Letterkenny Post

Out and about @ The Pulse

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:20:54 +0000

Out and About @ Sister Sara’s

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:08:22 +0000

Errigal College Talent Show

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:41:12 +0000

Harps begin new season

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Finn Harps kick-off their Airtricity First Division campaign in Longford on Saturday.
And for manager James Gallagher it’s been a case of “shop local.”
All the squad, bar Marc Brolly and new signing Johnny Lafferty, are from Donegal.
Gallagher says that his side will be aiming to collect all three points at Flancare Park (kick-off is 7.30).
“I don’t know much about them but will be going to win,” he told the Post.
Harps have been boosted by the return to the club of the vastly experienced Jonathan Minnock and striker Kevin McHugh.
Gallagher is unlikely to name his team until later in the week, and while Minnock should start McHugh is still not 100% match fit, having been out for almost three months with a hamstring problem.
In recent years the First Division has been a bit of a graveyard, but with clubs from Derry and Cork now installed for this season (having been demoted by the FAI) it could be one of the most interesting in years. Ironically, they meet at the Brandywell this Friday.
Derry City are 2/1 favourites to win the First Division title, according to odds supplied to the Letterkenny Post from McBride Bookmakers.
Harps may be outsiders but a good start could be the key to keeping them in the title hunt, and they could yet emerge as the dark horses in the race for promotion.
The full odds for the coming season to win the First Division are: 2/1 Derry; 11/4, Shelbourne; 100/30 Waterford; 7/1, Cork; 12/1, Limerick; 16/1, Finn Harps; 20/1, Monaghan; 28/1, Longford; 33/1, Athlone; 40/1, Wexford; 200/1, Mervue; 250/1, Salthill Devon.

ICE-COOL CHAMP

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:59:01 +0000

A Donegal woman has won a gold medal in the World Masters Speed Skating Championships for the second time in four years at Baselga di Piné in Italy this week.
Clare Scanlon of Crossroads, Killygordon, won the title for her adopted homeland, Holland. The former Finn Valley AC member won the 1500m, the1000m, the 300m and came second in the 500m event.
In 2007, the 37-year-old became the first Irish person to compete in the World Speed Skating Championships. Scanlon went on to become the first Irish person to win it in 2008 and picked up a silver medal in 2007.

Some councillors ignore yellow lines

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:51:15 +0000

A number of councillors are consistently parking illegally when they attend meetings of Donegal Co. Council in Lifford.
When meetings are held, it is common to see cars parked on the bend of the Diamond – despite the fact that double yellow lines are clearly visible.
And it’s not just a case of one off incidents; it’s an occurrence that has been happening for years.
Many of the councillors park on a laneway almost opposite County House, or at the nearby Three Rivers Centre car-park.
But some don’t bother to make the effort to find a legal parking space and park on the double yellow lines, just metres away from the council chamber.
On Monday, a truck almost got stuck as it tried to get around the bend, having to crawl as it attempted to get around the illegally parked vehicles.
“There are always councillors’ cars parked there when they have meetings, but nobody takes any notice even though it means you can’t see properly around the bend,” one local resident commented.

Google doodle winner

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:09:40 +0000

A Milford student has been crowned Google’s second Irish Doodle 4 Google competition winner after seeing off competition from around the country in a public vote.
Ruth Deeney, from the Loreto Community School in Milford, emerged as the winner after competing against 80 regional winners in the Transition Year, 5th year, 6th year and Youthreach category. Her artwork was unveiled on the Google homepage in Ireland last Wednesday. In addition, the 4th year student won a €10,000 technology grant for Loreto Community School in Milford and a personal laptop computer for her teacher and herself.
Ruth’s design was based on the theme “My Future,” and she described how she came up with her winning design.
“My future begins at the centre of ‘Google’. Myself as a fortune teller foresees everything around me. The future being squeaky clean, shiny and painted chrome, not by humans of course! We won’t have to lift a finger with our advanced technology, like nanny robots and elevators to other planets. Future here we come!”
Google’s Chief Webmaster and master doodler, Michael Lopez, travelled over to Dublin to present Ruth and her teacher, Ann Marie Finn, with their prizes. Ruth’s doodle went onto Google’s home page on March 3rd.
Milford’s Loreto Community School enjoyed an impressive one-two in the competition with another student, Ciara Hayley, winning the Group 3 age category and picking up a laptop for her teacher and herself.
Over 75,000 public votes were cast when choosing the four finalists.

