:: News In Brief

Volunteer drivers needed urgently in Donegal 19.11.21
The Irish Cancer Society is in urgent need of volunteer drivers to provide transport for cancer patients to and from their hospital chemotherapy treatments. Last year, the Volunteer Driver Service provided 404 journeys for cancer patients in Donegal and just under 12,000 journeys throughout Ireland.
The service helps to ease the strain of travel on cancer patients, who often find it hard to get to hospital because of transportation costs or they might not be feeling well enough to drive themselves because of their treatment. Volunteers need to be available for two full week days each month, have a roadworthy car, a valid driving license, insurance and NCT. The service is completely free for patients and the volunteers receive money to pay for their fuel costs, road tolls and they receive an allowance for food while waiting for the patient.
Details on applying for a volunteer driver position can be found on www.cancer.ie or by emailing volunteer@irishcancer.ie .

Buncrana wins gold medal 18.11.21
Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Jack Murray has congratulated Buncrana Tidy Towns Committee on receiving a gold medal in the 2021 SuperValu Tidy Towns competition.
Cllr Murray said “Tidy Towns is an enormously positive initiative. The voluntary work undertaken makes a great contribution to improving our towns and villages, making them better places to live, work and visit.”
Buncrana won a gold medal amongst the large towns with a population between 5,001 and 10,000.

Audio guide of ‘St. Colmcille’s Donegal’ 12.11.21
The Donegal Heritage Office has launched ‘St. Colmcille’s Donegal’ – a free audio guide with information on heritage sites associated with St. Colmcille. The guide is narrated by Gerry O’Brien and can be downloaded from SoundCloud at www.shorturl.at/prsQ2 .



Donegal adult learning Star Awards 12.11.21
AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation is seeking nominations from adult learning projects in Donegal for the Star Awards 2022.
The Star Awards recognise outstanding work in adult learning and give projects the opportunity to promote their excellent work and bring national recognition to learners, staff and organisations.
Previous Star Award winner ‘Change Makers’ - a partnership between Inishowen Development Partnership, Donegal ETB and Self Help Africa - raises awareness and action around development education themes with adults in Donegal.
To nominate an adult learning initiative, please visit: www.aontas.com . The deadline for receipt of nominations is Monday, 22nd November 2021.

Donegal pyramid scheme 11.11.21
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has undertaken an unannounced search of two properties in County Donegal as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged pyramid promotional scheme by a multi-level marketing company in the health and wellness sector.
Pyramid promotional schemes are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is offered an opportunity to market a particular product. However, the profit is gained not by the sale of a product but by the recruitment of others into the scheme.
On Tuesday, 2 November 2021, two properties were searched under warrant by officers from the CCPC and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), who were separately verifying compliance with the requirements of food law. The CCPC and FSAI were supported by local members of An Garda Síochána as well as the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.

Donegal Artists’ Bursary Scheme 2021 10.11.21
The Donegal County Council Artists‘ Bursary Scheme 2021 welcomes applications from individual professional artists of all disciplines for assistance towards arts projects which are on-going or proposed. The scheme is designed to support individual artists at any stage of their career to sustain and further their practice. Bursaries of up to €1500 each may be offered under the scheme.
Copies of the scheme guidelines are available at www.donegalcoco.ie .
The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is 4.30pm on Friday, November 19, 2021. Email artistsbursaries@donegalcoco.ie for more info.

Driver caught speeding in Buncrana 22.10.21
National ‘Slow Down Day’ enforcement operation, 21st - 22nd October 2021.
Gardaí and GoSafe have checked the speed of 180,239 vehicles and detected 360 vehicles travelling in excess of the applicable speed limit.
Examples of motorists detected putting themselves and others at risk include a driver travelling at 76km/h in a 60km/h zone on the R238 at Tullyarvan, Buncrana.
An Garda Síochána continues to appeal to drivers to observe speed limits in order to reduce the number of speed related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.

Re-opening of Public Service Centres 20.09.21
As Covid 19 restrictions continue to ease, the Councils Public Service Centres and County House, Lifford, will reopen to the public with effect from Monday 20th September 2021.
In order to ensure that services are delivered in an environment that is safe for customers and staff, customers are expected to observe public health guidelines, including hand sanitisation, social distancing and to follow the directions of Council staff.
It is acknowledged that many customers made the switch to dealing with the Council by email, website or other virtual means during Covid-19 and those online services will continue to be fully available and strongly supported.

Motor Tax Service 20.09.21
Online: The online system has been used extensively since the offices closed, with almost 90% of tax discs now being renewed online in the County. The public are being asked to continue to use this very convenient service.

Opening of Motor Tax Counters: For Motor Tax services that are not currently available online, Motor Tax counters will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays (9.15am to 12.15pm, and 1.15pm to 3pm).

Forms and contact details: All forms are available at www.donegalcoco.ie , and we can be contacted by phone on 0749153900, or by email at motortax@donegalcoco.ie .

Oral History of Donegal 09.09.21
The Peace IV Echoes of the Decade Oral History project has now gone online for all to hear.
The project's aim was to promote understanding of different cultural traditions and narratives. The project focused on the legacy of Ireland's Decade of Centenaries (1912-23) and the lasting legacy of these years in County Donegal. This cross-community project involved workshops with children and young people, as well as an Oral History project.
The Oral History strand of the project took place during the autumn and winter of 2020. Oral Historian, Regina Fitzpatrick interviewed 12 individuals (by phone) from around County Donegal including George Mills who was born and raised in Culdaff. In his interview George talks about the very rich history of the Young family and Culdaff House.
These recorded interviews are now in Donegal County Archives’ Collection and eleven of these recordings have been uploaded onto the Council’s website at www.donegalcoco.ie .


George Mills from Culdaff was a participant in the Peace IV Echoes of the Decade Oral History Project.

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