By Emma Ryan A DONEGAL native who lives in Australia has successfully completed a grueling 1000 kilometre run from Sydney to Melbourne. Kevin Bonnar took part in a charity run from Sydney to Melbourne over ten days to raise vital funds for mental health charity, Holla Foundation. The 41-year-old was born in Letterkenny University Hospital and […]
‘Everyone here has the same story – we were fed up with life in Ireland’
YOUNG Donegal people are heading to ‘Oz’ in their droves. You would be hard pressed to find a friend group or family who haven’t had to say some heart-breaking goodbyes in recent months. The Donegal News spoke with four Donegal natives in their twenties who have recently decided to move down under to gain an insight […]
Letterkenny man ran 100km non-stop for blindness charity
A charity run organised by a Letterkenny man living in Melbourne has raised over $800,000 for an organisation focused on preventing and treating blindness. Mike Toner jogged 100 kilometres as part of the ‘Quick as Thieves’ ultra marathon, an effort that kept him moving for the best part of ten hours. The former St Eunan’s College student has lived […]
Walkers to remember Mary Ellen Molloy
THE second annual ‘Walk with M.E.’ fund-raising event will take place at venues across Donegal and Australia on St Stephen’s Day. The ‘Walk with M.E’ event is organised by John Ross Molloy who lost his older sister Mary Ellen in a horrific car accident in Australia just a few days before Christmas in 2019. Last […]
Letterkenny man recalls Melbourne earthquake
A LETTERKENNY man living in Melbourne has spoken of the moment the city began to shake. South east Australia was rocked by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, damaging buildings and causing mass panic. Unlike neighbouring New Zealand, quakes are uncommon in Australia and yesterday’s was the largest to hit the country in years. Mike […]
Ardara man at centre of plans to revitalise Melbourne
A DONEGAL man is spending tens of millions of dollars to help bring back vibrancy and excitement to one of Australia’s largest cities. John Cunningham from Ardara is Head of Creative Urban Places at the City of Melbourne. His team have come together with the Victorian Government to deliver Flash Forward, a programme to transform […]
Letterkenny man raises almost $1 million Down Under
A LETTERKENNY man has raised almost a million dollars to help treat and prevent blindness in Third World countries. Mike Toner from Middle Road, Ballyraine, raised $231,035 for the Fred Hollows Foundation in his latest fundraising event in Melbourne earlier this month – bringing the total past the $990,000 mark. Advertisement Mike (44), who […]
Melbourne and Donegal to unite for Mary Ellen
A DONEGAL family is planning a major fundraiser, ‘Walk with M.E.’, for Downstrands Family Resource Centre and the Kevin Bell repatriation trust on St Stephen’s Day. The ‘Walk with M.E’ event will see people from across Donegal and Melbourne come together and walk 5k to raise funds for two very worthy causes. Event organiser John […]
Melbourne lockdown ‘short term pain for long term gain’
MELBOURNE has been home to Donegal couple John Cunningham and Aoife Dalton for much of the past decade. John is Head of Creative Urban Places at the City of Melbourne. The Ardara man is responsible for the strategic development and management for the safe delivery of a programme of innovative and engaging temporary and permanent […]
‘It’s difficult not being able to see friends’
“It’s a tough time for anyone on a working holiday visa if they’ve lost jobs as there’s no government support for us, not that we know of yet anyway,”