A kind-hearted Ballybofey hairdresser is doing her bit to thank a hospital which cared so lovingly for a Donegal baby who tragically passed away after a brave battle to survive.

Baby Brian Mc Menamin was born on 6th May 2010 in Letterkenny General Hospital but sadly passed away on 2nd November 2010…. at just 6 months old.

Brian’s first visit to Crumlin was at just 9 days old & spent many weeks of his short life in Crumlin.

Baby Brian was exceptionally well cared for by everyone in The Children’s Hospital Crumlin and his parents Brian & Linda will always be thankful to all the staff in Crumlin.

The couple have been fundraising in memory of their son every year since taking part in the Flora Women’s 10k for the last 2 years & also holding other events.

This year Jenna McLaughlin & Staff at Loose Ends Hair Salon in Ballybofey join in the fundraising Events. A Wash & Blow Dry Day €10 with all funds going towards the Crumlin Fund.

Everyone welcome to come along & support this fantastic cause in memory of the most amazing little boy.

MOTORISTS are being warned to drive with extra care on the N56 at Termon this evening because of a gorse fire.

The picture – taken by a Donegal Daily reader at 5pm – shows the fire taking hold close to the main road.

Fire crews have been informed and on their way to the scene.

Gaelscoil Adhamhnain girls celebrate

GAELSCOIL Adhamhnain girls and Lurgybrack’s boys claimed the major honours at O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny today – but every team was a winner in a superb GAA For All finals day.

Lurgybrack National School won the Elaine Winston Friel memorial cup with a win over Termon in that final while the Gaelscoil girls won the Susan Carr memorial cup with a win over Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal.

Both women were dedicated to gaelic games in Donegal and the trophies named in their honour.

All the results – with winners and runners-up are below: And we will have more pix later:

Boys;

Elaine Winston Friel Final - Lurgybrack 2-3 Termon 1-5

GAA For All Cup Final - Scoil Colmcille 3-2 Gaelscoil 0-6

GAA For All Shield Final - Woodlands 1-7 Kilmacrennan 1-2

GAA For All Plate Final - Glenswilly 3-9 Illistrin 2-0

GAA For All Plate Final Play Off - Glenswilly 3-6 Ballyraine 1-4

GIRLS

Susan Carr Cup Final - Gaelscoil 1-7 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal 3-0

GAA For All Cup Final - Lurgybrack 1-1 Termon 2-5

GAA For All Shield Final - Illistrin 3-2 Woodlands 1-4

GAA For All Plate Final - Glenswilly 8-5 Kilmacrennan 3-0

GAA For All Plate Final Playoff - Glenswilly 3-5 Ballyraine 0-6

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DONEGAL’S U-21 footballers staged a stunning comeback against Cavan in the Ulster final in Enniskillen tonight – but just failed to claw back enough to win.

Playing under the floodlights at Brewster Park, Cavan raced into a good lead.

But Donegal, with Paddy McBrearty in stunning form, began to claw in the deficit in the second half.

However it wasn’t enough to secure the title.

Darach O’Connor and McBrearty scored Donegal’s only points of the first half, Cavan leading 0-07 to 0-02 at the break.

Donegal suffered an early blow when Ryan McHugh limped off.

Donegal then began their comeback with Willie Gillespie netting to reduce the deficit and with McBrearty playing superbly Donegal pulled it back to a two-point game.

But just as Donegal closed in Cavan pulled ahead again, finally winning by 0-13 to 1-06 – a four point winning margin.

Congratulations to Cavan on securing the Ulster title.

Fire crews have been called out to tackle a major blaze close to Glenveagh National Park tonight.

The fire is close to the main adjoining road and traffic is being asked to avoid the area and use alternative routes.

At least two crews are at the scene of the blaze.

It is not clear as to how widespread the fire is at this stage is but a considerable amount of smoke is being sent across adjoining roads.

AA Roadwatch and Gardai have advised motorists that the road is closed.

“The Gweedore/Termon Road is closed on the Termon side of the National Park,” said an AA Spokeswoman.

It has not yet been established how the fire started.

At this stage it is believed the fire is only damaging bogland and gorse and is not close to Glenveagh National Park or the local Visitors’ Centre.

Tonight local county councillor Seamus O’Domhnaill said the fire in Glenveagh was “a disgrace.”

