It's hoped that the Health Minister will take on board concerns surrounding Sligo University Hospital as part of her visit today. Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is set to turn the sod on the 42 bed Block development at the hospital this morning. The Ministers visit to Sligo comes just days after revelations that that rain is leaking through the…

Fórsa members working in HSE and Section 38 hospitals, including in the north west have voted to approve the proposals to address the non-filling and delayed filling of vacant and suppressed health posts. Section 39 organisations are privately owned charities and agencies that are contracted by the State to provide healthcare services. In March, un…

We remember Sligo GAA’s cycling referee – and goalkeeper – John Lee who has passed away this week. Reflections on Wednesday night's pulsating Ulster under-20 football final from Danny O’Donnell and Martin McHugh. Zoe Lee Nicholson on the jOYS of wheel-to-wheel racing at Mondello Park. The new Tag Rugby Season returns in Sligo. Sarah Mullen is recru…

There's renewed hope for a static speed camera outside a county Sligo primary school. Pupils at St. Lasarra's National School previously conducted a speed detection survey on the road outside the school which proved that some motorists continue to travel in excess of the 50km limit currently in place there. The speed of 179 vehicles was monitored a…

A public meeting over GAEC-2 and Nature Restoration in the north west is to take place in Tubbercurry this evening. There's major confusion locally over the schemes with farmers voicing their concerns on how it could impact their locality. Under new GAEC-2 rules, any land that is recorded as being over 50% peatland, will be considered as 100% peatl…

It’s emerged that Counties Sligo and Donegal have more people on the electoral register than their entire population. The Electoral Commission says it's dealing with multiple legacy issues and as a result, it can’t quantify how many mistakes there are. There are hundreds of thousands of duplicate or redundant entries on the electoral register. Both…

An investigation has been launched into an alleged assault in Sligo Town. The incident happened at the bus stop on John Street yesterday. It's alleged that the victim was assaulted while attempting to board the Strandhill bus. Gardai attended the scene and are now appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Fianna Fail Orga International…

The Government is being urged to strengthen the seafood sector as part of the National Planning framework. The document sets out plans and how to address the likes of housing, infrastructure and economic growth. A motion on the final draft was debated in the Dail last night. Donegal Sinn Fein TD Padraig MacLochlainn says there needs to be vision fo…

The Justice Minister is being urged to intervene in the ongoing investigation into the death of Leitrim pensioner Liam Farrell. The body of Mr Farrell was found unconscious, lying at the back of the family home where he lived alone in Rooskey on January 12th, 2020. Last month, the family of Liam Farrell expressed major concern over the Garda inquir…

The Health Minister is under fire over the itinerary for her imminent visit to the North West. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeill is due to in Sligo tomorrow (Fri) for a number of engagements, including the turning the sod at the new 42 bed unit at Sligo University Hospital and the official opening of the health hub at Ballinalack Community P…

An investigation has been launched into illegal dumping on the outskirts of Drumkeerin. A large volume of pallets among other items were discovered in a wooded area in recent days. Local Sinn Fein Cllr Padraig Fallon has hit out at those responsible but says that thankfully the amount of dumping incidents in Leitrim has decreased overall. Speaking …

The north west is set to continue to benefit from pleasant weather conditions during the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend. Dry, sunny spells have covered counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal in recent days with temperatures hitting the mid-twenties in a number of areas. According to Met Éireann, while the weather will break slightly for a time, the wea…

Funding will be provided for the remediation of Mitchell Curley Park in Sligo. Concern has previously been raised by local residents over the state of disrepair, with sections of the playground closed off. Following negotiations between the council and the parks department, an allocation has been agreed for works to be carried out. Local Fine Gael …

A Donegal Senator is calling for more supports for children with special educational needs and of Traveller and Roma ethnicity. As it stands, particular students are being placed on reduced school timetables, and it's feared not enough is being done to compensate for it. Senator Eileen Flynn raised the issue in the Seanad today to Minister of State…

A roundabout in Laghey is a step closer. The proposed infrastructure has been in the pipeline for some time and has been deemed as key in solving major safety issues in the area. The roundabout would be ideally situated close to the Pettigo junction. Negotiations are ongoing with landowners but it is expected that contract documentation will be fin…

There are further feud fears after the latest alleged petrol bomb attack in Sligo. The incident happened on Finisklin Road in the early hours of yesterday morning. A vehicle was completely destroyed by fire as a result. It comes a month after a petrol bomb was thrown through the window of a downstairs room at a house in Cranmore - it's not known if…

County Leitrim is being sacrificed in the National Planning Framework. That's according to Labour Senator Nessa Cosgrove, who believes that that a number of amendments need to be made. The first major update to the National Planning Framework was agreed by Government ministers earlier this month. There's ongoing concern among Leitrim communities ov…

