Garda Gary Mc Loughlin who was killed in the line of duty in Co. Donegal has been laid to rest.

Hundreds of people turned out in Fenagh in Co. Leitrim to pay tribute to the 24 year old who died from injuries he sustained in a crash on Sunday morning.

The Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy and the Justice Minister Dermot Ahern along with many of Garda Mc Loughlin’s colleagues from Buncrana and friends from Templemore were in attendance.

Fr. Bernard Hogan told those gathered that they must find strength in Gary’s bravery:  

A Scotsman has been sentenced to 12 months jail for trying to hold up a Bundoran bank with a hairbrush during a St Patrick’s weekend binge.

Donegal Circuit Court was told that 48-year-old Anthony McNulty was visiting Bundoran with in-laws. After watching Celtic beat Rangers on a pub tv he awoke with a hangover and decided to rob the Bank of Ireland in the town’s Main Street last March 16th.

He took off his socks in the street, put them on his hands, pulled a hood over his head and entered the bank where he prodded the brush, concealed in a bag, into a customer’s back.

Then, the court heard, he swore the cashier to give him money or he would shoot the customer. But manager Tara Rogers shouted to him to get out of her bank and he fled.

Judge John O’Hagan heard that McNulty threw the brush in a bin and then went to a bookie’s to place a bet on a horse before visiting a pharmacy where he stole three packets of razor blades worth €77.

Gardai, who by then had a description of him from bank customers, arrested him in the street 20 minutes after the attempted hold-up. He readily admitted his offences and had been in custody ever since.

McNulty, of Abercorn, Paisley, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to attempting to rob the bank and to the theft of the razor blades.

The court heard he had convictions in Scotland and had served five years of a seven-year sentence for using a firearm during a robbery.

Defence counsel Fiona Pekaar said McNulty, who was an alcoholic, was on heavy medication for pain and depression when he was in Bundoran and gardai had to call a doctor when they arrested him.

Judge O’Hagan noted that neither the customer who was threatened nor the manager knew McNulty only had a hairbrush in the bag. He paid tribute to Ms Rogers for her bravery.

The judge added that McNulty was “caught red-handed” but had admitted his guilt from the very beginning, a factor which he was taking into account when back-dating the 12-months sentence to March 16.

Prison sources said that, allowing for remission for good behaviour, McNulty could be freed immediately.

Fine Gael has been accused of playing populist politics by calling on Donegal County Council to cuts commercial rates by 8.5% next year.

Slowey "cuts achievable"

Ahead of the council’s budget next week the party claims the cut, which would cost the council 1.75 million euro in income, would be a much needed boost to businesses and would save many from going bust.

Fine Gael’s Terence Slowey says the council can make the savings to introduce the reduction:  
There were acrimonious scenes in the council chamber when Fine Gael made the proposals with opposition claiming that the party was making an unrealistic proposal just to be popular.

Chief among them was Sinn Fein Councillor Padraig Macloughlain:  

Cllr O'Domhnaill

There are calls for Donegal County Council to drastically reduce the cost it charges for providing a water metre with claims that small farmers are being driven out of the industry because of high costs.

Currently there is a standing charge of 290 euro per metre, this regardless of whether the consumer is a small farmer, a church, sports hall or a multi-million euro business..

Independent Councillor Seamus O’Domhnaill has called for the charge to be reduced to 80 euro – there are proposals to reduce it to 175 euro in next weeks budget but he says thats not enough:  

The man due to be questioned about the crash which claimed the life of one garda and badly injured another had been banned from driving for 15 years and should have been in prison.

Martin McDermott of Raphoe had 79 previous convictions and is expected to be questioned by gardai on his release from hospital

Garda Gary McLoughlin who was killed when his patrol car was stuck by another vehicle close to burt in the early hours of Sunday morning will be laid to rest in his native Leitrim later.

Donegal County Council will be represented by its Mayor Brenden Byrne who paid tribute to Garda McLoughlin:  

A judge has expressed frustration over the trial of five men accused of a string of sex offences against a girl when she was 12 and 13.

Judge John O’Hagan was told at Donegal Circuit Court that the trial earlier this year of a sixth man took two weeks.

Judge O’Hagan noted that four Circuit Court judges are already “tied up” with tribunals and the others were “working flat out”.

He adjourned the case to the next scheduled sitting of the court in March.
A judge has expressed frustration over the trial of five men accused of a string of sex offences against a girl when she was 12 and 13.

Judge John O’Hagan was told at Donegal Circuit Court that the trial earlier this year of a sixth man took two weeks.

The five, now aged between 23 and 33, face charges of sexual assault on the girl on dates between 1st July and 30th November 2003.

Former army private Kenneth McDonald, a 34-year-old father of three of Ernedale Heights, Ballyshannon, was jailed in June for three years – nine months of the sentence suspended – when he was convicted by a jury on four counts of sexual assault on the girl.

His trial heard that the offences occurred in his car near woodlands in south Donegal.

EU fishery talks have ended in Brussels with fishing groups expressing qualified satisfaction over the result.

The issue dominating the meeting from an Donegal perspective was the fallout for mackerel fisheries following the break down of the EU Norway talks last week.

The European Commission was initially recommending a 50% cut in the mackerel quota but instead is has been raised to 65% of this year’s quota for Ireland, on the basis of further talks with Norway in January.

Letterkenny Town Council is urging officials to get tough on unauthorised developments.

A number of council members have raised concerns about an unauthorised development which has been operating in the town in recent weeks.

Members said at a time when businesses who pay their rates and water charges are facing unprecedented difficulties, it is utterly wrong that they are being undercut by rogue operators who pay nothing to the council and make no contribution to the town.

Cllr Tadhg Culbert is calling firm and swift action.  

Fine Gael’s Agriculture and Fisheries Spokesperson says Former Marine Minister Frank Fahey should appear before a full Oireachtas enquiry on foot of the Ombudsman’s special report on the Lost at Sea scheme.

The report, which recommends that almost quarter of a million euro in compensation be paid to the Byrne family from Donegal who were denied inclusion in the scheme, raises serious questions about how it was handled and advertised.

It emerged that 75% of the scheme was allocated to two constituents of Deputy Fahey, and that he had corresponded with them before the scheme took effect.

Fine Gael’s Michael Creed says serious questions are now raised. 

A protest took place today outside the council offices in Carndonagh against the erection of a telecommunications mast in the Drumfries area.

It’s the latest in a series of protests across the county as Tetra Ireland continues the roll out of  the National Digital Radio Service.

Tetra secured the government contract to provide the network which will be used by the Gardai and other emergency services.

Local Councillor John Ryan is backing the Carndonagh protests – he says question need to be answered as to how planning permission was awarded for the Drumfries mast and what locals knew about it: