Ocean FM News Reports

Sligo 20-year-old Zach Gilligan made his rallying debut in Sunday's Sligo Stages Rally - in a rally car he built himself. Zach and his uncle Jason had to withdraw after two stages because of engine trouble in their Citroen C2. The Strandhill native spoke to Ocean FM Sport's Austin O'Callaghan.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Sligo's Connacht senior football championship success on Sunday, July 20th, 1975, Ocean FM Sport looks back on that momentous championship campaign - with contributions from Mickey Kearins, Barnes Murphy, Tom Kilcoyne and John Clifford.

Disgust has been expressed in Bundoran after an illegal dumping incident in recent days. A significant amount of litter was found dumped on the N15 at the Bundoran bypass. With the summer months, areas such as Bundoran see a surge in visitor numbers. Locals are calling for stricter enforcement and community action to keep the area clean and welcoming. Councillor Micheal McMahon condemned the disgr...

A Leitrim Councillor has taken issue with a new report from Progress Ireland which suggests that 300 thousand homes could be built here with 25 simple changes in policy. Manorhamilton based businessman and Councillor Felim Gurn says the report fails to take into consideration a number of issues that has dogged the building sector in recent years. The Independent Councillor says even if the suggest...

Those involved in the North West Hospitality sector are warning prices will rise, customers will be lost and jobs threatened if proposed water charges go ahead. Non-domestic water charges are set to be increased by 9.8 per cent in October following a decision by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities. The new water and wastewater tariff rates will be effective from October 1st. The hike ha...

The Government has agreed to a request from Sligo County Council for additional funding for grant applications. This will allow the Council to progress a number of additional applications in the current year, which would otherwise not be funded until 2026. Notwithstanding the additional funding, the Scheme remains paused. New applications for Housing Adaptation Grants for Disabled People, Mobility...

There are calls for an urgent meeting over delays in emergency response times on Arranmore Island. The issue centres on vehicles blocking access to the main pier on the island. It's emerged that one such incident earlier this week, crews were said to be severely impacted from attending an emergency due to a large number of cars parked on the pier. The incident in question was described as time-cri...

There were no HAP properties available for rent in Sligo Town or County Leitrim in June. Nationally, only 32 properties were available to rent for HAP tenants in 16 parts of the country last month. This is a drop of over a fifth since March. Today's Locked Out of the Market Report by Simon Communities shows there were no properties available in eight areas. The charity's Executive Director Ber Gro...

The fear of crime is instilled in many rural communities across the North West. That's according to Sligo Leitrim Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny, who has been reacting to the developments in the trial of the man accused of the unlawful killing of Tom Niland. John Irving, from Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo, had initially denied any involvement in the violent burglary that led to his death, but changed his p...

A man who has been on trial accused of killing Sligo farmer Tom Niland has changed his plea. John Irving, from Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo, had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing of Mr. Niland at his home in January 2022. At the Central Criminal Court today, the defence offered to change his plea to guilty and the jury was subsequently dismissed. Irving is due to be sentenced in October. Spe...

The cost of living has dominated Leaders' Questions on the final day of the Dáil before the summer break. TDs won't be back in Leinster House for another nine weeks as this Dáil term ends. The cost of living and massive increases in the number of families who are in energy arrears dominated leaders questions. Sinn Féin Donegal TD Pearse Doherty says it's disgraceful electricity credits are being s...

A number of plant pots have been vandalised in Sligo Town. The flowers were removed and thrown into the river in the town centre at some stage on Thursday night last. With Tidy Towns judging season set to get underway, there's concern that the incident may detract from the efforts of local volunteers. Finbarr Filan of Sligo BID has appealed to the culprits' better nature:

A Sligo Leitrim TD has attributed the latest increase that Independents are enjoying in opinion polls to Catherine Connolly announcing this week that she is running for the Aras. Sinn Fein’s support has taken a hit in the latest political opinion poll.   The party has dropped 4 points in the survey published by the Irish Times.   They're now on 22 per cent support, the same as Fianna Fai...

