Sligo Rovers manager John Russell reflects on the pluses and minuses around Saturday night's 3-2 home loss to Waterford on the opening weekend of the 2025 League of Ireland season.

It's emerged that some people in south Donegal have gone several Christmas's without water. The issue is said to centre on the reservoir which caters to the Leghowney area. The facility has been deemed no longer fit to purpose as the population has increased dramatically over the last few years. Fianna Fáil Cllr Michael Naughton is asking Uisce Éir…

An increase in funding for home adaption grants is being sought in Sligo. The recent budget raised the grant limit to €40,000, but it's understood that a larger allocation may been needed due to increased costs. The adaption grants can be used for a variety of needs, with particular focus on elderly people or people with a disability. Fine Gael Cll…

Sligo’s Mercy College has funding granted for classroom extensions. Education Minister Helen McEntee has confirmed the allocation after her recent visit to the school, where she saw the extensive damage done as a result of Storm Eowyn. While Our Lady of Mercy NS has also been included in the announcement. Sligo-Leitrim Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan ho…

Recruitment agency to open office in the North West

The family of Danielle McLaughlin say they can now grieve their 'immeasurable' loss, after a man was convicted of her rape and murder in India. The 28-year-old from Buncrana in County Donegal had only arrived in the country two weeks before she was killed in 2017. Her body was found in a field in a remote area of Goa. Today at the District and Sess…

The latest funding allocation for the Donegal Tin Shop has been welcomed locally. Under a heritage investment scheme, the landmark has been granted €28,192, while Pettigo Corn and Flax Mill has also received €15,000. There had been fears within Donegal Town in the past that the landmark could have been lost, before reassurances had been given. Mayo…

€42 million has been allocated towards regional and local roads in Donegal. The funding was announced today as part of a huge national rollout of €713 million towards improvement and safety works on Irish roads. Included in the targeted roads are the bridge at Fintra, and the bridge between Laghey and Pettigo. Donegal TD Pat The Cope Gallagher says…

A Sligo Leitrim TD has expressed his confidence that a significant funding allocation will address the current traffic delays that are impacting Sligo Town. 900 thousand euro has been earmarked to connect the mail coach road and Pearse Road at City Gate. The allocation has been made under the roads improvement scheme. The allocation is part of an o…

Local TD to visit Belgium and Netherlands for Patrick's Day

A Sligo restaurant owner has called for the VAT rate for food hospitality to be reduced sooner rather than later. Anthony Gray made the comments after the Finance Minister told the Dáil yesterday that any decision on a reduced VAT rate for the hospitality sector won't be made until the budget. The Minister said that he was inclined towards giving f…

Large crowds attended last night’s Public Meeting concerning the future of the Donegal Education Centre. Plans are afoot to move the centre to Letterkenny. Those who attended the meeting in the Abbey Hotel voiced strong opposition to any such moves. Local Oireachtais members will now meet with the Minister for Education, Helene McEntee to discuss t…

The League of Ireland is back – and once more it’s a new-look Sligo Rovers for 2025 ...and we're not talking about the snazzy new Rovers shirts. Here, we assess Rovers Premier Division Prospects. The players who’ve come in The players who’ve gone out Plus - how Rovers Rivals are shaping up

Preventative measures are being called for in Sligo following the near total collapse of mobile communications during Storm Eowyn. Concerns have been raised locally that in a time of such emergency, that mobile networks should not be allowed to go down. It’s felt locally that provisions should be in place from these major companies to back-up plans…

Donegal TD hits out at ESB in the Dáil

The Irish Forest Owners has organised a public meeting to be held in Leitrim in relation to those who have storm-damaged forests. The meeting will be held at the Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon on the 18th of February at 8pm, and aims to address the challenges presented as a result of Storm Eowyn. There are feelings from within the organisatio…

Over 10 million containers returned in North West businesses

Sligo County Council have been urged to alert the Taoiseach to the outrage of people from the North West over Storm Eowyn. Answers and accountability is being called for in relation to the decay of the electricity and water network. With storms expected to become more frequent, it’s thought that the redevelopment of the networks has become a time-s…

