:: News In Brief

Tributes paid after student deaths 22.09.16
DONEGAL Education and Training Board has offered condolences following the deaths in a car crash yesterday of two of its adult students Kiara Baird (19) and Maria Wallis (38).
The women were killed in a single-vehicle collision at about 4.15pm on the Glenfin Road outside Ballybofey yesterday.
A man in his 40s who was also in the car was taken to Letterkenny University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The tragedy happened on what was being billed as European Day Without A Road Death.
In a statement this afternoon Donegal ETB said: "It is with sadness that we confirm that yesterday's tragic accident in Ballybofey took the lives of Kiara Baird and Maria Wallis (RIP) who were students of Donegal ETB's Further Education and Training Service.
"We extend our sincere sympathies to the families and friends of Kiara and Maria. Relevant on-going supports are being put in place for students and staff as required."
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on 074 9167100, The Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666111 or any Garda Station.

Inishowen priests on the move 11.09.16
SEVERAL Inishowen priests are on the move under the latest round of clerical changes across the Derry Diocese. Bishop Donal McKeown has announced the changes that will affect parishes in Derry and Tyrone as well as Burt, Inch and Fahan and Culdaff and Clonmany.
Fr Brendan Crowley who is curate at Burt Inch and Fahan has been named parish priest of Errigal. Fr James McGrory, curate in Culdaff and Clonmany has been named parish priest of Coleraine. Meanwhile, Fr Fintan Diggin is to become curate at Burt, Inch and Fahan while Fr Karl Haan, curate of Errigal is to become curate of Clonmany and Culdaff while residing in Culdaff.

Fahan shop owners attacked by robbers 05.09.16
GARDAÍ are appealing for witnesses after an Inishowen businessman and his wife were injured in a violent robbery at their premises last night.
The couple, who own Bradley's Topaz Service Station in Fahan outside Buncrana, were attacked by three men as they closed up on Sunday shortly before 9pm.
Gardaí say they were struck with retractable batons as they tried to defend their property and both were taken by ambulance to Letterkenny University Hospital for treatment. Damage was also caused to a shop window during the incident.
The robbers, who made off with a quantity of goods, were described as white males in their late teens or early twenties. They wore hoodies pulled up over their heads, scarves and blue disposable gloves. It is understood they made their escape in the direction of Burnfoot in a grey-coloured Nissan car. Anyone with information that might help the investigation is asked to call Buncrana Garda Station on 07493 20540.

Body of missing Derry man found 01.09.16
GARDAI have confirmed this evening that the body of Anthony Griffiths who went missing at Isle of Doagh has been found.
Mr Griffiths (59) from Culmore, Derry, was last seen close to Doagh Famine Village, shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
A large-scale land and sea search operation involving the RNLI, Coast Guard and rescue helicopter took place in a bid to locate the missing man.
It is understood his remains were recovered this afternoon near Lagg Beach, Malin.

Search for missing man continues at Isle of Doagh 31.08.16
THE search is continuing today for a Derryman who went missing on the Isle of Doagh.
The missing person is believed to be in his 50s from Derry who was camping in the area.
He was last seen on Monday. It is understood his car and some clothing items were found on the beach just below the well-known Famine Village tourist attraction. Land, air and sea searches involving the Lough Swilly RNLI, the Greencastle Coast Guard, rescue helicopter and other agencies are continuing around the Isle of Doagh and Trawbreaga Bay.

Mother Teresa to be declared saint 31.08.16
THE Vatican is releasing a limited edition postage stamp to mark the elevation of Mother Teresa to sainthood this weekend.
The Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office will release the new stamp as Pope Francis prepares to canonise Mother Teresa, on Sunday, September 4. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to an ethnic Albanian family in Macedonia in 1910. She came to Ireland to train as a Loreto Sister before being sent on a mission to India in 1929. She died in Calcutta at the age of 87 on September 5, 1997. Five days of ceremonies and events are planned the canonisation.

Derry bids for foodie crown 31.08.16
DERRY'S culinary talent was on show yesterday as the city’s restaurants, chefs and artisan food producers cooked up a storm for the judges searching for Ireland’s top Foodie Destination for 2016. Aoife Carrigy and Dee Laffan from the Irish Food Writers’ Guild, travelled to the city to sample some of the best local food produce on offer after Derry was shortlisted by the Restaurants Association of Ireland as one of the top ten finalists in the prestigious competition. Derry achieved runner-up position in last year’s competition – formerly known as Foodie Towns - narrowly missing out to The Burren in Co. Clare. The city recorded the highest number of public votes which counts towards 50% of the marks with the judges scoring the other 50%.

Don't get turtles as pets - sanctuary 30.08.16
AN animal sanctuary has urged families not to buy turtles as pets after one was thrown from a car window suffering a badly damaged shell.
Animal Magic Wildlife Rescue said turtles are generally bought as tiny creatures only to surprise owners when they get bigger, outgrow their tanks and become expensive to keep.
The Limerick sanctuary took to social media to tell people that they are inundated each year with severely abused turtles."We get a lot of turtles in every year and something should be done about allowing them to be sold as pets."

Gannet put down after swallowing fish hook 30.08.16
A seabird was spared an agonising death after it swallowed a fish hook.
The severely ill gannet was discovered entangled in fishing line and hidden among rocks at Rusheen Bay in Galway.
Galway Claddagh Swan Rescue assisted the stricken bird but the creature later had to be euthanised due to the severity of its internal injuries.
"The hook was in his stomach and had done damage. He must have picked up the fatal line and hook when he was diving for fish. The beautiful bird had to be euthanised," said the sanctuary's Mary Joyce Glynn.
Gannets are a large, white seabirds best known for their spectacular fishing technique which sees them dive headlong into the ocean at speeds of up to 100kph and heights of up to 40 metres.

Italy earthquake picked up in Ireland 30.08.16
THE 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Central Italy last week was picked up by a seismic activity station in Ireland.
The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) maintains the Irish National Seismic Network (INSN) at six locations around the country.
It said the tremors from began registering at the Wexford station some four minutes after the latest Italian quake. The earthquake struck a mountainous region of Umbria including the village of Amatrice, killing 290 people and injured hundreds more. There are six permanent broadband seismic recording stations around the country including Inch Island in Inishowen.

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