2020 marks 50 years in the music business for the first lady of Celtic music, Moya Brennan.

This Tuesday will see a deeply personal documentary Moya airing on TG4 to tell the story of the Gaoth Dobhair singer and her spell-binding talents.

The scope of Moya Brennan’s success as a performer is staggering. As a solo artist, she has won an Emmy, been nominated for two Grammys, performed for Presidents and Popes and has featured on the soundtrack of one of the biggest movies of all time, Titanic. As a member of Clannad, she recorded 17 albums, won a Grammy, a BAFTA and an Ivor Novello Award.

Clannad in National Song Contest publicity shot (1973)

She has collaborated with everyone from Bono to Bruce Hornsby and the Theme from Harry’s Game remains the only Irish language single to make the UK top ten. Bono once said of her “I think Máire has one of the greatest voices the human ear has ever experienced”.

The scope of her international success is incredible and yet she has remained committed to her Donegal roots and Gaeltacht heritage.

Moya Brennan (1986)

In the upcoming documentary, Moya looks back on a fascinating 50 years of song.

Featuring exclusive interviews and performances with Moya and her family as well as contributions from the cream of Irish musical talent, including Paul Brady, Imelda May, Damien Dempsey, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and many others, this is set to be a landmark musical adventure.

Moya, produced by Dearg Films for TG4, airs on 29th December at 9.20pm.

A DEAD sheep, which was mistaken for a golden retriever dog, was retrieved from Donegal Bay this morning.

Animals In Need Donegal received a call informing them that a dog was drowned and laying in an inaccessible  area.

Assistance was called in from the sea direction.

Animals In Need Donegal say what turned out to be a sheep was removed from the bay.

The owner will be traced through a tag

NOT even the Covid-19 pandemic could prevent Kincasslagh man John Bosco O’Donnell form raising some much needed annual funds for local charities.

John Bosco, a brother of singing star Daniel O’Donnell, recently raised over €4,000.

The funds will be distributed between Piermont House, Chapel Rd CGH, Meenmore CGH and The Angle Day Centre.

Residents and staff from the facilities have extended their gratitude to John Bosco.

Each year at Christmas, John Bosco hosts a Big Christmas Quiz. This year, in spite of the lockdown and Covid restrictions, he managed to source sponsorship as usual.

“For as long as I can remember John ran quizzes which has helped so many local charities, clubs, schools,” one grateful staff member said.

“He would run his big quiz for us every Christmas and the money raised has meant so much to our residents over the years.

“It seems like John has been working away quietly gathering for our comfort fund for the past while this means even more this year.”

In 2019, John’s efforts raised €40,000 for the purchase of a wheelchair bus and since 1993 it is estimated that he has helped raised over €750,000 for charities.

A PAINTING by a talented west Donegal artist has captured social media attention.

Cassie Gillespie from Ranafast painted this wonderful image of her grandmother and grandfather.

The painting, of John Gillespie and Bella Gillespie (nee Coll), was for a Christmas gift to her grandmother.

Cassie is a daughter of Liam and Tina Gillespie and her painting has been shared far and wide.

THIRTY-THREE new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Donegal this evening.

There have been 678 cases in Donegal in the last 14 days.

The county’s 14-day incidence rate, per 100,000 population, remains the highest in the country at 425.9. The national average is 209.6.

Nationally, four further Covid-19 related deaths and 744 new cases were announced this evening.

There have now been 2,204 Covid-19 related deaths and 86,129 cases since the outbreak.

While today’s figures are down on recent days, Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan has warned that this is due to a decrease in testing numbers.

He said: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of hospitalisations in the last two weeks from less than 190 to 324 today. This indicates a deteriorating disease trajectory nationally and is a significant reminder of the severity of this disease.

“There have been further increases across key indicators of Covid-19 right across the country and the growth rate of the epidemic has accelerated in recent days.

“Due to the lower volume of tests being carried out over Christmas Day and yesterday, we believe there are higher levels of disease circulating in the community than today’s reported case numbers reflect. We expect, therefore, to see a large increase in cases reported over the coming days.”

Of the cases notified today: 388 are men / 354 are women; 64 per cent are under 45 years of age; the median age is 34 years old.

THOUSANDS of homes across Donegal are in darkness following a series of power outages this evening

In the Creeslough and Dunfanaghy area, there are 853 homes affected.

There are 606 customers in darkness in the Buncrana area and another 18 in Carndonagh.

In Milford, there are 1,029 homes affected while 122 are blacked out in Gweedore.

In Letterkenny, there are 203 customers affected by an outage in Cullion and 168 are without power in the Gortlee area.