Local Cllr speaks on the challenges facing students

Leitrim Cllr comments on "unacceptable" electricity situation

Sligo County Council are to seek the inclusion of mental health services as part of the emergency 999/112 telephone contact. Although currently potential callers can contact that number, they may get brought to A&E, which it's thought my not always be the best place for them. It's hoped that this would provide a more accessible route for anyone fin…

The community of Donegal Town and further afield are being urged to attend tonight's public meeting over the future of the Education Centre. Plans are afoot to move the centre to Letterkenny. The potential move has caused uproar in the wider south Donegal area with claims that staff at the facility in Donegal Town were not consulted in the process.…

A Sligo Cllr has requested the government to not go ahead with the planned increase of VAT of electricity costs. As it stands, the VAT is set to be restored to 13.5% from 9% in May of this year, following its reduction in 2023. This has caused concerns that local vulnerable people may not be able to keep up with ever increasing costs. Sinn Fein Cll…

The new Seanad is meeting for the first time today, with one Sligo and four Donegal representatives among the shake-up. Senators Manus Boyle and Nikki Bradley were nominated by the Taoiseach late last week, while Senator Nessa Cosgrove, Eileen Flynn and Niall Blaney were elected through the panel system last month. Taking to the floor of the Seanad…

The relocation of the Donegal Education Centre has been raised on the floor of the Dáil. A decision was made recently to move the premises to Letterkenny, despite it being located in Donegal Town for 27 years. A public meeting on the move is due to take place on Thursday at the Abbey Hotel to inform the public on the situation. Donegal Deputy Charl…

Further calls have been for more robust measures to curb dog attacks on sheep. Recent incidents have led to a spate of deaths of a number of sheep with farmers right across the north west among those impacted. The IFA are hopeful of complete oversight, enforcement and accountability in the current system as outlined in its 'No Dogs Allowed' campaig…

A Donegal TD has been involved in a row in the Dail after the Taoiseach was accused of using Irish to break the Dail rules. In a debate about housing, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said, as Gaeilge, that the Sinn Fein leader was 'ag insint bréaga' - meaning 'telling lies'. Mary Lou McDonald took exception to this, demanding the Taoiseach withdraw the re…

A representative for the 'Save Dough Mountain’ group has expressed his surprise with a recent survey which claims that four in five people support wind energy and more than half are happy to have a wind farm in their local area. The findings will come as a surprise to many residents in North that have strongly opposed the developments of windfarms …

Serious concern has been reignited over the overcrowding crisis at Sligo University Hospital. It comes in the wake of the INMO's released its first ever 'Behind the Trolley Numbers survey. Among the findings, 84 per cent of nurses have treated patients in inappropriate settings in the past year. Meanwhile Sligo was the third most overcrowded hospit…

The importance of turf has been highlighted in Sligo following the mass power outages that took place after Storm Eowyn. Thousands of homes were left without electricity and heating, leading people to question the move away from fossil fuels. While for those in possession of turf, there are still concerns around the draft Air Pollution Bill and whe…

There are further calls for a major clearing operation of forestry from powerlines in County Leitrim. The amount of trees situated close to wires in the County was said to be the root of why there were so many outages and the length of time it took to get power restored to all premises. Sligo Leitrim Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny says the ESB have a re…

The OPW Minister is under pressure to fulfil promises made by his predecessor for flood mitigation works in south Donegal. Killybegs was devastated by flood water a few months ago while there's also ongoing concern in Inver, Donegal Town and Pettigo. The then Minister of State Kieran O'Donnell visited the area in the aftermath but the mantle has si…

Donegal is one the highest counties with unregistered tenancies in Ireland. According to recent CSO figures, it's thought that around 9.2% of Donegal landlords have failed to register their tenants, which is required by law. Serious consequences can apply to landlords including a civil sanction of up to €15,000 or a criminal prosecution and/or a fi…

It’s been claimed that the Governments response to Storm Eowyn failed the North West and rural Ireland. It’s emerged that in one case in Donegal, an 85 year old man in poor health went without power and water for 10 days. The elderly man was too frail to attend any of the community hubs and in the end had to book into a hotel after the tenth day. H…

Concern has expressed over the waiting times that candidates have to wait before they can re sit their driving tests in the north west. Data published earlier this year in The Irish Times showed there is currently a 23-week waiting time in Donegal while the figures in Sligo and Leitrim are 16 and 17 weeks respectively. The figures come as blow to t…