It's now been claimed that painful hip surgeries carried out on children may have been routine practice. An audit is currently examining the criteria for a specific type of hip surgery in young children carried out between 2021 and 2023. It was previously claimed in recent weeks that thousands of children could have undergone the unnecessary surger…

A local business owner has issued a strong warning over a scam affecting his company. It's emerged that a forged business card is in circulation, pertaining to be Inver Hire and Power Equipment. A cloned business card is where a legitimate card's details are copied, meaning that it is very difficult to decipher which is the one belonging to the com…

Temperatures could get close to a record high for the month of April today. High pressure centred close to Ireland is bringing warm sunny conditions over the coming days. The current April record is 25.8 degrees Celcius which was set in Glenties, Co Donegal, in 1984. Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather doesn't think we'll quite make that - but he rec…

The rate of first-time mothers giving birth via caesarean section was 73.5% in Sligo University Hospital during February. This was noticeably higher than other hospitals across the region, with Letterkenny University Hospital on 35.5%, Galway University Hospital on 44.6% and Mayo University Hospital on 46.3%, while it was also a large increase on S…

Concern has been raised by a number of Sligo residents over the current condition of Mitchell Curley Park. Many consider the area to have fallen into a serious state of disrepair, with sections of the children’s playground closed off. As it stands there is no government funding allocated for the maintenance of the facilities, which has left the are…

A Donegal TD has backed his party’s Councillors decision to walk-out at a Donegal County Council meeting yesterday. All 100% Redress Party Cllrs exited the Special Plenary Meeting on Housing early in protest at current government measures on defective blocks. The party are requesting that the Minister for Housing James Browne TD visit Donegal and t…

There's concern that some Sligo retail workers continue to face aggression and threat of assault in shops. It comes as the Seanad will debate a bill to protect retail workers later today which creates specific offences for such incidents. It's thought that the Covid-19 pandemic brought about a particular spike in the likes of threats and aggression…

There are renewed calls on the Government to honour a promise to make increase in the cap for the Defective Block Grant Scheme available to all homeowners availing of the scheme and not just new entrants. It was a commitment made last autumn. Donegal Sinn Fein TD Padraig MacLochlainn has claimed that the delays are costing affected homeowners as mu…

Public consultations are being set up to get feedback on the planned route for the SLNCR Greenway. A preferred route has been identified in a recent meeting for all TDs and Cllrs from the region, and it's understood to have been received positively. It's hoped the proposed greenway could bring an economic boost with an increase of tourism across th…

The Forestry Minister is expected to face a grilling from North West Senators later. Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae is in the Seanad taking questions with the impact of how Storm Eowyn devastated this region set to be a hot topic. The Minister received some backlash for not meeting with key people impacted by the storm during a visit to Leitri…

A new beach school programme for children will be launched in Donegal this year. The first of its kind in the Northwest, Liquid Therapy has launched the school with the hopes of combining academic learning and surf therapy. Schools across the region are being encouraged to apply ahead of the start date next month. Tom Losey, Founder of Liquid Thera…

There are renewed calls for a clampdown on dog fouling in the North West. It follows a weekend incident in west Donegal where dog mess was left outside a local business premises. Independent Cllr Michael McClafferty believes that local authorities need to put more money into enforcement and fines. Speaking to Ocean FM news, Cllr McClafferty fears t…

100% Redress Party Councillors have staged a walk-out at today’s Special Plenary Meeting on Housing in Donegal County Council. The exit is in protest at what they claim is a lack of engagement by the government in solving the defective block crisis. The party are requesting that the Minister for Housing James Browne TD visit Donegal and the homes i…

Support has been given in Leitrim for the introduction of paid leave for workers during extreme weather conditions. The trade union Unite has called for four days of paid climate leave, after a survey of their members showed people didn’t feel safe going to work in the aftermath of Storm Eowyn. The Storm caused devastations across the North West ea…

Passengers on the Sligo to Dublin train will not be impacted by the introduction of a new fare calculator. From today, Dublin is divided into zones with an expanded radius to include areas like Drogheda, Enfield, Navan and Newbridge. When using a leap card, the majority of fares are now significantly reduced - except for some Dublin regions which w…

The Taoiseach is defending the government's approach to housing targets. It's after the number of homeless people reached another record high, with more than 15 thousand 400 people accessing emergency accommodation last month. 169 adults were accessing emergency accommodation in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal during this period - Sligo had the higest f…