He went on: “Most of these fires are being maliciously lit putting lives & property in danger.”

DONEGAL singer Gráinne Gavigan stole the show yet again when she performed on the Glór Tíre country music singing competition semi-final on TG4 last night.

The 18-year old Ardara singer, mentored by Lisa McHugh, was superb on the show.

And here they are afterwards celebrating!

Donegal people (and country music fans nationally) have been voting in their thousands for the teenager.

This year’s Glór Tíre final is next Wednesday 17th of April. The programme is broadcast from the Quays Bar in Galway city.

Said Grainne: “I want to thank everyone who voted for me again this week. I am so delighted to be in the final. We are so excited.”

Gráinne will be depending on the public for their support and will be very grateful for all your votes. To vote from the Republic of Ireland, you can call 1513 415 108 or text ‘GLOR8’ to 53307.

For those voting from the North, you can call 0901 6566 108 or text ‘GLOR8’ to 81108. You can also follow Gráinne’s progress on her facebook page.

The scene of the turbine crash. donegaldaily.com

THE Glenties Windfarm Information Group has welcomed an emergency debate at Donegal County Council next Monday after the collapse of a turbine near Maas last month. 

In their first substantial statement on the incident at Loughderryduff, Ernan O’Donnell, the group’s chairman, 

“The Group are extremely concerned at the fact that this wind farm which has two locals, Mr Conal Shovlin and Mr John Gillespie listed as directors, has been switched back on without any report into the incident being made public, or locals informed as to the cause of the turbine collapse,” said Mr O’Donnell.

“The Glenties Wind farm information Group are now calling on Councillors and Donegal County Council Executive to stand up and be counted when this emergency motion comes up for debate on Monday 15 April. The veil of secrecy that surrounds any information emanating from investigations into the event must be lifted.”

He then went on to list a number of questions which he said needed to be answered:

1.

Were the elected representatives, on behalf of the public, notified of the results of the investigation into the fallen turbine before the other turbines were re-started?

2.

Were the other turbines re-assessed fully before re-starting?

3.

Are the elected representatives satisfied with the results of the investigation and the manner and method of the investigation?

4.

Who carried out the investigation?

5.

What role, if any, had Donegal County Council in this investigation?

6.

Has all of the fallen turbine been recovered and accounted for?

7.

Will the results of the investigation be made public?

8.

Will the full Planning File be made available on-line?

9.

Pending full, comprehensive results of the investigation, will Donegal County Council order a stay on all turbines presently a) at Planning stage, b) in operation?

10.

Will they order the dismantling of all turbines situated within 2 km of a house or road?

11.

In case of an accident (e.g. If a turbine fell over the public road on a passing vehicle) who is responsible? The public need to know.

12.

Is it legal for North West Wind to operate a seven turbine wind farm when the permission granted was for nine turbines? Presumably the nine turbines were sited to maximise energy returns and public safety, and if this was so, how can seven be safely operating now?

13.

Will the site of the fallen turbine be restored to its natural state, and when?

14.

As Donegal County Council Planning Department approved this wind farm, did they monitor the materials used and the work carried out?

15.

Were individual assessments of each turbine site carried out and reported on? This needs to be done at all times in Donegal, due to the varied nature of each site within itself.

16.

Do the turbines on this site adhere to the approved Planning Application details?

17.

Were the turbines installed as per Planning Application 03/3043?

18.

Did Donegal County Council monitor the construction of the wind farm?

19.

Is Donegal County Council capable of monitoring a wind farm construction and installation?

20.

Is Donegal County Council capable of assessing a Planning Application for a wind farm?

Mr O’Donnell added: “The elected representatives of Donegal County Council, in June 2012, voted to remove all set back distances of wind turbines from lakes, streams, roads, houses etc. In light of the fallen turbine in Loughderryduff, will the Council now insist on a set back distance of at least 2 km? The blades from this turbine blew quite a distance, disintegrated and scattered over a large area of land. In the interests of public safety will the Council instate a 2 km set back distance?

I”n June 2012 the elected representatives of Donegal County Council voted to designate 2363 town lands as, ‘preferred for wind farming’. As we have seen with the Moville turbines, (the fact that the town lands involved were designated ‘preferred for wind farming’, in the County Development Plan 2012-2018, was quoted by An Bord Pleanala in their justification for granting permission), this designation is a carte blanche for developers to erect turbines.

