For the first time ever, the public will soon have access to the Donegal GAA County Board’s archives.

The Donegal County Archive has received an award of 4,500 euro from the heritage council which will be used to catalogue and conserve the collection.

To date only a small part of the Donegal GAA archive collection has been made available to the public but in recent years the county board released its entire collection.

This includes including minutes of meetings, photographs, programmes and other items relating to the history of the GAA over the past 80 years.

The Donegal County Archives now plans to use the funds it has received, along with an allocation from the service’s own budget, to catalogue and conserve the collection.

It is also planned to produce a publication which will provide a short history of the GAA in Donegal, describe the items in the collection and include images from the collection.

It is hoped that by the end of the year the entire collection will be made fully accessible to the public.

Donegal North East TD Niall Blaney has rubbished guarantees given by Fine Gael TD Joe McHugh in relation to job creation in the county.

Speaking during an economic debate on Wednesday night, Joe McHugh told the Dail that hundreds of jobs could be created in Donegal if the Tanaiste, as he put it, made a few phone calls.

However, Fianna Fail’s Niall Blaney has questioned these claims……

But, Deputy McHugh has hit back, and he says he has spoken to the CEO’s of four separate companies, who say they can bring 240 new jobs to Donegal.

The Real IRA has admitted killing 31 year old Kieran Doherty, whose naked and bound body was found on the Braehill Road in Derry on Wednesday night with a bullet wound to the head.

In January, Mr Doherty denied involvement in the cannabis haul found in a house at Carrigans.

Mr Doherty, a former Republican Prisoner, said he had placed an ad in the local press seeking tenants for the house, but had no further involvement in it.

Last month, the PSNI searched his home in an operation believed to have been linked to the discovery of 500,000 euros worth of cannabis in a house in Carrigans.

Mr Doherty told the Journal that he had no involvement with the drugs, and the house belonged to a Republican prisoner whom he had met in Portlaoise prison. The owner of the house was found dead in a house in County Meath earlier this month.

Three months ago, Kieran Doherty claimed in an interview with the Derry Journal newspaper that MI5 had approached him and attempted to recruit him as an informer while he was trying to set up a cigarette manufacturing company.

According to the paper, he was repeatedly turned down for a licence by Revenue and Customs and had then been approached by an MI5 agent.

A house party guest who crept into a young woman’s bed while she slept, rubbed his hands down her body and touched her private parts.

37-year-old Charlie Potts was found in bed next to the woman in a south Dublin house, where a birthday party was being held.

A court heard the victim’s brother walked into the bedroom during the assault to check on his girlfriend — who was asleep in an adjoining bed at the time — and saw Potts straddling his sister.

The woman’s own partner was downstairs at the time of the attack.

The matter was adjourned for eight weeks to allow the victim to prepare a victim impact statement.

Defence lawyer Muiriosa Regan said Potts will make a plea of mitigation on the next date.

Potts admitted before Dun Laoghaire District Court to a single charge of sexual assault in the incident on April 12 last year.

The defendant, of Urney Road, Clady, Strabane, Co Tyrone, called to the house at around 2am and was initially refused entry by the woman’s brother.

Sergeant Mary Diskin had said that after some “horseplay” between the men at the door, Potts was allowed inside.

The victim was at the house and she went to bed, followed by her brother’s girlfriend, who went to sleep in a separate bed in the same room.

Later, the victim awoke to find a man lying on top of her, with his arm across her waist and hand under her clothes, touching her.

Sgt Diskin said Potts put his hand down the woman’s body, and touched her private parts.

Check

The victim’s brother came up to check on his own girlfriend, and saw Potts straddling his sister.

He came back up with his sister’s partner and they confronted the defendant.

The court previously heard that the victim did not know Potts, but he knew some people at the party.

Potts has no previous convictions.

Judge Ann Ryan adjourned the matter for eight weeks to allow for the preparation of a victim impact statement.

Potts’ lawyer said she will make a plea of mitigation on the next day.

Ciaran Doherty

A man murdered by suspected dissident republicans in the North last night has been identified.

He was 31-year-old Ciaran Doherty – a father of a two and half year old girl.

Police also say he was due to get married.

He was stripped, tied up and shot in a remote lane on the outskirts of Derry city last night.

Detective Chief Inspector Ian Harrison is from the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Former minister, Deputy James McDaid,  has said there is public appetite for a Cabinet reshuffle.

Deputy McDaid was speaking after the Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he would be considering the Government’s progress in the coming period.

Deputy McDaid also slammed Fianna Fail’s handling of Willie O’Dea’s resignation as Defence Minister.

He said it was badly organised

“Eamon Ryan is a very, very good confident speaker” he said.

“I saw him that day – I mean the poor guy, he looked as if he needed a diaper  because of the way he went through the thing”.

“They didn’t have anything prepared – the management was absolutely abysmal” he added.

Donegal was one of the highest insurance claiming counties for burst pipes caused to commercial and residential property during the big freeze over the new year.

Figures released today by the Irish Insurance federation show that between residential and commercial property there was a total of 1,230 claims for burst pipes.

1,100 of those were household claims, the fourth highest level in the country.

There are concerns that the closure of the Carndonagh Garda station next week will leave the town the target of criminals.

It has emerged that from March 1st the station will close and it is thought garda cover will be provided from the stations at Clonmany and Malin.

Two years ago there was a fanfare announcement of plans for a 24 hour station based in Carndonagh covering north Inishowen staffed by 12 gardai and two sergeants.

However it is unclear at what stage those plans are now at.

Raymond Doherty is chair of the Carndonagh Local Development Company – he says there is great concern in the area:

Local Councillor Charlie McConologue says that he has recieved assurances that garda cover will not be reduced in Carndonagh while the current station is being refurbed:
 

The Health Information and Quality Authority has published a review of how breast cancer is detected and treated.

The review assesses the performance of the eight national cancer centres of excellence, as well as the satellite service provided at Letterkenny General Hospital, which is found to be performing well.

The HIQA report concludes that the satellite symptomatic breast disease service at Letterkenny General Hospital is meeting most of the core quality and safety requirements.

Under a number of target headings, Letterkenny General’s service reaches 100% compliance, including definitive diagnosis within two weeks of an urgent referral, and surgery within 20 days of diagnosis where necessary.

Where slight issues were found in timelines for non-urgent referrals, the hospital promised those issues would be fully resolved by the end of last month.

It is noteworthy that the reviews conclusions note that at the time of the review, it was unclear what impact, if any, the transfer of services from Sligo General Hospital would have on compliance figures in Galway, and whether or not such an impact would have a knock on effect on the satellite service in Letterkenny.

Interestingly, as breast check is rolled out in Donegal Town, and arrangements are being finalised for its
roll out in Letterkenny, the proportion of patients found not to have malignant tumours is by far the highest in the country, and over twice the national average. Nationally, there is one malignant diagnosis for every 17 benign diagnoses, in Letterkenny there is one malignant diagnosis for every 37 benign diagnoses.

This would suggest that once breast check is fully available, and women can be screened before attending the centre at the hospital, and the proportion of benign to malignant cases should fall.

Plans to address the ongoing flooding problem in Raphoe have moved forward with the news that the government has given approval for design work for Raphoe Flood Relief Project

Today’s development follows the Pre-Feasibility Study to identify the source of the flooding problem and identify the potentially viable Flood Risk Management Measures.

Welcoming the news Senator Brian O’Domhnail says physical work on addressing the flooding problems should begin early next year