In the Stranorlar area, there are 45 customers with a loss of power.

The ESB say that repair crews are on site to repair the faults and have apologised for the lack of supply.

In all cases, they estimate that power will be restored by 10.15pm.

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A young Ballybofey student is set to appear on the new series of TG4’s Glór Tíre.

The search for the next big country music star returns to TG4 in January when the show returns to the Quays in Galway for 12 weeks.

Six hopeful singers battle it out with help from mentors Cliona Hagan, Robert Mizzell, Mike Denver, Lousie Morrissey, Michael English and The Sheerin Family.

One of them will be Kelan Browne from Ballybofey.

Kelan will be mentored by Robert Mizzell. Kelan is a keen soccer player who plays for his local club Ballybofey United. His musical influences are Elvis, Conway Twitty, Luke Combs, Johnny Cash, Kane Brown, George Jones and Randy Travis.

Presented by Aoife Ni Thuairisg and Seamús Ó Scanláin, with help from the judges John Creedon, Caitríona Ní Shúilleabháin and Jó Ní Chéide who advise and guide the contestants. The public decide who stays and who will go each week.

This year’s other singers are Stephen Stokes from Tipperary town mentored by Louise Morrissey, David Connor from Claremorris, Co. Mayo mentored by Michael English, Mary Hoey from Cullyhanna Co. Armagh, mentored by The Sheerin Family, Emma Donohue from Ballinasloe, Co.Galway who will be mentored by Mike Denver and Tilly Dawson-Stanley from Glasson Co. Westmeath mentored by Cliona Hagan.

Viewers decide who will stay each week, and can vote by downloading the Glór Tíre app in the app store or on google playstore.

Who will be crowned the winner of Glór Tíre 2021? Join us every Tuesday night at 9:30pm from January 5th on TG4.

The Tánaiste said he expects to see cases of Covid increase in the New Year.

Leo Varadkar said the latest figures of cases are artificially low because only a small number of people attended for testing on Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said: “The Level 5 restrictions are really only coming into effect over the next couple of days.”

“We know that won’t be reflected in a fall in case numbers until the first or second week in January”.

“No matter what is done, we would expect to see cases rise until the New Year.”

The Fine Gael leader added that the availability of the vaccine “does change things.”

He said “I think that with the vaccine now being available, I think there would be a case of saying to the Irish people that we should keep these restrictions in place until such a time that we have protected our healthcare workers and most vulnerable.”

“But that also needs to be reflected in the kind of restrictions that we put in place because they need to be sustainable for a prolonged period if they’re not just for three or four weeks.”

Mr Varadkar said restrictions will be reviewed as planned on 12 January, but he does not envisage them being relaxed then as cases may “not have fallen enough”.

It’s already a very Happy Ewe Year for one Donegal farming family.

Christopher and Nimah Mc Laughlin (pictured) from the Isle of Doagh were over the moon after their Belclare ewe had FIVE lambs!

This was the first time the Mc Laughlins ever recorded five lambs to one ewe on their farm.

“This was by far the best Christmas present ever,” said Niamh.

Ewe said it, Niamh!

It wasn’t a night for the faint-hearted.

Christmas left with a bang as thunder and lightning struck many parts of Donegal last night as the tail end of Storm Bella passed over.

Eddie Wray was on hand to capture this dramatic shot taken over Dunfanaghy just before 6pm.

As Eddie himself said “Scary stuff.”

A man has appeared in court following an armed robbery at a petrol station in Letterkenny.

Marcel Poitkowski, aged 27, appeared at a special sitting of Carrick-on-Shannon District Court in County Leitrim this morning.

He was charged with a number of counts including robbery.

It follows an incident at the Spar Express Filling Station in Glencar, Letterkenny on Sunday morning last, December 27th.

A man entered the premises with what appeared to be a gun and threatened terrified staff at around 9.40am.

The man fled on foot with a sum of cash and a quantity of cigarettes.

Later in the morning, Gardaí responded to reports of a theft of a vehicle and intercepted a car in Donegal Town.

A suspected handgun, a sum of cash and a quantity of cigarettes were all recovered by Gardaí.

A man was later arrested and charged.

Poitkowski, of no fixed abode, but with a previous address in Ballybofey was remanded in custody.

The accused, who was represented by solicitor Donough Cleary, will appear again at Letterkenny District Court on January 4th.

There was sadness across Letterkenny and beyond following the death on Christmas Day of well-known local character John McDermott.

John, of Ashlawn, and formerly of Ard O’Donnell, was a popular figure in the Cathedral Town.

He passed away at the Donegal Hospice following a long-term illness.