“Quite a lot of the designated town lands are of hilly terrain, and close to houses. In light of the fallen turbine in Loughderryduff, and in the interests of public safety will Donegal County Council now de-designate these town lands? Will they do a detailed assessment of each town land before re-designation in the future?”

A DONEGAL County Councillor has said what most people in the county have believed for the past 10 days – MOST of the gorse fires ravaging our countryside have been started maliciously.

Cllr Seamus O’Domhnaill confirmed what fire service sources have been saying for the past few days and has called for checkpoints to stop the arsonists.

He spoke out as fire swept through gorse at Glenveagh National Park last night.

The back road between Termon and Gaoth Dobhair had to be closed by Gardai as our over-stretched fire crews were once again forced to take action.

Cllr O’Domhnaill said the last gorse fires were “a total disgrace.”

“Most of these fires are being maliciously lit and are putting lives and property in danger,” said the Donegal politician.

The fire in Glenveagh – Donegal’s number one tourist attraction – came just hours after park authorities posted pictures of these deer (left) on their Facebook page.

Rain today will bring some relief for the fire crews.

Despite more than 100 fires across Donegal in the past week no-one has been arrested or held over any of the blazes.

In 2011 when there were hundreds of gorse fires – the worst in living memory – no charges were ever brought against anyone for arson.

Cllr O Domhnaill told Donegal Daily: “There has been an unprecedented amount of Gorse fires raging across certain parts of Donegal over the last number of weeks and I have no doubt that a number of these fires have been lit maliciously by individuals who seem to have no regard for the families who are suffering as a result of their actions.

“Many of these fires are beginning during darkness which in effect rules out any possibility of the Suns rays having naturally ignited the fires.

“Having spoken to members of the public who have come across these fires at their infancy they have informed me that imported materials were lit and placed in remote areas so as to start a Gorse fire.

“Our fire crews across the County are fatigued and doing fabulous work to ensure that no loss of life or major loss of Property has occurred. On the other hand Animals have had to be moved from dields and sheds after midnight and even families have had to vacate their houses in the early hours of the morning. If this idiotic practice of  lighting fires continues it is only a matter of time untill we have a disaster on our hands in Donegal.

“With the dry weather and winds these fires are spreading out of control quickly and are causing massive harm to fencing, wildlife and grasslands and indeed properties of the affected families. The question must be asked Is it time that checkpoints be introduced across our County to ensure that these practices are stopped ? This further reducing and stretching our already overworked and under equipped garda Force.”

Cllr O’Domhnaill added: “I am asking anybody with any information in regards to any peculiar or strange activity to report it to the Gardaí in an attempt to reduce the destruction across our county as a result of these fires.

“I am more than aware that a number of these fires have been naturally or accidentaly lit and such will occur in Dry Weather but the large numbers of Fires spreading across our County especially after darkness leaves me in no doubt but that all of these fires are not accidentall and some are being lit intentionally with no other rationale than to destroy Property, Wildlife and more.”

Daniel O’Donnell’s fortune has enjoyed mixed fortunes following the publication of his accounts.

The Kincasslagh singer’s main company’s profits doubled last year to more than €1 million.

However, his fixed assets have been written down by €2.1 million up until the end of October last.

The accounts for DOD Promotions Ltd show its latest profits reduced from €4.89 million to €3 million as a result of a write-down.

The firm’s cash reserves went from €666,632 to a more healthy €1.037 million.

DONEGAL Ladies GAA have appealed to clubs to field teams for fixtures. 

Clubs which have failed to field sides for recent games have now had points deducted

“After a lengthy discussion at the County Board meeting last night it was decided that teams who had failed to field in games up to now lost the points. This excludes teams who rescheduled matches,” said the Ladies Board.

“A big plea is being made to all clubs to play their games at the allocated dates. In extreme circumstances the game should be refixed to an agreed date.

“Players just want to play. Nobody wants to gain points due to teams not fielding. We all play our registration and should be getting to play games regularly. The loss of points and a possible fine will be incurred if fixtures aren’t fulfilled.

“Lets all make a huge effort to get our leagues running well,” they added.

HIGHLAND Radio is off air today due to ‘technical difficulties’.

The station cannot be picked up – unless listeners tune in to access the station via the internet.

A presenter has apologised.