Golden Eagle poisoned

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:06:49 +0000

A 10-MONTH-OLD male Golden Eagle chick that was born and reared in a Donegal eyrie has been found poisoned on the Sligo/Leitrim border at Truskmore Mountain.
Conall, named after the Irish translation of Donegal, was found using the GPS satellite transmitter attached to his back. The Golden Eagle Trust had used GPS to allow local people to follow his movements on their website. A post mortem revealed he was in perfect health prior to the poisoning. It is the second poisoning incident in the space of a year.
“This issue is about the illegal use of poison within Irish farming,” said Lorcán O’Toole from the Golden Eagle Trust.
“We believe the few hundred farmers using poison illegally are at variance with the huge environmental advances Irish farming has undergone over the last ten years. We have always fully acknowledged the support and co-operation of the sheep farming community in the Northwest and continue to do so. But unfortunately the poisoning of this Golden Eagle undermines the image of Irish food and weakens the potential for local tourism and damages the fragile rural economy in the Northwest, we believe.”
“Farmers in Donegal bear witness to the fact that eagles can readily co-exist with sheep farming. We believe that ordinary people across Ireland expect Irish Agriculture to co-exist with Nature. Is our green nation so timid, so tame and so weak that we cannot tolerate several pairs of Wild Golden Eagles?
The group believes that illegal poisoning could threaten the project’s future.
“If Golden Eagles become extinct in Ireland for the second time in little over a century, then this small charity can only but apologise for imagining that free-flying Eagles, in this new Millennium, would encounter a society that broadly re-embraced the ancient Gaelic respect for wild creatures.”

Cut-backs for major projects

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:04:15 +0000

DONEGAL Co. Council is set to slash expenditure on major road, housing, water and sewage treatment programmes in the next few years.
And there could also be cut-backs on a range of community based projects ranging from libraries to playgrounds.
Hundreds of millions worth of projects face being delayed or shelved.
Although the Council has identified a list of projects – many of which are regarded as urgent – it now looks increasingly likely that it will not have enough money to start or complete many of them.
The collapse in the construction industry is one of the chief reasons for the financial headache now facing the Council.
The Council funds the bulk of its major projects through grants which it receives from the government.
However, in recent years it has also raised money through the Development Contribution Scheme. In effect, this was a levy on the construction sector with the money being used to towards major projects.
But the DCS has now come up short. Indeed, the revenue from the DCS is already below estimates for projects that are already underway. Figures released this week show that projected DCS funding for the period 2005 – 2009 could be €10.15 million less than expected, and DCS revenues for the next few years are not projected to exceed €1.2 million per annum.
Often the Council uses DCS money – and sometimes loans – to part-finance between 10 and 50% of the cost of a project.
The problem that the Council now faces is that not only will government grants be cut – but it can’t even afford to raise the money to finance its share.
On top of this, the Council now has little scope regarding the disposal of assets. In the past, it often sold surplus land or old buildings to help fund new projects. However, the collapse in the property market and impact on prices means that the value of the Council’s surplus assets has also declined.
The Council oversaw record expenditure of €772 million on caapital projects during the years 2005 – 2009. Expenditure peaked at €270 million in the boom year of 2007.
The Council’s priority projects for the period 2010-2012 include the Killybegs and Letterkenny waste water schemes, and the redevelopment of Greencastle harbour.
Roads and housing programmes are set to be cut-back. No figure on the cost of capital projects between 2010 – 2012 has been finalized, but a report on the priority projects will be given to councillors later this month and they will then meet to decide on what projects should get funding.

Ready for new jobs

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:01:06 +0000

The Industrial Development Authority has unveiled a new job creation stategy to attract foreign firms – and Donegal could be one of the biggest beneficaries.
It has committed itself to locating 50% of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to outside of Dublin.
And it is understood that there will now be positive discrimination towards unemployment black-spots like Donegal, Sligo, Limerick and Waterford.
On Tuesday, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan launched “Horizon 2010” – the IDA’s strategic blueprint for attracting FDI.
“Securing such investments can also play a pivotal role in rejuvenating part of a city, a town or region were employment opportunities are limited,” she commented.
Letterkenny is well placed to attract new investment and there is currently an advance office facility, advance technology unit, and advanced technology building all ready for occupation in the 101 acre Letterkenny Business Park.
The IDA is aiming to create 105,000 new jobs between now and 2014.