Serious concern has been raised over a stench coming from a sewer in south Donegal. The strong smell is said to be causing major discomfort among residents in the wider Donegal Town area. While works have been done previously to remedy the situation, the issue is said to be prevalent again in recent weeks. Sinn Fein Cllr Noel Jordan says there need…

84% of nurses say they have treated patients in corridors, waiting rooms and other inappropriate areas in the last year. That's according to the INMO's 'Behind The Trolley Numbers' survey which highlights the overcrowding crisis in hospitals across the country. 72 % of respondents say they have observed patient safety incidents such as falls and me…

A Sligo taskforce is being sought to develop plans to prevent power outages impacting home healthcare equipment. Many local people with medical needs were unable to avail of standard services including sleep apnea masks, dialysis machines, and more. Although battery packs can be used for some of the equipment, there are also concerns around vulnera…

An emergency meeting is to held over the future of the Craft Village in Donegal Town. It’s currently the home of a number of businesses but theres ongoing concern that part of the village has fallen into a state of disrepair. Coupled with this - a number of units are vacant despite expressions of interest being made to occupy them. Fianna Fáil Cllr…

The Dáil will hear calls today for the ESB to make a goodwill payment to affected customers following recent power outages as a result of Storm Eowyn. The Calls will be made by Sinn Fein. Rose Conway Walsh is the Party Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform. She says many people across the West and North West of eh country have endured terri…

A new survey has found increased positivity for the Irish language. A survey by Studyclix has shown seven in ten sixth-year students have outlined a love and appreciation for the language, despite 81 per cent saying the teaching method is outdated. Ronan Ó Dochartaigh is Course Manager at Oideas Gael, located in Glencolmcille, which provides graded…

There are calls in Sligo to alter the rules in who, and how, a planning application can be objected against. It's understood that there are concerns locally that "serial objectors" are hindering housing projects, preventing people from relocating to the North West. One suggestion was that anyone objecting to planning must live in the area of the de…

The economic development of Leitrim is being put at risk by the absence of adequate political representation at government level. That is the warnings that has been sounded by the former north Leitrim Senator and General Election candidate, Michael Comiskey. The Fine Gael party member fears it will be unlikely that there will be a Leitrim based can…

A Leitrim Fianna Fáil Councillor has urged Fine Gael members to concentrate on getting everybody re-connected to vital utilities such as electricity and water and not to try and start laying the blame for an inadequate response with Fianna Fáil. Drumkeerin based Councillor Mary Bohan was responding to weekend reports where it was claimed that Fine …

A plan for the future is being urged to be laid out for the areas in Sligo that were the longest without power. Following Storm Eowyn, there was mass power outages across the North West region, with some areas remaining without electricity for over two weeks. It's understood that warning signs were unheeded, as previous, less severe storms caused p…

Owen Elding has signed a contract extension with Sligo Rovers until the end of the 2027. Confirmation of the deal was announced by Rovers on Monday afternoon. The 18-year-old attacker featured for The Bit O’ Red on 24 occasions in 2024 and will hope to play a starring role at The Showgrounds throughout the new season, which begins on Saturday with …

Owen Elding has signed a contract extension with Sligo Rovers until the end of the 2027 season. Confirmation of the deal was announced by Rovers on Monday afternoon. The 18-year-old attacker featured for The Bit O’ Red on 24 occasions in 2024 and will hope to play a starring role at The Showgrounds throughout the new season, which begins on Saturda…

Clarity has been sought over whether full services will be provided for Rescue 118's Strandhill base under the new contract. From Friday, Bristow Ireland Limited's contract for the search and rescue and H-E-M service will be operational. The matter was discussed at today's monthly meeting of Sligo County Council. Fine Gael Cllr Fergal Nealon has be…

A Sligo Leitrim TD says measures need to introduced that will tackle the issues of rising rents across the Country. The calls were made as the government is set to explore alternatives to Rent Pressure Zones before they expire at the end of this year. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has signalled changes to the system, including the possible removal of th…

A housing protest may be on the cards in Sligo over the ongoing lack of accommodation. It comes as a motion to write to the Housing Minister to put a stop on all no fault evictions in Sligo was not passed at today’s sitting of Sligo County Council. Reasons against the motion included not blocking incentives for landlords getting into the housing ma…