flood in stunning form, scoring 30 of his side’s 57 points and the Dubliner’s finally won by nine points.

So it’s a silver medal for Letterkenny Blaze.

But the boys can travel home to Donegal with their head held high.

The final score was Templeogue 57, LK Blaze, 48.

Joint Treasurer Patrick McLaughlin, Chairperson Neil Martin and Secretary May Logue going through the nominations list for the 38th Donegal Sports Star Awards which take place in the Mount Errigal Hotel next Friday night

The excitement is mounting as nominees for the 38th Donegal Sports Star Awards hope that their respective successes last year will see them honoured at the gala function in the Mount Errigal Hotel next Friday night.

The appearance of the FAI CEO John Delaney is also attracting a huge amount of interest with the sporting public wanting to hear more about the soccer chief’s coup in securing the services of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane to manage the Republic of Ireland team.

For ticket details ring the Mount Errigal Hotel on 9106700. Follow us also on donegalsportsstarawards.ie or on Facebook at at Donegalsports Starawards.

There are over 100 nominees in 38 categories for the Donegal County Council sponsored awards. Only five nominees know for certain that their 2013 sporting successes are going to be recognized but for the rest it will be an agonizing wait with the standard of achievements in a large number of categories so high making it very difficult for the judging panel to decide the winners.

Primary and Secondary Schools are an integral part of the Donegal Sports Star Awards. There are a total of 29 nominees battling it out here in eight categories. The schools winners will receive their awards from the Mayor of Donegal Cllr Ian McGarvey who will be accompanied at the top table by the County Manager Mr Seamus Neely.

GAA star Karl Lacey was the overall winner last year. Who will it be next Friday night? Around half a dozen candidates are in the frame for the top Donegal sporting award demonstrating once again the elite talent that the county is turning out year after year.

Nala is described as a gentle giant.

An unusual breed of dog appears to have become the latest victim of dognappers in Inishowen.

Nala, a dogue de Bordeaux, disappeared from its owners property on Cassey Road in Buncrana early this morning.

The dog’s owner was alerted when his other three dogs began barking.

But when he checked on his dogs, Nala was missing from her locked enclosure.

The dog may have escaped itself but the owners feel the dog may also have been taken.

Nana is a very much loved family pet and they describe her as a “gentle giant.”

If anybody spots the unusual dog they are asked to leave a message on our Facebook page or contact us at info@donegaldaily.com and we will pass on the information to the family.

THE GLENDOWAN National School fundraising 5k due to take place on Sunday morning has been postponed to a later date.

Organisers of the fun run and walk say adverse weather conditions this weekend has forced them to call the event off.

However it will be held at a later date.

Rose Boyle receives the National Shield from LGFA President Pat Quill

LORETO Secondary School Letterkenny pupil Rose Boyle has captained Ulster to the Shield Final win over Munster in Mullingar today.

Seven Co Donegal girls were on the secondary school Ulster panel which won 5-07 to 0-03.

Karen Ward, Amber Barrett, Sarah Jane McDonald, Marie O’Reilly, Blathnaid McLaughlin and Shannon mc Groddy were also in the team.

A CLASSICAL music treat is in store this Sunday as The Donegal Chamber Music Society presents the first of five concerts during the first half of this year as part of “Sundays in Conwal 2014”.

The opening concert – at 3pm on Sunday – will be played by the accomplished Donegal Camerata, the resident ensemble.

An International Ensemble of professional players based in Donegal, the Donegal Camerata will continue their eclectic and attractive chamber music recitals, offering a program with cardinal works from the string repertoire along with some pieces in a more light-entertainment vein.

For the first recital of the year they will present music by W.A. Mozart, P. I. Tchaikovsky, Antonín Dvořák, Josef Suk and Béla Bartók. As before, in each concert they will present a new work by an Irish Contemporary Composer. The work chosen from the Contemporary Music Centre Library for this recital will be a piece related to Donegal, Ian Wilson’s An tIarthar, composed in 2010 for the Donegal Chamber Orchestra.

The Donegal Chamber Music Society Quartet – made up of younger Donegal musicians –  will also perform on Sunday.

“Sundays in Conwal 2014” 1st Concert

26th January, 3pm. Conwal Church. Letterkenny

Programme

W.A. Mozart (1756-1791): Divertimento in F Major, K. 138/125c (1772)

P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Andante Cantabile from String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11 (1871)

Ian Wilson (b.1964): An tIarthar (2010) (CMC)

Louis Laporte (ca.1850 – 1922): Intermède-pizzicato for string quintet (1901)

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904): Slavonic Dance in e minor, No. 2 Op. 72 (1886-7)

Josef Suk (1874-1935): Ella-Polka (1909) from Episodes

Béla Bartók (1881-1945): Romanian Folk Dances (1917) Sz. 68 BB 76

Admission €10/5. Tickets will be available at the door.

DONEGAL’S most talented classical musicians will be getting their moment in the spotlight when they play the National Concert Hall in Dublin in a fortnight’s time.

The Donegal Youth Orchestra is one of just eight orchestras selected to perform at the 19th Festival of Youth Orchestras.

The show takes place at the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Saturday, 8th February.

Invited to perform this year, the 60 piece County Donegal Youth Orchestra is the largest of Donegal Music Education Partnership’s performing groups and prides itself on musical diversity and community involvement. Drawing its musicians from the vast geographical spread of the county, the orchestra was initially led and inspired by Jim Rafferty and is conducted in more recent years by Vincent Kennedy.

Every year it performs a wide variety of music ranging from classical to folk, pop and film inspired favourites to hundreds of people all over Donegal.

It is particularly happy to have commissioned new works from such composers as Vincent Kennedy and Neil Martin as well as special collaborations ranging from the art-science collaborators Softday to traditional music luminaries, Altan.

