Mona McSharry is through to the 50m Breaststroke Final at the World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The former Ballyshannon Marlins member broke her own Irish Senior Record in the semi final on Day 1 of the competition.
McSharry swam 29.65 and will go into the Final on Friday ranked third.
She has not won a World senior medal before, but did win a Bronze Medal at the LEN European Short Course Swimming Championships in 2019 .
Ethan Boyle. Photo: Stephen Doherty
Ethan Boyle is the latest Finn Harps player to commit to another campaign with the Ballybofey side.
The defender made his return to Finn Park last season having initially joined the club back in 2016. The Wexford man was almost ever present for Harps last season, appearing in 32 league games.
Boyle told Finnharps.ie: “I’ve loved being back at the club so it’s great to be signed on for another year. We had some really special nights at Finn Park when the fans came back so I’m looking forward to plenty more of them now next season.”
Two people were arrested following a multi-agency operation in the Buncrana district earlier this week.
A number of searches were carried out in the area on Monday as part of the operation which involved Gardaí, immigration officers, the Department of Social Protection and Revenue & Customs.
As a result, two people were arrested and detained while three vehicles were seized also.
Gardaí said that a “number of offences” were detected, and that operations similar to this would take place over the Christmas period.
The HSE has apologised to residents and their families for failings in care at the Ard Greine Complex and Sean O’Hare Unit in Stranorlar.
The apology comes after the Executive Summary of the Brandon Report was released today, detailing how a resident at the facility carried out over 100 instances of sexual assault and sexual abuse, from as far back as 1997 to 2016.
The HSE says it fully accepts the findings of the report, and that it acted immediately once it received it, to seek assurance on the safety of the current residents.
HSE CEO Paul Reid has described it as one of the most repulsive and gruesome reports he’s ever read:
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A driver has been arrested in the Buncrana area today for drug driving.
Buncrana Roads Policing Unit arrested the driver today after they were detected travelling at a speed of 143KPH in a 100KPH zone.
They also tested positive for the presence of Cannabis and Benzodiazepines.
Gardai are urging motorists again to never drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
They have warned that checkpoints and speed checks will continue over the Christmas period.
The Omicron variant now accounts for 27 per cent of all new Covid cases, according to the Health Minister.
It’s a significant jump from last week when the variant made up just one percent of infections.
NPHET is meeting this evening to discuss whether any new restrictions are needed over Christmas to combat the spread of the virus.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said Omicron will be the dominant strain of the virus by next week:
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HSE Mental Health Services have launched an initiative in Donegal to allow service users tell their stories in a way that will allow their experiences to be registered and changes made where necessary.
Rather than launch a survey, they are using careopinion.ie, a platform that allows users and their families tell their story and receive responses from people within the service in a safe and confidential space.
Anonymity is being guaranteed under the scheme.
Patrick Nwoakorie is the Region’s Area Lead for Mental Health Engagement………..
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The Executive Summary of a report detailing sexual abuse at a HSE-run centre in Stranorlar has been published.
The Brandon report outlines 108 incidents of serious assault carried out by a resident between 2003 and 2016 at Ard Greine Court and the Sean O’Hare Unit.
The National Independent Review Panel found at least 18 intellectually disabled residents were abused by the resident, referred to as Brandon, who’s now deceased.
Victims’ families received the report yesterday.
The Executive Summary of the Brandon Report is available on the HSE website here: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/media/pressrel/hse-publishes-independent-review-of-the-management-of-brandon.html
Donegal TD Thomas Pringle says there needs to be assurances this won’t happen again…
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In the Dail this afternoon, Deputy Padraig MacLochlainn raised the report with Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, with the Tanaiste confirming that Minister Anne Rabbitte wants to publish the full report.
Deputy Mac Lochlainn told the Dail that must happen, and also challenged the fact that publishing the summary today means it can’t be debated in the house….
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Donegal coach and former Mayo manager, Stephen Rochford, following the launch of this year’s GOAL Mile, proudly partnered by AIB.
Donegal are hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 2021 next season as they aim to regain the provincial title last won by them in 2019.
Manager Declan Bonner is in charge while Stephen Rochford is also back as Coach.
At the launch of the Goal Mile, partnered by AIB, Stephen discussed a number of football topics with Oisin Langan:
In supporting GOAL and encouraging people across the island of Ireland to step up together and take part in the GOAL Mile this Christmas, AIB is helping reach vulnerable communities already suffering deeply from the impact of crises, poverty and climate change. Complete the GOAL Mile by registering at goalmile.org and taking just 2,000 steps in any place, at any time during the month of December.
A local councillor says that the Government must provide extra resources to Donegal County Council, in order to plan for the “Tsunami” of additional houses that will require construction because of Mica.
Inishowen councillor Albert Doherty is also the vice-chairman of Donegal County Council’s Mica Redress Committee – and he says that new figures shown to him and members of the committee last week demonstrate the need for the council to add many more staff.
He says that out of the 69 applications to the Mica redress scheme received by Donegal County Council in November, 61 of those were recommended for full demolition. He also says the rate of applications requiring a full home demolition has risen dramatically – up from 33 percent in June of 2020 to 90 percent last month.
Cllr Doherty has appealed to the Government to aid the council, so that its planning department can be prepared for the influx of new planning applications……….
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