A huge crowd is expected to run, jog and walk the Gaelscoil Adhamhnáin 5km at Glencar Letterkenny this evening, Thursday, at 7:30pm.

This 5km is a tremendous opportunity for all those athletes, fun runners, joggers and walkers to test themselves on this new course. It is also a great warm up for the North West’s forthcoming flagship event of the year, the North West 10km.

Registration is from 6:15 pm at Gaelscoil Adhamhnáin in Glencar, cost €8 runners, €5 walkers, €2 children, who must be accompanied by an adult.

So come along and make it a family occasion.

For more information see Facebook 5kgaelscoiladh and www.gaelscoiladhamhnain.com

Sinn Féin Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD, responding to the interview of Ashoka Mody, former Chief of Mission for the IMF in Ireland where he said the policies inflicted on Ireland had been wrong, said he welcomed the acknowledgement that Sinn Féin policies had been right.

He said it was not too late for the Government to implement them.

Doherty said: “When Sinn Féin criticised the policy of not burning the bondholders and imposing austerity as a response to the crisis, we were ridiculed and dismissed by Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil – three parties who insisted that no bondholder would lose a penny and the Irish people would pay for it in taxes and cuts for years to come.

“Over the course of the last few years we have seen Europe and the IMF start to reconsider that position and last June we had the announcement that sovereign debt should not be carrying banking debt.

“In the last few months we have seen Europe do an about turn on how the collapse of private banks is handled. Now the bondholders are allowed to be burned.

“Today we have the IMF former Mission Chief saying the policies the Troika inflicted in Ireland were wrong. This is a belated but very welcome acknowledgment that the Sinn Féin party has been correct in its assessment of how the crisis should have been handled.

“Bondholders should have been burnt and the deficit should have been reduced through growth, not austerity, along with fair tax measures and eliminating public spending waste.

“The only people who still haven’t come to this conclusion are unfortunately the ones running the country and the party that caused the mess – Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil.

“On the day when it is confirmed these policies are wrong, the government chooses to announce it is cutting the confirmation and communion grant for the lowest earners in society.

“It is not too late to change course, but this government needs to get itself on the right page now, before anymore damage is done. The opportunity arises now as we enter into the planning phase of Budget 2014. The government can make this a less severe budget.”

The HSE is advising Donegal families considering visiting Wales and the North East of England to ensure that all family members have been immunised with the MMR vaccine to protect them against Measles.

Currently there are two large Measles outbreaks in the UK – Wales and North East England. In Wales over 50 children have been hospitalised from a total of over 600 cases and emergency MMR clinics have been swamped.

In the North East of England there have been almost 100 cases of measles. The outbreaks are due to low MMR vaccination uptake.

Dr Anthony Breslin, Specialist in Public Health Medicine in the North West, said “The outbreaks in the UK show the need for children to get their two MMR vaccines, the first at 13 months of age and the second prior to going to school.

“The MMR vaccine is safe and effective but we need to get all children immunised to prevent the serious effects of Measles which include deafness, brain damage and even death. Families planning to travel to the UK should ensure that they are protected.”

Walking is the cheapest form of exercise and thousands of people are shaking off the recession blues by getting out into the fresh Donegal air. 

Now the Donegal Sports Partnership has organised an evening walking seminar which will take place on Wednesday 1st May in the Station House Hotel, Letterkenny from 7pm – 9pm.

The seminar will focus on the various programmes available to support individuals or groups participate in walking.

Mc Ginty Tractors Ltd has been supplying the highest quality new and used tractors and farm machinery to the Donegal region for over 30 years.

As main dealer of Valtra , Kverneland , Lely, Mayor and many more.

Now Mc Ginty Tractors Ltd at Clar Road, Donegal Town will have a Open Day today Thursday 11th April 2013 2pm-9pm. All Welcome

Donegal Deputy Charlie McConalogue has called on Fine Gael and Labour to rethink their ‘disgraceful and highly discriminatory’ changes to the Farm Assist payment.

The Fianna Fáil Deputy said the changes to the qualification criteria for Farm Assist introduced in the Budget have already had an enormous impact on the most vulnerable farmers in Donegal to the point that for many, it’s simply not worth their while continuing to farm.