It's hoped that investment being pumped into An Garda Siochana may reduce crime rates in Sligo. It comes as Sligo Garda Station experienced crime rates above pre-pandemic levels in 2024. New figures show that there were just over 1,500 offences recorded in Sligo last year, with theft accounting for almost a third at 479. Crime in rural parts of Sli…

The Breast Check Mobile unit is returning to Sligo. It hasn't been in the town for two years, with women having to travel to either Tubberycurry or Carrick-On-Shannon. The unit is to set up at the Showgrounds from next week with local women now beginning to receive their appointments. Local Fianna Fail Cllr Edel MacSharry is hopeful that it will ro…

Local authorities in the North West have been allocated additional funds today to improve the collection of electoral register data. The total funding of 3 million euro is to enable county and city councils to modernise electoral registration and build on work done over the last two years. Significant changes to electoral registration process in 20…

Donegal are back in the Ulster football final following Sunday's 1-19 to 0-16 semi-final victory against Down. Martin McHugh and Manus Boyle give their postmatch assessment - as Donegal get ready to take on All-Ireland champions Armagh on May 10th in the provincial decider.

There's disgust in Sligo following reports that a local bring bank was left in deplorable state over the weekend. Numerous bags of clothing and other household items were dumped beside the recycling and clothing bank on the Cranmore Road in recent. Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons believes that while people should return another day if the banks are f…

It's feared the government will not deliver on their promise to tackle homelessness. Recently released figures show that there were a total of 169 adults accessing emergency accommodation in Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal during this period. In terms of County breakdown, Sligo recorded the highest number at 82, followed by Donegal at 67 while there wer…

Over a quarter of a million people attended the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome today. People from all corners of the globe travelled to the Vatican to pay their respects to the late Pontiff. Earlier this morning people queued for hours before the funeral, while during the funeral, flags from different countries could be seen, representing the many…

Large crowds attending the official launch of Relay for Life Sligo at the City Hall on Friday evening. The two-day event itself is set to take place over the weekend of September 13th & 14th on the ATU Sligo campus. Relay For Life is a celebration of solidarity and helps to raise awareness of the services provided by the Irish Cancer Society locall…

The disparity of household income across Ireland, but in particular, in the north west, has been highlighted. Earlier this week, a CSO report showed that Donegal had the lowest median gross household income in the country just over €42,400. The figure in Leitrim was over €47,200, while Sligo was just shy of €50,000. Irish Rural Link say they believ…

A huge security operation is underway in Vatican City today ahead of Pope Francis's funeral tomorrow. More than 100-thousand mourners have so far filed past the Pope's open casket - as he lies in state for a final day in St Peter's Basilica. The pontiff's been there since Wednesday following his death in Vatican City on Easter Monday, aged 88. Done…

The Emergency Aeromedical Service responded to 64 critical incidents across the north west in 2024. Missions frequently involve significant trauma resulting from falls, road traffic collisions as well as medical emergencies. Run by the National Ambulance Service, these calls are separate to Resuce 118's search and rescue helicopter, they do offer s…

Two Donegal sites have been included in the latest EPAs 2024 National Priority list. The report out today identified Aurivo Consumer Foods Limited for discharges to water and Glenmore Biogas in Ballybofey for odour issues. Water pollution and bad smells are the most common failures the EPA has found in breaches by waste and industrial facilities. T…

US firm Sazerac have announced the renaming of Lough Gill Distillery in Sligo, which will now be known as Hawk’s Rock Distillery. The distillery is currently closed to the public during renovations, but it has been confirmed that Sazerac has received planning permission to develop ‘a future visitor experience’ at the site. Hawk’s Rock will continue…

It's been claimed that cancer patients south of Donegal Town are being excluded from accessing the Letterkenny-to-Galway HSE-funded transport. There's said to be a large number of cancer patients in this region who have to make the long journey to Galway for treatment. However, people living along the N15 corridor between Ballyshannon and Rathcorma…

Parents across the North West are being reminded that today is the final day to apply and reapply to the school transport scheme. Every academic year the scheme causes major controversy locally, with some pupils struggling to get a seat on the school bus. This is down to the terms and conditions with concessionary and non-concessionary tickets. The…

The lack of unity among Irish MEPs over EU trade decisions has been called into question. A recent European Parliament vote on the Mercusor trade agreement brought forward a number of amendments. Midlands-North West MEP Ciaran Mullooly has hit out at a number of his colleagues, including those aligned to Fine Gael for rejecting those amendments, sa…

There's concern that the future of the Strandhill peoples market hangs in the balance. The market held at Sligo Airport was initially due to reopen for the 2025 season in March but has been delayed, with over 160 traders are said to be displaced as a result. This centres on ongoing training for the new Irish Coastguard helicopter service taking pla…