Ballyshannon welcomes home Olympic hero in spectacular style


By Tara McCormack BALLYSHANNON pulled out all the stops in a vibrant homecoming for Olympic Games Bronze Medallist Mona McSharry, celebrating her incredible achievement in the Women’s 100m breaststroke. The weeks and hours of meticulous planning were evident in the stunning display that adorned the town, with Olympic and Irish flags and banners draped from […]

Rory Gallagher’s 1961 guitar set for October auction


INTEREST is expected to be huge when the 1961 iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar, played by deceased Ballyshannon musician Rory Gallagher, is auctioned by Bonham’s in London in October. The famous ‘Strat’, which Gallagher famously bought for £100 on credit, is part of ‘The Rory Gallagher Collection’ coming to auction at Bonhams on October 17. It […]

Accessible bus service improvements welcomed


NEWLY re-elected Fine Gael Councillor Jimmy Kavanagh recently welcomed confirmation from the manager of Bus Éireann that Route 64 bus services from Letterkenny to Galway Bus stations will be wheelchair accessible from June 23. The wheelchair accessible route will include Ballyshannon and Sligo Bus Stations. Cllr Kavanagh had raised the issue at a meeting in […]

The Beatles are coming to Ballyshannon! (well, almost)


ORGANISERS in Ballyshannon are elated and relieved after successfully securing one of the most in-demand bands currently performing in Ireland, following intense negotiations. Widely recognised as one of the premier Beatles tribute acts globally, ‘The Classic Beatles’ will perform in Ireland’s oldest town this Saturday, May 25. The entire team at Ballyshannon’s Abbey Arts Centre […]

Remembering famine times – when the dying buried the dead


By Paddy Walsh On the site of the former workhouse in Letterkenny and within the very walls that housed the destitute and the dying, the famine ghosts roam. They roam through a lecture in the Donegal County Museum in a building where, 180 years previously, death stalked the corridors as hunger and fever took hold […]

Anniversary of Ireland’s longest missing person sparks fresh appeal


By Dionne Meehan THE anniversary of Ireland’s longest missing person, Mary Boyle, has sparked a fresh appeal for information. The six-year-old vanished from her grandparents’ remote farm in Cashelard, south Donegal on March 18, 1977. Advertisement Despite decades of searching and investigations, no trace of the little girl has ever been found. The schoolgirl’s disappearance resulted […]

BREAKING: Follow-up search yields another major drugs find 


By Dionne Meehan  GARDAÍ in Donegal have seized a further €120,000 worth of suspected cannabis in South Donegal. This brings the estimated total of drugs seized to €751,500. Advertisement This comes after Gardaí in Ballyshannon conducted “follow-up” searches after locating a “large scale” grow-house at an industrial premise in Donegal Town on Wednesday, February 21. […]

Ongoing dispute delays opening of new hospital


The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) say staffing and clinical governance measures must be in place before it can support the opening of the new community hospital in Ballyshannon. The opening of the new 80-bed hospital is the subject of an ongoing dispute between staff and the HSE, according to the INMO.   The union […]

Donegal project highlighted in new booklet celebrating 25 years of Heritage Officer work


A special Heritage Council publication featuring stories from heritage officers in every county is being launched today to mark 25 years since the Heritage Officer Network was founded. The booklet, ‘Opening the door to Ireland’s heritage’ details one key heritage project from each local authority from the last three years which collectively, highlight the enormous […]