“These changes, which were introduced by the Social Protection Minister Joan Burton in Budget, came into effect at the beginning of this month. The 1,554 farmers affected in Donegal have seen a huge cut in their income as a result,” said Deputy McConalogue

“Donegal has the second highest number of farmers dependent on the Farm Assist payment in the country. Low-income farmers depend on this payment to keep their farms in business. I have spoken to some local farmers who have now seen the full impact of the changes and are genuinely fearful about their livelihood as a result.

“Perhaps it’s a case that Dublin Minister Joan Burton simply did not understand the devastating impact that this cut would have on the farming community in Donegal.

“But the Government representatives here, including Minister Dinny McGinley and Deputy Joe McHugh, must see just how harmful this will be to the local agriculture industry.

Swilly Seals Swimming Club, Letterkenny, is holding a Quiz Night in Arena 7 on Tuesday 16th April at 9.30pm.

Everyone welcome to come along to this fun evening and support this fund raising event.

Finn Harps put their six-game unbeaten start on the line on Friday night when they travel to the midlands to take on Roddy Collins’ Athlone Town (kick-off 8.00pm).

However, Harps go there with a mounting injury list as Thomas McMonagle is the latest player to be ruled out.

With Ciaran Coll and Sean McCarron already absent, the last thing Harps boss Peter Hutton needed was the news that Thomas McMonagle had sustained a hairline fracture of his foot in last week’s scoreless draw with Wexford Youths at Finn Park.

“Unfortunately we lost Tommy early in the game. He felt a sharp pain on planting his foot on the ground and it got to the point where he couldn’t carry on”, said Hutton earlier this week.

“Unfortunately, Tommy has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture on his foot so will unfortunately be out for about 4 weeks at least. It’s very disappointing for him and the squad in general but we just have to get on with it.

“When you consider that Tommy was one of only four players in both divisions to play every single minute of the league campaign last season, it is a testament to how well he looks after himself both prior to and after games, so it certainly is a blow to lose him now.”

With McMonagle having to be replaced after 14 minutes of last week’s game against Wexford, it certainly hit Harps and the game ended scoreless – the first time this season that Hutton’s side have failed to find the net.

“We were well on top at that point and the substitution broke the momentum we’d attained,” said Hutton of McMonagle’s early departure.

“The game was as I predicted – a very cagey and tight affair. Wexford came with the game plan of playing five in midfield in an effort to stifle our attacking threat then try to exploit us on the counter attack and to be honest their ploy worked to some extent.

“We ourselves weren’t as creative nor as energetic as I would have liked but it was overall an ok performance. The pitch also didn’t help in that the surface was very dry and extremely bumpy given the recent weather, so any type of free flowing football is a bit unrealistic at present.

“Shaun McGowan has been unable to train properly with the team since the first game of the season given the injury to his hand whilst Kevin McHugh had been in his bed with flu all week up until the Thursday so it’s a testament to those players’ resolve and dedication that they completed the game and still played to a high standard.

“I’d be more concerned though if we had played really well and came away with the same score line, so at least I and players know that we can certainly improve and are much capable of more. It was a game we could have lost but for a fine save from Ciaran (Gallagher) but we certainly wouldn’t have deserved to lose the game although I honestly don’t believe we did enough to win it.”

Although Hutton knows his team has more to offer – as was shown in the opening four league games of the season – he was more than happy that Harps kept their second consecutive clean sheet at Finn Park.

“As I’ve said previously clean sheets are the basis upon which successful seasons are built so that was a pleasing aspect of the game. Ciaran, as in the previous week, demonstrated good concentration levels as for the majority of the second half he had little to do but when called upon was excellent. At times we were guilty of losing our shape and discipline as we chased that elusive winner and that could have cost us as Wexford looked to hit us on the counter attack, but the players again remained vigilant and got the point.”

On Friday, the opposition for Harps is Athlone Town – a team who lost their first league game of the season last weekend to Waterford United. So, what is Hutton expecting from Roddy Collins’ side?

“Again this game will be like many games this season – a really tight affair with both teams meeting for the first time this year. Obviously the Athlone team we competed with last season is a vastly different one from that we will meet on Friday.

“Roddy Collins has come in and instantly the club now has an expectation to achieve success, the board have obviously backed their new man in providing Roddy with the resources to completely revamp the Athlone squad and bring in several experienced Premier Division players such as Philip Gorman, Barry Clancy, Paul Skinner, Robbie Clarke, Conor McMahon, Lee Dixon coupled with some of the most promising young players on loan from St Pats, in particular young Ryan Coombes who has started the season extremely well.

