Category: Old Donegal

Donegal County Council says its govisitdonegal.com website saw significant growth in 2021, with the number of people visiting the page up by 50% compared to the previous year.

Up to mid November last year, the govisitdonegal.com website had over 534,000 page views, an increase of more than 29% on the same period in 2020.

191,000 different users visited the site, an increase of over 51% on the previous year.

Donegal County Council says the page was visited by people in 168 different countries.

With the emphasis on holidaying at home last year, it’s no surprise the vast majority of visitors were Ireland, followed by the UK and the US.

The next ranked countries in terms of highest number of visits were China, Germany, Canada, France, The Netherlands, and Australia.

Govisitdonegal also attracted attention on social media, with over 50,000 interactions on Facebook, 21,000 on Instagram and 15,500 on Twitter.

Tributes have been paid to the man in his 20s who died following a two car collision at Ard Baithin, St Johnson last night.

Patrick Dooher from Porthall the driver of one of two cars involved in the crash.

He was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital, where he later passed away.

Gardai are urging witnesses, or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.

Local Councillor Gerry Crawford is a neighbour of the Dooher family………..

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Police in Derry are appealing for witnesses and information following the report of a serious assault which occurred on Sunday evening, St Stephen’s Day.

Police say at approximately 10pm a 34-year-old male was assaulted in the Ballymagowan Avenue area of the city, by a group of up to five males.

The victim was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries and has sustained serious facial injuries, including a fractured jaw.

Release in full –

Police in Derry are appealing for witnesses and information following the report of a serious assault which occurred on Sunday 26th December.

 

Detective Sergeant Galbraith said: “At approximately 10pm a 34-year-old male was assaulted in the Ballymagowan Avenue area of the city, by a group of up to five males.

 

“The victim was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries and has sustained serious facial injuries, including a fractured jaw.

 

“We are appealing for any persons who may have been in the area and witnessed anything suspicious or who perhaps might have dash-cam footage to contact us on reference number 1134 30/12/21.”

 

Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

 

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

The number of people infected with Covid 19 is down slightly, with 20,110 cases confirmed this afternoon.

There are 682 patients with Covid-19 in hospital today, an increase of 63 on the same time yesterday.

86 people are being treated in ICU, that’s down 2 on yesterday.

Most recent available figures for Letterkenny University Hospital shows 38 covid patients, one of them in ICU.

That’s the highest number of cases in any hospital in the Saolta University Healthcare Group – Its CEO Tony Canavan says  the number of Covid-19 patients across the group has almost doubled in the past week………..

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There are renewed calls for a more global approach to tackling Covid, as cases surge in various countries around the world.

Dr. David Nabarro from the World Health Organisation, says fair vaccine distribution is vital to accelerate the end of the pandemic.

He’s concerned that some leaders are too focused on their own countries, leaving poorer nations vulnerable.

Dr. Nabarro is urging people to speak up and demand vaccine equity…………

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Highlights of Coastwatch’s Autumn Survey have shown that important new seagrass beds have been discovered on the North Donegal coast.

That was one of the positives highlighted in the interim document, along with a marked reduction in marine litter such as drink cans and plastic bottles.

On the negative side, there’s been an increase in the number of face masks and bags of dog poo discovered along the coast, as well as more use of plastics in the aquaculture sector, with a number of single use cable ties found in Lough Foyle.

Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien says the seagrass discoveries are very important……..

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More details available HERE

There have been 20,110 further cases of Covid 19 confirmed this afternoon.

As of 8am today, 682 Covid patients were hospitalised, of which 86 are in ICU.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “Once again, we are reporting another very high number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 is continuing to increase.

“I know many people have cancelled or postponed planned social and family events, not just for News Years Eve, but right throughout the Christmas period. The occasions in life we most look forward to have been changed utterly by this pandemic. However, these collective efforts are necessary to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our health service.

“It is timely today to remember all of those who continue to contribute so much to our response to COVID-19, particularly the individual and collective efforts of our frontline healthcare workers who are now facing into a third year of pandemic response. In the most challenging of circumstances, they continue to work to protect public health and to maintain access to services across all parts of our health service. In the delivery of both COVID and non-COVID services, patients and their families have benefitted from their empathy, skill, and care. January will likely be a difficult time and I would like to thank all of our health care workers most sincerely for their efforts.

 

“We also remember those who have sadly died with COVID-19 in Ireland since the beginning of this pandemic, along with their families and loved ones who are grieving their loss. We must all remember that it is our collective, national response and the ongoing and extraordinary sacrifices each one of us is making that will break the chains of transmission, minimise the pressure on our health service, ensure that as few families as possible are similarly impacted in 2022 and lead to brighter days ahead.

 

“2020 was a very challenging year from a COVID point of view. We were dealing with a new disease, with no drugs, no vaccines and no background immunity. In 2021, we saw the emergence of vaccines and the extraordinary response of the scientific community internationally to produce them. As we look to 2022, there are many reasons for cautious optimism. Advances in science and public health including the development of new treatments like antivirals and monoclonal antibodies and the continued evolution of our understanding of this virus give us grounds to hope that 2022 may be a better year from a COVID point of view than either 2020 or 2021.”

The number of Covid 19 cases at Letterkenny University Hospital continues to rise, with 38 infected patients being treated at the hospital last night, with all day surgeries and a number of elective procedures cancelled as a result of an outbreak at the hospital.

One person was being treated in Intensive Care.

Meanwhile, this morning, there were 45 admitted patients awaiting beds at the hospital, 13 of them on Emergency Department trolleys.

It was the second highest figure in the country after Limerick, with 318 awaiting beds nationally.

The LYIT campus in Killybegs will be crucial in terms of research and development in renewable energy.

That’s according to the Cathaoirleach of the Donegal Municipal District Cllr Barry Sweeney who has been considering what the Council can achieve in the year ahead.

He says South Donegal is well positioned to explore the area of green energy, with the Killybegs campus set to be at the heart of what can be done.

Cllr Sweeney says the MD must also face the ongoing national challenges……….]

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Donegal County Council will be taking the lead in supporting local businesses and communities in the year ahead after nearly two years of Covid-19 disruption.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Jack Murray says the rates local businesses pay make them significant contributors to the Councils revenue budget, and the local authority must support them in any way that it can.

Cllr Murray says the Council must to exert pressure at a national level in 2022 to ensure that the pressures on the local economy are reflected in rates supports.

Looking ahead to next year, Cllr Murray says it will very much be a continuation of 2021…….

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