A 26 year old man has been jailed for two years for sexually assaulting a 13 year old schoolgirl in Donegal.

Leo Forde of Rathnenney, Laghey in Donegal was convicted by a jury of three counts of sexual assault on the girl in a school shelter in September 2003.

Leo Forde said he met his victim in a cafe a few weeks after he had moved back to Ireland from England in 2003.
He said he thought she was 17 at the time.
The now 20 year old woman had sex 57 times with 22 older men when she was 13 and kept a record of names in case she became pregnant.
Judge Gerard Griffin handed Forde a three year sentence, suspended the final year and requested that he be treated for his alcohol addiction while in custody.

He’s the fifth person to be sentenced for sexually assaulting the girl.

McCool will appear in court again on September 13.

One of the country’s leading economists has accused the Government, the church and the GAA of showing a lack of leadership leading up to and during Ireland’s ecenomic collapse.

Jim Power was addressing the McGill Summer School in Glenties this afternoon on the theme of ‘Steps to Economic Revovery.

Mr Powers said the public has been failed in a number of areas:

And he claimed that the department of Finance attempted to have him fired – for airing his views.

The Bus Eireann evening service from Dublin to South and West Donegal has been reinstated until the end of August.

The service was withdrawn a fortnight ago, with the 5pm bus from Dublin stopping in Donegal Town, leaving Glencolmcille and Dungloe without an evening service.

Now. Cllr Brendan Byrne says Bus Eireann has agreed to reinstate the service for five weeks, pending discussions with local councillors and community groups………

A tourism leader in Derry is calling for closer cooperation between service and accomodation providers in Derry and Donegal, particularly in the run up to Derry’s tenure as UK City of Culture in 2013.

Martin Crossan is bringing over 30 Derry hotel staff to Donegal tomorrow for a briefing on what’s available, and is hoping the authorities here embark on similar initiatives.

He says it’s important…….

There was double success for Tyrone on Sunday as both the Senior and Minor sides won Ulster titles in Clones.

Ulster Senior FC Result
Tyrone 1-14 v 0-07 Monaghan

Tyrone made it back-to-back Anglo-Celt Cup victories with a ruthless performance, squeezing the life out of a shell-shocked Monaghan side to win with plenty to spare.  While this was a great day for Tyrone, Monaghan had their spirit smothered out of them by a suffocating O’Neill County display. Tyrone lead by three points at the break (0-7 to 0-4) with the help of two saves from keeper Pascal Mc Connell. In the second half it was very much one sided as Mickey Harte’s men eased to a ten point win and a 13^th provincial title for the county.

Tyrone Manager Mickey Harte
 

Ulster Minor FC Result
Tyrone 1-14 v 0-05 Armagh

Tyrone captured their third Ulster MFC title in four years when they destroyed All-Ireland champions Armagh in yesterday’s final at Clones. The Red Hands dominated from start to the finish and killed off the game with a Ryan Devlin goal nine minutes from the end. Tyrone will now play Kerry in the All Ireland Minor Quarter Final.

Tyrone Minor Manager Raymond Munroe.
 

A week after the horrific crash in Inishowen which saw eight men lose their lives, The Mayor of Buncrana says the focus will now be on ensuring that there are counselling services available for the bereaved families and the wider community.

The HSE has already been working with the Buncrana Community Combatting Suicide Group to provide counselling services, and Cllr Padraig Mac Lochlainn says they, and other community groups will be meeting with the local town council this week to see what help the council can provide.

Cllr Mac Lochlainn says the coming week will be crucial in ensuring that people have the support they need………

A grant of almost €2million has been awarded for the development of facilities at Sliabh Liag in South West Donegal.

The money will be used to improve road access and parking facilities, as well as marking out walking routes and building better visitors’ facilities

Welcoming the announcement, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan said the intention is to transform the Sliabh Liag Cliffs and the immediate hinterland into a world class visitor attraction, while ensuring the site maintains its environmental, cultural and heritage values………

The 30th annual MacGill Summer School was officially opened in Glenties last night by former Taoiseach Dr Garret Fitzgerald, followed by the 10th annual John Hume Lecture, which was delivered by the North’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.

The theme of this year’s school is Reforming the Republic – Issues of Politics, Economics and Accountability.

Participants in sessions today include Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin, with several other ministers and senior politicians due in Glenties over the rest of the week.

Director Joe Mulholland says the school will be asking serious questions about the state of politics and the economy, but will also be seeking solutions and looking to the future.

In his lecture last night, Martin McGuinness said the theme of “Reforming the Republic” cannot be realised by tinkering with the border, and there should be a national debate on Irish unity.

He said there should be an end to the duplication of bodies to promote sport, arts, tourism and investment on both sides of the border, and called for the people of Northern Ireland to be allowed to vote in presidential elections in the republic…………

All Ireland SFC Rd3 Qualifier
Derry 1-9 v 2-17 Kildare

Kildare turned in a five-star performance on Saturday afternoon at Celtic Park to cruise past a disappointing Derry side and into the fourth round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers.  The Lily Whites had a slender lead at Half time 0-8 to 1- 4,  with Raymond Wilkinson scoring an early Derry goal. Damien Cassidy’s side did take the lead in the opening stages of the second half but they were steam-rolled by a determined Kildare outfit in the closing quarter.