Category: Old Donegal

There’s calls for more Covid-19 testing facilities to be established in rural Donegal.

Cllr Micheal Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig says that he’s been contacted by many in rural communities who would like to see more PCR test centres established within the county.

Currently there are two free PCR testing centres in Donegal, in Letterkenny and Donegal Town – both of which are appointment only.

Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig says that both the lack of availability and inconvenience for those in rural areas means people who have a positive antigen test have no means of getting a PCR test in rural Donegal:

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Karl O’Sullivan says he’s ‘thrilled’ to join Sligo Rovers.

The 22-year-old moves to the Showgrounds from Finn Harps as the Ballybofey side lose yet another prominent member of last year’s squad.

He has signed a two-year deal with the Bit O’Red.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be here. I’ve been speaking with Liam for the last couple of months and he told me what he felt I could bring to the team. As an opposition player you would dread coming to Sligo and especially when they are going well. There is a great atmosphere in The Showgrounds and the club has a very big following. I’m hoping to chip in with goals and assists from as early as possible.

“I’ve played everywhere with Harps and Limerick but I feel winger is my strongest position. It’s a fresh start for me. I really enjoyed my time with Finn Harps, everyone at the club is brilliant.  I’ve been putting the work in this month in order to ready for pre-season and I can hit the ground running here. I’m very excited to play for the club and in the last two seasons Liam has led the team to the top four which is what you want. There’s European football as well so I can’t wait to get started.”

Manager Liam Buckley said: “It’s another really good addition. We’ve looked at areas we wanted to improve on and they include getting more balls into the box and having better deliveries.

“Karl will bring those qualities and I feel he comes to us at a good age. Despite just turning 22 a couple of months ago, he has had several seasons in the league and we’ve tracked him since his Limerick days. I think he will make an impact and he will fit in well with within the group. It’s great competition in the squad to bring in Karl and Will Fitzgerald. Our overall goal has been to build a stronger group and I feel we will do that. This is another good step in that direction and we look forward to working with Karl.”

The Road Safety Authority says it’s extremely concerned following seven deaths on the roads of the island of Ireland over the past two days.

Three people were killed in a crash in Garvaghy in County Tyrone in the early hours of yesterday.

Also on Monday, two men died in separate incidents in the Republic, one in Mayo and one in Wicklow.

Brian Farrell from the RSA is urging people to be extra careful on the roads as we approach the New Year’s festivities…

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The Department of Health has confirmed 9,006 new cases of Covid-19 today in the Republic of Ireland

It’s also confirmed that the number of people being treated in Irish hospitals for Covid-19 has increased by 22% since Sunday.

Latest figures from the HSE show that there are 521 patients with the virus in hospital – an increase of 60 on yesterday.

Alos, 92 patients are receiving ICU care for Covid, up 1 since yesterday.

New figures also show that there has been a 30.5% positivity rate on tests conducted in the last week.

Concerns have yet again been raised about an exposed water pipe connected to Gola Island floating on top of the water, after a boat reportedly struck the pipe yesterday.

While no one on the boat was injured after the incident, the damage caused has interrupted the water supply to Gola Island, according to local Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easbuig.

It’s believed that up to hundreds of metres of piping are currently floating on the water, and local Cllr Mac Giolla Easbuig says that planning permission was granted to anchor the piping in July of this year – but as of yet, no works have been carried out.

He also says the damage caused by the incident yesterday could have been even worse….

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Parents can now register high risk children aged 5-11 for a Covid vaccination.

The HSE has opened the online portal to book appointments today, and high-risk children in that age cohort will be able to get their vaccine from January 3rd.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee has strongly recommended that children with underlying conditions get protected.

Dr Lucy Jessop, Director of Public Health at the HSE National Immunisation Office outlines those high risk conditions:

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Gardaí have renewed their calls for information relating to a burglary in the Burnfoot area last week.

They say that burglars entered a residence in the Tooban area of Burnfoot between 4:30am and 4:55am on Thursday the 23rd of December.

A set of car keys were stolen, and when the burglars were disturbed by one of the residents of the property, the burglars took off in the residents’ car, a grey Kia Venga.

The car was later found burned out in the Birdstown area of Burnfoot on the same day.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the Tooban, Birdstown and general Burnfoot areas on Thursday the 23rd to contact Gardaí in Buncrana.

They have also appealed to anyone who was travelling in that area early in the morning of the 23rd with dashcam footage to come forward and assist in their investigations.

The Department of Health has reported an additional 6,735 new cases of Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland today.

The latest figures show that 461 people are being treated for the virus in hospitals, with 91 of those in intensive care units.

The Letterkenny Vaccination Centre in Ballyraine is open today for anyone aged over 40 as well as healthcare workers to receive their booster, up until half past seven this evening.

If you have not already done so, you can also get dose 1 or 2 of a Covid vaccine at the centre.

The vaccination centre in Letterkenny will also be open from 8:30am to 7:30pm every day this week, including New Year’s Day, according to the HSE.

A health expert says high take-up of booster vaccines will save lives.

Officials are pushing to roll out boosters as quickly as possible after a spike in virus cases caused by the Omicron variant.

DCU professor of health systems Anthony Staines says getting a booster is crucial…

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The HSE have said the NowDoc out-of-hours GP service has been receiving an increased volume of calls over the Christmas period, and are expecting more pressure on the service in the upcoming period.

They say to expect longer than usual wait times, and that urgent care calls will be prioritised first.

The public has also been reminded that NowDoc is to be used as an emergency GP service, and not as a substitute for the ambulance service in the case of a severe medical emergency.