“So essentially Roddy has recruited a quality squad that boasts a good level of experience, but also possess the exuberance of youth. Hopefully the pitch is in better condition than our previous visits last season as it was poor. Either way though, we will look forward to the game and do our upmost to return with a favourable result,” concluded Hutton.

Harps will travel without the injured trio of Thomas McMonagle, Ciaran Coll and Sean McCarron. Marc Brolly is also a doubt after he took a hefty challenge during the Wexford game and had to be substituted and his injury is particularly sore and tender at the moment. Matt Harkin, though, has recovered from a thigh injury and should be available for selection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TEAM NEWS

Suspended: None

Doubtful: Marc Brolly.

Injured: Ciaran Coll (cartilage tear), Sean McCarron (calf), Thomas McMonagle (hairline fracture foot).

Form Guide (last six league games)

Finn Harps: W-D-W-W-D-D (12 pts)

Athlone Town: L-D-W-D-D-L (6 pts)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last six away games against Athlone Town

09-Oct-09 – Athlone Town 0-6 Finn Harps (First Division)

10-Jul-10 – Athlone Town 0-1 Finn Harps (First Division)

19-Apr-11 – Athlone Town 1-0 Finn Harps (First Division)

20-Aug-11 – Athlone Town 0-1 Finn Harps (First Division)

16-Mar-12 – Athlone Town 2-0 Finn Harps (First Division)

13-Jul-12 – Athlone Town 1-1 Finn Harps (First Division)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn Harps Goalscorers 2013

Kevin McHugh – 4

Sean McCarron – 3

Thomas McMonagle – 1

Thomas McBride – 1 (in League Cup)

Matt Harkin – 1 (in League Cup)

James Doherty – 1 (in League Cup)

Marc Brolly – 1 (in League Cup)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finn Harps Results 2013 (Harps goalscorers in brackets)

05-Apr-2013 – AL – Finn Harps 0-0 Wexford Youths

29-Mar-2013 – AL – Mervue United 2-2 Finn Harps (McMonagle, McHugh)

23-Mar-2013 – AL – Finn Harps 1-0 Longford Town (McHugh)

15-Mar-2013 – AL – Finn Harps 4-1 Cobh Ramblers (McCarron 2, McHugh 2)

08-Mar-2013 – AL – Waterford United 1-1 Finn Harps (McCarron)

03-Mar-2013 – LC – Mayo League 1-4 Finn Harps (Harkin, Doherty, Brolly, McBride)

It’s difficult to find a course that has found all of its students a guaranteed job.

But the Financial Services Technologies (FST) conversion course at Letterkenny Institute of Technology is offering a chance for people to re-skill with promise of certain employment.

The Higher Diploma in Financial Services Technologies course has had a 100% employment for all of its graduates so far.

The Letterkenny IT is now offering this 10 month conversion programme in technologies for people who hold a degree or have relevant experience in this area.

However people who may not have a background in computing will be considered. It can also be studied part-time over 2 years. Deadline for applications is 17 May, 2013.

According to Michael Carey, Lecturer, “We now accept all disciplines, students come from business, accounting and other technical disciplines and people who don’t have a computer background with very little knowledge of the mainframe.

“We also consider people who have worked in the “real world” for many years and may in fact not have a Primary Degree, but are able to demonstrate great enthusiasm for mainframe and programming, through RPL(Recognition of Prior Learning).”

The programme was originally developed by LYIT to meet the needs of financial software companies and was developed in collaboration with a number of key employers from the financial services industry in the region. Work placement is a feature of the programme.

“When Allstate and Pramerica teamed with LYIT, the result was an active collaboration that produced an enterprise computing curriculum, complete with all of the relevant details and syllabi needed to support it,” outlines Michael Carey, Lecturer on the programme. “So far the course has gone from strength to strength continuously adapting to meet the needs of industry which is one of the reasons for its highly successful employment rates of graduates.”

The aim of The Higher Diploma is to develop a desirable a employable skills set in mainframe business systems and quality testing for the financial services sector with a strong emphasis in systems development using the business language COBOL. The programme adds a complementary future-orientated skills-set in client server business systems development, including database-driven and mobile platforms.

Deadline for applications is 17 May 2013.To find out more contact Rory McMorrow Business School Administrator 074 9186210. or visit www.lyit.ie