Ocean FM News Reports

A number of projects in Sligo and Leitrim are set to benefit from almost €2 million in funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.   The funding will see old and derelict buildings repurposed for community use.   Tubbercurry is to get the biggest share at half a million euro to purchase two sites for the development of a food hub and recreational amenities.   Ballymote and Cu...

For the second Sunday in a row, Donegal leave Celtic Park with an Ulster Championship victory. Sunday's extra-time win (0-18 to 0-16) over Tyrone sets up an Ulster final with Armagh on May 12th. Despite running on fumes, Paddy McGill and his team of contributors digest another memorable Ulster Championship Sunday.

Men's manager John Russell on Friday night's 3-1 loss in Drogheda - Women's manager Tommy Hewitt on Saturday night's 1-0 home loss to Cork City - plus outgoing Rovers Treasurer David Rowe Rovers current financial situation - following a deficit of €299,000 for 2023, which was revealed at this week's Club AGM.

Improvements for Monasteraden received support from the Sligo County Council at the recent County Development Plan meeting. Land has been secured in the area with the intention of providing community facilities, once funding is received. Local Fianna Fáil Councillor Paul Taylor stressed the importance of making rural areas appealing to live in. Cllr Taylor says the village should receive the same...

Coolera Strandhill GAA Club could get new facilities as zoned lands are to be made available for community use. This will potentially provide the club with extra resources, including a second pitch. The lands will be released to the community once the owner receives planning permission for a separate area. Sligo-Drumcliffe Fianna Fáil Cllr Dónal Gilroy has welcomed the news, and says that it will...

The local artistic and wider community across Sligo and Leitrim are being encouraged to answer an arts survey launched by Sinn Féin. It's part of the party's consultation process towards developing a comprehensive national policy for the arts. Sinn Fein's Transport Spokesperson and Sligo Leitrim TD Martin Kenny says that putting an arts policy together must start with listening to those concerned....

Leitrim County Council have been encouraged to explore the option of service sites to alleviate the housing issues in the county. It has come to light that a new house has not been built in Kiltyclogher in the last 20 years. New builds are currently being held up in Leitrim due to a number of factors, with issues relating to houses connecting to wastewater treatment plans recently coming to the fo...

The National Party has announced their European election candidate for the Midlands-North West constituency. James Reynolds, leader of the National Party, will be stepping forward for the elections on June 7th. There will be 14 seats up for grabs in Ireland, which is one more than in the last elections in 2019. Mr Reynolds said that his priorities will be to put the interests of Irish people first...

Although the hospital has not opened to full capacity yet, local Fine Gael councillor, Barry Sweeny, says it's a momentous day for the region.  

Local Link have been urged to restore the 981 bus route to its original route as soon as possible. The service runs from Coolaney to Sligo town, and passes through Collooney and Ballisodare, but recent roadworks mean that the bus currently avoids going into Collooney village altogether. Passengers now have to walk out of Collooney to the bus stop at Quigley's pub in order to catch the bus. Local S...

Calls have been made for a much stronger clampdown on rural crime. Donegal Fianna Fáil Senator, and European election candidate, Niall Blaney, says there needs to be an "all-out" action plan to decrease crime levels in rural areas. He feels that stronger penalties needs to be imposed, and feels that the Garda commissioner needs to take more responsibility. Senator Blaney also called for more Garda...

The St Vincent De Paul shop on Harmony Hill in Sligo will close its doors today for the final time. This is another hit to services in the local community, following the recent closure of the North West Simon Community's premises. It's confirmed that the shop fails to make the surplus required in order to maintain its operation. Mairead McGurren, the North-West President of St Vincent De Paul, sai...

The Final Whistle gives you a flavour of Thursday night’s Champions Dinner at Co Sligo Golf Club in Rosses Point, celebrating the past winners of golf’s West of Ireland Championship over the last century.

There's disappointment regarding the lack of tourism resources allocated towards Rosses Point over the next few years. Rosses Point is a popular location among locals and tourists, but it is claimed that it may be a victim of its own success. Sligo-Drumcliffe Fianna Fáil Cllr Dónal Gilroy raised the issue at the meeting of the county's development plan on Monday. Cllr Gilroy says the situation can...

Proposals to turn the Art Deco building in Ballymote into a library have been met with stern opposition. An announcement was made this week by the Department of Rural and Community Development that 1.3m euro would be allocated to develop the library in the current cultural facility. The announcement appears to have come as a complete surprise, with many people in Ballymote in favour of leaving the...

Questions have been asked in the Dáil regarding the science used in the defective block scheme. The issue was raised by Independent Donegal TD Thomas Pringle, who urged the Government to use the most up to date science available. Deputy Pringle's query came after the National Standards Authority of Ireland said that there is no evidence that pyrrhotite is the cause of defective blocks in Donegal,...

A young Donegal fisherwoman's visit to the European Parliament has shone a light on the plight of fishing communities in the North West. That's according to Sinn Fein MEP Chris MacManus, who speaking after Muireann Kavanagh took her fight for fishing communities to Strasbourg this week. The 14 year old has been outlining her anger at “demeaning and detrimental” zero catch restrictions which will h...

Customers could be in line for a reduction in electricity prices, after it was revealed that wholesale energy costs have dropped significantly. The predicted cuts are expected to be between 10% and 20%, with recent CSO figures recording a drop of 40% in the last year. A number of energy providers have reduced their prices of late, with new company Yuno Energy having announced four price cuts withi...

Today is the official opening of Ballyshannon Community Hospital. The new facility cost €36.7m, and is currently opening on a phased basis, to be fully operational by December, with 52 long-stay beds and 20 short-stay beds. The care provided includes convalescence, rehabilitation, respite, and palliative care, along with services such as Speech and Language Therapy, Dentistry, and Psychiatry of Ol...

Paddy McGill logs on with Stephen Griffin (St Naul's) and Owenie McGarvey (Naomh Mhuire) to discuss parenthood....and Donegal v Tyrone this Sunday.

The Final Whistle gives you a flavour of Thursday night's Champions Dinner at Co Sligo Golf Club in Rosses Point, celebrating the past winners of golf's West of Ireland Championship over the last century.

Speaking in the Dáil today, the Minister for Agriculture has eased concerns over a fodder shortage by highlighting a current trading system that is keeping up with demand. Farmers have been worried across the country regarding the fodder supply as stocks were exhausted due to poor weather conditions at the start of this year. The Donegal-based Minister, Charlie McConalogue, said that there are the...

The need for tourism facilities in Easkey has received new hope as a proposal is in place which aims to alleviate the persistent issue. A submission was raised at the recent Sligo County Development Plan meeting, which highlighted the current situation and lack of supports in place. Ballymote-Tubbercurry Cllr Michael Clarke gave his full support at the meeting and stressed its importance to the ar...

Tensions spilled over in the Dáil this afternoon regarding the issue of fishing stocks once again. Donegal Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty highlighted the case of Arranmore teenager, Muireann Kavanagh, who made the trip to the European Parliament this week to make a case to fish pollock within her own community. Deputy Doherty made his points to fellow Donegal TD, and Minister for Agriculture and Mari...

Donegal County Council are hosting an information session in conjunction with the Credit Union regarding vacant and derelict properties in the county. It will be held between 11am and 2pm in the library in Bundoran at 2pm on Friday, April 26th. The aim of the session is to give people more information on how they can avail of the various schemes relating to derelict and vacant homes. Local council...