He was laid to rest at the family plot at Aughaninshin Cemetery following funeral mass at St Eunan’s Cathedral.

John was a well-known historian and visited many archaeological sites across Donegal over the years.

Donegal County Museum has posted a special tribute to John saying he was a great friend to all the staff there.

The post said “Over many years, John took hundreds of photographs of archaeological and historic sites across Donegal many of which have become part of the John McDermott Collection at Donegal County Museum.

“This was an extraordinary achievement as John could not drive, yet he still managed to get to many remote sites.

“He took great pride in his work, sometimes going back years later to get a better shot.

“He was part of our museum family and called into us often. He was very well-read and had a great knowledge of Donegal and Letterkenny history.

“Even during his long illness he would call in or ring to share with us some historical fact he had discovered.

“John was our friend and we will miss him.”

A New Year Day dinner will be delivered to people on their own within a 25 kilometre radius of Letterkenny by volunteers of the Annual Christmas Day dinner.

If you know of anyone that could avail of this service please contact us on 0868676565.

A worrying 20 further coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded in the North in the past 48 hours.

A further 1,634 people have also tested positive for Covid-19 in the same period of time.

It comes as Northern Ireland’s health minister urged the public to strictly adhere to the new lockdown measures.

Businesses across Northern Ireland closed once more as the new measures came into effect from 26 December.

Additional restrictions are in place until 2 January, including a form of curfew in operation from 8pm, with shops closed from that time and all indoor and outdoor gatherings prohibited until 6am.

A young progressive Construction Cost Consultancy firm is seeking to add two new Intermediate Quantity Surveyors to the team on a permanent basis.

Intermediate Quantity Surveyor:

Role:

Working under the supervision of the Managing Surveyor, the range of duties will include but not limited to:

· Preparation, negotiation and agreement of sub-contract procurement packages
· Preparation of Bills of Quantities
· Preparing and checking valuations
· Monitoring and checking variations
· Advising clients on contractual matters
· Preparation, negotiation and agreement of project final accounts

Requirements:

· 4-5 years Quantity Surveying experience with either Main Contractor or PQS.
· Degree Qualification in Quantity Surveying
· Experience of delivering construction projects under the Public Works Contract
· Fully competent in the use of Cubit/ Buildsoft/ Excel/ Word/ Microsoft Project
· Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills
· Commitment & Motivation to join a young exciting company

Salary: Negotiable depending on Experience and fit for the company.

Please forward your CV to shane@smlcc.ie no later than Monday 4th January 2021.

A further 765 new Covid cases have been reported by the Department of Health today.

There has also been one further coronavirus-related death.

The number of people who have died with Covid-19 in Ireland is 2,205 while the cumulative total of confirmed cases is 86,894.

But Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan warned that this figure is expected to rise sharply in the coming days.

He warned “The data we are reporting today are lower than days up to 26 December. This, however, results from factors related to the time of the year, such as the lower rates of attendance and referrals and presentation for testing for several days over Christmas.

The number of patients with the disease in ICU is 30, an increase of four since yesterday.

There were 41 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours and the total number of patients with Covid-19 is now 359.

Dr Holohan added “We look at many metrics when monitoring the disease severity of Covid-19. Today we are reporting that we have now exceeded the cumulative number of people hospitalised in this third wave than in the second.

“Hospitalisations have increased sharply in the last two days. This is a concerning trend which reflects the sharp increase incidence we saw in the last 10 days.”

The CMO warned: “We are also seeing a steep rise in the positivity rates in community testing with a seven day average of over 9.2% up from 5.2% on 18 December. This indicates that the virus is increasing its foothold out in our communities.

“This is just one more reason why we are strongly advising everyone to stay safely at home to avoid transmitting or catching this virus, as it continues to circulate widely.”

Dr Holohan urged people to “please come forward for testing if you feel unwell. Know the symptoms of Covid-19, and do not delay in phoning your GP for advice.

“Self-isolate in your room if you have a cough, fever, shortness of breath or change in sense of taste/smell. If you are a household contact of a confirmed case, restrict your movements until your household member receives a negative test result.”

Donegal now has almost TWICE the national average incidence rate for Covid.

Within the past 14 days, there have been 677 new cases of Covid reported in Donegal.

The 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population is now 220.1 nationally.

And Donegal has the highest rate of infection with 425.3 cases per 100,000 people.

This is followed by Monaghan (384.5), Louth (342.2) and Limerick (341.7).

Counties with the lowest rates are Leitrim (78), Offaly (84.7), Longford (88.1) and Tipperary (93.4).

Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has warned that there is likely to be a sharp rise in figures for Covid in the coming days.

It follows a reluctance for people to attend testing centres on both Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.

Letterkenny man Shane Blaney has joined Sligo Rovers for the 2021 season.

The former Doncaster Rovers defender joins the Bit O’ Red after two and a half years with Doncaster where he captained their Under-23 side and played in the EFL Trophy.

Blaney, a left-footed centre-half, began his career with Finn Harps, making his debut at 17 before joining Doncaster at the start of 2018 just prior to his 19th birthday.

He is a former Irish schoolboy captain and took the same role at Doncaster Under-23s.

Blaney had two loan spells but left Doncaster last summer.

He will turn 22 in January as he starts pre-season under Liam Buckley, looking to kickstart his career at home again.

The late Brendan Byrne, a stalwart of Sligo Rovers and the 500 Club, is a great Uncle of Shane.

Blaney told the Sligo Rovers official website “I’m delighted. This has been ongoing for the last few weeks. I’ve been speaking with Liam for that period and it seems like the perfect fit for me. It was a great experience at Doncaster.

“I never got the right time for it to fall to get a league debut. I was in the first-team training but it didn’t come. I need games now.

“I’m absolutely dying to get going. Liam actually made contact in July but I wanted to stay in England as I had a few things going on there. With Covid-19, teams weren’t taking on players on trial and six weeks ago I made the decision to come home. I had a few offers in Ireland and calls, but Liam was the first meeting and since that I knew I wanted to sign for Sligo.

“Anyone I ask about Sligo, every single person says what a good club it is and great fans. I’m very excited for it all.

“I’ve been preparing for a return to pre-season for months now to be honest. When it comes around I’ll be ready. I’m here to play, I have my own goals and I hope to be as successful as I can be. I’ll be trying as hard as I can for Liam and the club.

“I think my style is perfect for the manager. I love the ball to feet and that side of the game. It’s a good fit. Liam’s ambition matches my ambition, it could be something special here with the mix of young players and the older lads. I’m just really looking forward to it.”

Liam Buckley said: “Shane is a really good addition to us. He comes strongly recommended and is looking to make an impression here.

“The conversations we’ve had have been good. Shane is ambitious and he’s coming here to prove what he can do.

“Shane is a very good addition to our group of defenders. He is a centre-half who can play in a back three or a back four and is good on the ball with a good strike of it too.

“He has lots of attributes to be a good defender for us and he’s really eager to get going as we all are now. We’re waiting on the schedule to finalise all of the details of pre-season.

“We are speaking with more players. There’s a strong core group assembled and I hope we’ll be adding to that soon.”

FORMER Donegal star Kevin Cassidy will be the feature of the first episode in the new series of Laochra Gael.

The definitive GAA sports series returns to TG4 next month for a 19th series.

The acclaimed series is back on January 7 with the story of Donegal footballer, Kevin Cassidy.

Born in Glasgow, the family moved to his mother’s homeplace of Donegal in his youth.

With a new language and sport to learn, Kevin embraced both eagerly. He was a star for Gaoth Dobhair and soon became a cornerstone of the county team. Under Jim McGuinness, they were on the brink of glory, with Cassidy at the heart.

But he was suddenly dropped from the panel because of his contribution to a book, and when the All-Ireland win came, Kevin Cassidy was nowhere to be seen.

The hour-long format has proved a huge success, bringing each player’s personal stories to screen.

The new series features twelve Laochra with genuine star quality and reveals deeper, fresh and sometimes unexpected insights into the lives of these icons.

While their sporting careers continue to provide the backdrop to the story, the series travels well beyond the four white lines. Gripping personal storylines will compel viewers to travel towards territory unique to the GAA television landscape.

TG4’s Head of Sport, Rónán Ó Coisdealbha said:  “TG4 is very proud to be broadcasting another great series of Laochra Gael which marks the great achievements and stories that our Gaelic Games legends have to tell.

“This is the beginning of the nineteenth series of Laochra Gael which aired on TG4 for the first time in 2001 and it has continued as a long standing and popular part of our schedule bringing these amazing stories to viewers in Ireland and all over the world.”

Programme 1:   Kevin Cassidy, 9.30pm, Thursday 7th January

Programme 2:  Ryan O’Dwyer, 9.30pm, Thursday 14th January

Programme 3:  Thérèse Maher, 9.30pm, Thursday 21st January

Programme 4:  Shane Curran,  9.30pm, Thursday 28th January

Programme 5:  Johnny Pilkington, 9.30pm, Thursday 4th February

Programme 6: Dermot Earley, 9.30pm, Thursday 11th February