A Leitrim Councillor and ICSA member says many farmer will be giving careful consideration to their futures after yesterday’s announcement in Europe in relation to CAP.   The European Commission has announced a 20 per cent drop in resources for the sector as part of the 2 trillion euro budget for 2028 to 2034.   The reduction has described as a hammer blow with farmers receiving a pensio...

It's been confirmed that a design team appointed for the development of “The Beachery” at Rosses Point. It's set to be transformed into a community/visitor amenity. The design team is currently engaged in a site survey; initial design works and relevant stakeholder consultation. It is expected the statutory process will commence later this year which will bring the potential project to planning st...

Staff shortages are said to be impacting one of Donegal's top tourist attractions.   The castle at Glenveagh National Park is unable to open to tourists on certain days of the week because there's not enough staff on site.   The park attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, with the historic castle said to be the centrepiece.   Speaking in the Seanad, Fine Gael Cllr Ma...

It's emerged that residents in the North Sligo area were without water for a week.   Homes in Creevykeel, Cliffoney and surrounding areas have all been impacted.   Works had been scheduled to take place to a burst water main.   Local Sinn Fein Cllr Thomas Healy says that the area in question has been subjected to a substandard service for some time and that it's totally unacceptable...

There's trepidation and concern amongst many farmers in the North West today ahead of the publication of the new CAP scheme.     The EU's post 2027 farm policy will be revealed later with fears that agriculture could lose out on a major funding source.   Reports suggest the European Commission is planning to fold the Common Agriculture Policy in with other sectors in a simplified ce...

Serious concern has been raised over unseasonably high numbers attending the Emergency Department at Sligo University Hospital. There were 49 people awaiting admission there this morning. It comes as a report issued last month by HIQA showed that overcrowding in Sligo is negatively impacting the privacy and dignity of patients, as well as risking their safety. The report outlined that trolley numb...

Leitrim anti-fracking campaigners have vowed to create a blockade should a liquefied natural gas facility in Munster get the green light. The Government has until next month to decide whether or not support the terminal. Meanwhile a protest took place outside the Dail yesterday in opposition to the plans. Manorhamilton Cllr Eddie Mitchell was at yesterday's demonstration and has warned that should...

The Housing Minister is under pressure to provide clarity on his plans for local authorities to rezone lands for residential use. Under the plans, the likes of Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal County Councils would reopen their County Development Plan and rezone a lot of lands for house building. But Sligo Leitrim Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan thinks that for Councils, there are a lot of questions yet to b...

A Sligo woman's life has been ruined as the result of Lyme Disease, the Seanad has heard.   The comments were made by Labour Nessa Cosgrove, who has been outlining the story of Fiona Quilter who has suffered from the disease for many years and has had to sell her house to fund her treatment.   It comes as the Health Minister is being urged to provide standard signage and resources to loc...

There was a rise in the number of abortions carried out last year. In Sligo there were 140 abortions, an increase of 137% from 59 abortions in 2019 while in Donegal the figure is 285, a rise of 124% from 127 abortions compared with 2019. The latest figures from the Department of Health show almost 11-thousand procedures were carried out nationally. The majority of abortion procedures were carried...

A clinic is taking place in the North Sligo area for those wishing to apply to the Defective Concrete Block Scheme. While Donegal and Mayo are said to be the worst affected counties, it's thought that there are hundreds of homeowners in County Sligo also impacted. The clinic, which has been arranged for Monday July 21st in Grange Hall will advise people of the online application process. Cathaoirl...

Irish Water has been accused of starving Donegal County Council of information. It comes off the back of calls for a public meeting between Irish Water and Councillors, after numerous outages across the County over the weekend. It's also been claimed that despite pleas for a number of water tankers to be sent to west Donegal due to a vast outage, Irish Water refused. Speaking to Ocean FM news, Cll...