The orchestra has grown and developed over the years, reflected in its IAYO’s ‘Achievement Award’ at the 2013 Festival of Youth Orchestras for its performances of The Happy Prince, a musical adaptation of the Oscar Wilde story with words by Little John Nee and music by Vincent Kennedy.

The Festival of Youth Orchestras will see more than 400 young people perform original works and arrangements from the classical repertoire, shows, films and pop music, including pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Bizet, Bartok, Scott Joplin’s ‘The Entertainer’, Corelli’s ‘Christmas Concerto’ and arrangements of Elbow, Cole Porter and more.

The afternoon performance features: Ceol na Mara Chamber Orchestra; St Agnes/Scoil Colm & St Ultan’s Primary School Orchestras; Music Matters Orchestra and County Wexford Youth Orchestra. The evening performance also features the East Meets West Orchestra; Tipperary Millennium Orchestra and Young European Strings Chamber Orchestra.

The IAYO was founded in the mid 1990s to foster and encourage the development of Youth Orchestras and now represents more than 8,000 young players, playing in 108 orchestras, countrywide. Visit www.iayo.ie for more information.

Tickets – which are going fast – for the Festival on Saturday, February 8th, are on sale from the National Concert Hall Box Office – 01 417 0000 www.nch.ie, Prices: €15 (Concessions: €10); Children under 14: €7.50; Family Ticket (Family of 4 max. 2 adults): €40. 40% discount for groups of 10 or more also from the NCH Box Office.

The Irish Association of Youth Orchestras is grant-aided by The Arts Council and supported by Cork City Council and presents the Festival of Youth Orchestras in association with RTÉ lyric fm.

SHAY Given has six days to persuade his club Aston Villa to allow him to stay at Middlesbrough.

The Donegal man saved a penalty against today but couldn’t prevent leaders Leicester extending their lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.

Goals from Jamie Vardy and Ritchie de Laet earned Leicester a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester’s seventh win in a row – the first time they have put together such a run since 1993 – gave them an eight-point lead at the top.

Vardy scored his 10th goal of the season with a close range finish in the 52nd minute and De Laet netted with a far-post header in the 73rd minute. In between times, Given saved a David Nugent penalty.

The Donegal man told The Mirror that Boro fans had taken to him – despite his previous spells with North East rivals Newcastle and Sunderland.

“I’ve been delighted to come here and play after 10 months of not being involved at Villa,” said Shay.

“It’s nice to be part of a group. The team’s done well, the spirit has been really good and we’re all looking forward to the games ahead.

“My loan’s up at the end of February and the rules are that the deal has to be done by the end of January if I’m going to stay for the rest of the season. The Boro fans have been great and it could have gone either way but if you work hard they get behind you.”

William: On a winning streak….

DONEGAL dad William McElchar is €33,000 richer tonight after scooping the cash on TV’s Winning Streak.

The Castlefin livestock haulage driver didn’t get to spin the wheel.

But the father of four’s wife Jacqueline – a published author – did get to promote her new book.

Show host Marty Whelan was keen to give her a plug.

“And your wife is a published author,” he said, as Jacqueline held up a copy of her book ‘My Heart’s Blood’.

My Heart’s Blood is her debut novel and has been causing waves of queries and is setting the imaginations of people in her hometown of Convoy alight.

Her tale of missing Nazi diaries and hidden identities set in the fictional village of Milltown, Donegal has got the villagers tongues wagging about where she has got her gripping plot from.

Now her book has got national television coverage, it could see more copies flying off the shelf.

William also told host Marty about getting a 1960s vintage tractor as a present; he just has to fix up it up first.

The Donegal man won €10,000 in the first round of the TV gameshow, failing to go higher in the ‘Trap Door’ game, his luck running out at the first time of asking.

And he had no luck either in the next game as he was the only one of the five contestants not to get it right on the High/Low/Share game.

However the other four won €110,00 – and split five ways, gave William another €22,000!

He added another €1,000 in the next round, but missed out on Spinning the Wheel for a million euro.

But the whole family are on the way their home tonight – very happy!

Jacqueline and their three daughters on the show

The General Manager of Letterkenny General Hospital has confirmed the hospital will have a chapel once again.

Sean Murphy said that once they have finished consulting with the chaplaincy teams and designers, work will commence on the chapel.

Speaking while giving an update following last summer’s horrific flooding, Mr Murphy said he understands the subject has been contentious but they are addressing it.

“We are looking at the chaplaincy team saying “what do you need to provide good pastoral care and spiritual care services to our patients, visitors and staff? Is there a better way of using the facilities we have?

“For instance, is there an option that says rather than segregating religious worship into two ends of the corridor, is there actually a better way to bring things together and then provided things like sacrament, reconciliation, patient counselling etc, that you don’t have at the moment,” he explained.

He said he wished to categorically confirm the hospital will have a chapel in the future.

“We will have a chapel in the hospital. The chaplaincy team have been very clear that for Roman Catholics it is important that there is a presence of the blessed sacrament in a chapel, to worship the blessed sacrament, that will also be addressed.

“There are different ways you can do that. One of the ways is to go back exactly as it was, with all the disadvantages. There are other different ways you can achieve the same objective. They have met several times with the chaplaincy team. They have met with the design team, the architects and engineers, and they have said “If we were starting to build a new hospital on a green field site this is what we would do’.

“They have given them those details, the design team will come back to them and ask ‘what do you mean by this?’ or ‘How does this work’, ‘How many will it need to accommodate and what religious services will be going on at what times’ and they will come back to the chaplaincy team with proposals and ideas and plans next week. Then we will make decisions what it the best lay outs to meet the need of our patients, visitors and staff.”