Ocean FM News Reports

A meeting has been sought with the CEO of Sligo County Council over the Old Mill Apartment Complex in Ballisodare. The owners have now received a report from the consultants who they engaged to carry out a structural survey which will inform the future direction of the property. The local authority is liaising with the owners of the property on this. But Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Healy says there are...

Leitrim County Council has voted not to nominate a candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Despite expectations, Maria Steen failed to secure the necessary support at today’s special council meeting. The vote ended 9 against, 7 in favour, with one abstention and one councillor absent. Speaking to Ocean FM News, Cllr Mary Bohan says the decision denies voters a broader, more democratic ch...

Sinn Fein is backing Catherine Connolly in the Presidential race. The party thinks she gives the party a very good chance to keep Fine Gael and Fianna Fail out of the Aras. It revealed it was supporting Independent Catherine Connolly after a meeting of its Ard Chomhairle in Dublin on Saturday. Speaking to Ocean Fm News, Sligo/Leitrim Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny believes that Catherine Connolly has t...

Sligo County Council has been accused of implementing extra conditions on the nomination process for the presidential election. One of the conditions attached to this morning's meeting was that individuals had to attend in person with no online option available. Cllr Michael Clarke has described the way in which the meeting was handled as a retrograde step and that it effectively closed down democ...

The Education Minister has been briefed on safety concerns outside schools in south Donegal. It comes as Minister Helen McEntee was visiting the region on Friday and had a number of engagements including the official opening of a new extension at Cólaiste Cholmcille in Ballyshannon. As part of discussions, long awaited traffic calming measures at Dunkineely National School was raised with the Mini...

Sligo-based company VOYA has announced the extension of their deal with the Emirates airline. The partnership is expected to generate around three million euro for the company, with the brand fighting off more established names to remain Emirates' First and Business Class amenity partner. Mark and Kira Walton, co-founders of VOYA, have said that the investment will be staying in local areas:

Only one presidential hopeful turned up to a special meeting of Sligo County Council this morning. The meeting was scheduled to hear from a number of independents, aiming to get the support from the local authority in their race for the Aras.  However, Gurteen native Gearoid Duffy was the only person who showed up.  The Council decided not to nominate anyone for a potential presidential...

Over 30 thousand households across the North West are to receive the Fuel Allowance from today. It's a means-assessed payment which will be paid for 28 weeks to help people meet rising energy costs. Donegal has the highest number of households in the region getting the payment at over 20 thousand, followed by Sligo at over seven thousand while over four thousand households in Leitrim have qualifie...

Council to write to Irish rail, says Sligo Councillor

Sligo Councillor calls for bus shelter installation

Local event to put spotlight on local family support services

The ISME chairman has said that the minimum wage hike could lead to a circle of increasing costs. The minimum wage is set to rise from €13.50 an hour to €14.15 hourly, a rise of over one thousand euro per annum. Sligo's Finbarr Filan, who is also the chair of Sligo BID, said that potential solutions to the issue include a return to the 9% VAT rate for hospitality.

The Education Minister is in south Donegal today to mark a major milestone at Coláiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon. Helen McEntee joins celebrations for the school’s 25th anniversary and the opening of a new modular building. Also being honoured is local sporting legend Billy Finn, with the naming of the school’s sports complex in his memory. Speaking to Ocean Fm news Principal Cora Fagan says the da...

Preparations are almost complete for the Sligo Culture Night taking place tomorrow. The event, which begins at 4pm on Friday, has drawn visitors from across the country. The Arts Council has rolled out nights like these around the country, all scheduled for tomorrow. Edel Doran, night-time advisor at Sligo BID, is encouraging local residents to get out and support the acts:

The developer of Milligan and Benbulben Court in Sligo put the two fingers up to students, ATU Sligo and Sligo County Council. That's according to Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan, who has been reflecting on the controversy of 2023, when the accommodation which had traditionally housed students began to house refugees instead. Speaking this week during an Oireachtas Committee meeting, Deputy Feighan say...

There's renewed concern over some retail employees in the North West are still being subjected to harassment and abuse. It comes as the Protection of Retail Workers Act 2025 going through the houses of the Oireachtas will acknowledge the dangers they encounter and guarantee that those who endanger or injure retail employees be held responsible. The action was taken in response to what's been descr...

There are fears that more people in Sligo will have to turn to emergency accommodation. It comes following revelations that Sligo County Council has used all its funding allocated for the tenant in situ scheme. This allows local authorities to buy a properties from landlords looking to sell - allowing the tenant stay in their home. Mayor of Sligo Borough and People Before Profit Cllr Gino O'Boyle...

County Donegal captures the failures of Government when it comes to managing migration. That's according to Donegal Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty, who has accused the Government of not having a proper plan in place in dealing with the issue. It's thought that Donegal has one of the highest levels of IPAS and Ukrainian refugees in the country. Speaking in the Dail, Deputy Doherty says these centres s...

Seven games to go in the League of Ireland - Can Sligo Rovers put their FAI Cup humiliation behind them and keep it between the ditches on the road to Premier Division safety? We’ll hear from manager John Russell on the programme. For Roisin Molloy and Athlone Town, their European adventure has come to an end. We’ll hear from the Gurteen woman. Collooney handballer Travis Gibbons is celebrating th...

Gardaí from Donegal are out at the Ploughing today to encourage people to apply to join the force. A new recruitment drive opened today, and will run until the 9th of October. Some of An Garda Síochána's sports stars are at the tent in Offaly, to answer questions from those thinking of applying. Donegal goalkeeper Seán Patton works as a guard in Donegal, he says a career in the force won't cost yo...

ATU Sligo’s Student Union President Emil Kindl has told an Oireachtas committee that the student accommodation crisis is deepening, especially in the northwest. He highlighted the lack of purpose-built university housing and called for Technological Universities to be given borrowing powers to build their own. Emil also urged the return of Milligan and Benbulben Courts to student use, and addresse...

A Sligo councillor is calling for urgent safety upgrades on the Knockbeg Road in Collooney, describing current conditions as “completely unacceptable.” Cllr Thomas Walsh says there is a severe lack of safe pedestrian access, public lighting, and speed control on the route linking the N17 to the town centre. He criticised the Council for approving large housing developments without providing proper...

A Donegal TD has been accused of jumping on every bandwagon going. It comes as Sinn Feins Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty called on the Government to bring back energy credits in the upcoming Budget. In the Dail, Deputy Doherty claimed that the Government was gouging people and that it was all talk and no action. But Tánaiste Simon Harris hit back, stating Sinn Fein was never behind energy cre...

Concern has been raised over the lack of suitable bus shelters along the N15.   The road, which connects Sligo to Lifford via Ballyshannon and Donegal town, has come under scrutiny for the outdated and in some areas missing bus shelters.     While it was thought the infrastructure would have been put in place in some areas along the route by now, there’s said to be little progress....

Both Sligo County Council and the Government are being urged to solve flooding problems in County Sligo. There are a number areas of concern in the county, including Coolaney, Ballinacarrow, Collooney and Ballisodare where while it's the landowner's responsibility, they are faced with certain constraints. A minor works scheme has been introduced and its hoped that it could go in some way in tackli...