Over 16 million euro has been allocated to group water schemes to improve services not managed by Uisce Eireann in the north west. The Multi-annual Rural Water Programme has given funding to around 63,000 households nationally who get their water supplies by other means - including private wells. Applications have been assessed from local authoriti…

There are renewed calls on the National Transport Authority to expand the S3 bus route in Sligo. While the service has been praised for its succss since its introduction, It's felt the current short route is underperforming and must serve where people live, work, and shop. Local Councillor Edel McSharry is calling for Carraroe and Sligo Retail Park…

Tuesday's Donegal GAA podcast is the 'fine-tooth comb' All-Ireland final preview - with Cahir O'Kane (Irish News) and Maurice Brosnan (Irish Examiner).

Visitors to one of the most well-known local tourist attractions had to be rescued after heavy rainfall on Sunday evening. Torrential rain made its way into the Marble Arch Caves when a group walking tour was taking place, with staff guiding visitors to safety. Heavy rain has fallen in many areas since yesterday evening, with up to 60 millimeters f…

As the economy grows, our critical infrastructure has not kept pace according to the pre budget submission of Chambers Ireland. It's calling on the government to take decisive long term action , as the housing crisis has overshadowed other fundamental infrastructure services. CEO of Sligo Chamber Of Commerce speaks to oceanfm on the failures of our…

Further calls have been made to address the coastal erosion in Strandhill. The fund has been increased nationally in recent months to €90,000 to assist those on the ground. There is strong support in the area for rock armour to be installed and prevent further erosion of the coast. Local Cllr Tom MacSharry says it’s a time-sensitive issue and actio…

A Sligo Leitrim TD and Junior Minister says over alcohol consumption continues to put extra pressure on the Country's Hospitals and other medical facilities. It's been confirmed that alcohol is the country's biggest drug problem by far. Alcohol Action Ireland has welcomed the publication of the independent evaluation of the National Drugs Strategy.…

Former IFA chief chairman Kevin Comiskey welcomes the new efforts by the government to improve farm safety levels with Minister Healy Rae’s farm safety week In this year alone there has been 4 farm related fatalities in the northwest with 3 in Donegal and 1 in Leitrim, nationally there are 12 families in mourning over farm fatalities with 41 per ce…

On this All-Ireland final week, we are bringing you a Donegal GAA podcast each day, Monday to Friday. Monday's pod comes from Donegal's All-Ireland final media night at the County GAA Centre of Excellence in Convoy. Paddy McGill is joined by Peadar Mogan, Mary Coughlan, Frank Craig (Donegal Democrat) and Jason Byrne (Irish Sun). Plus - we hear from…

The day services theatre at Sligo University Hospital is set to reopen today after a leak in the roof last week. The incident happened on Thursday, with planned day surgeries having to be redirected to another theatre. This was a new leak unrelated to the orthopaedic roof where repair works have begun. Speaking to Ocean FM news, Fianna Fail Cllr an…

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 welcomi…

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. T…

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 rat…

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 Housi…

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. …

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 eig…

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…

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 say…

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 …

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 dismis…

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 …

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 …

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 whi…

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 …

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 t…

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 f…

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 t…

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 ye…

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 oth…

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 s…

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 s…

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.…

Both Sligo County Council and the Government have come under fire after new applications for a number of grants have been paused in County Sligo. The local authority say that it's due to the success of the scheme which in turn has resulted in a very significant demand. New applications for Housing Adaptation Grants for Disabled People, Mobility Aid…

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, I…

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 p…

It's expected that the owners of the notorious apartment complex in Ballisodare will be slapped with derelict site levies in January. As of last month, the apartments were placed on the Derelict Sites Register. The building has been an eyesore in the village for some, after being abandoned some year ago. A structural survey of the building in Balli…

The Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council has launched a scathing attack on a small cohort of wild campers at Lissadell Beach. The people in question left a substantial amount of rubbish behind them at the beauty spot over the weekend. Bags of rubbish, empty bottles and clothing were all discarded. Local Fianna Fail Cllr Donal Gilroy this is one of…

A Sligo Councillor has expressed his disappointment with Bus Eireann's failure to collect some Night-time passengers in Sligo. It's claimed that a passenger was not collected recently by the night-time Airport Bus route 23 which failed to stop at the designated stop in Castlebaldwin. Sligo Fine Gael Councillor, Dara Mulvey says he was contacted by …

A former Publican in the North West says many pubs will have to rebrand their businesses or risk going to the wall in the coming years. Cllr Enda McGloin issued the warning after a new report published today found that In the North West Region alone over 200 pubs have closed over the past 20 years. In Sligo 45 pubs have closed since 2005.  44 have …

The lifeboat station in Bundoran was blocked over the weekend. There were several incidents where vehicles parked on the pier, potentially preventing the lifeboat being able to launch in the event of an emergency. The RNLI has issued an urgent appeal to motorists that this kind of behaviour could seriously impact the response to a life or death sit…

People Before Profit Cllr Gino O’Boyle is the new Mayor of the Sligo Borough. He succeeds outgoing Mayor Fianna Fáil Cllr Tom MacSharry in the role. Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons take up the position of Deputy Mayor for the year ahead. Speaking to Ocean FM news, the new Mayor Cllr O’Boyle says it’s an honour in what is a poignant year for his famil…

There are renewed calls this week on Sligo County Council to revisit part of the Strandhill Enhancement Plan. It’s one week on since the majority of Cllrs voted in favour of the proposal moving forward which includes removing some car parking spaces along the shore front and adding more spaces in the upper car park. A petition, calling to save shor…

The 100 Redress Group in Donegal have confirmed that they will be backing the independent Galway-West TD, Catherine Connolly in the upcoming presidential election. Donegal Deputy Charles Ward of the 100% Redress Party has officially nominated her for the role adding that he believes Deputy Connolly is the only candidate with a true independent voic…

Donegal are getting ready for a fourth All-Ireland senior football final. They'll play Kerry in two week's time, following Sunday's emphatic 3-26 to 0-15 win over Meath at Croke Park. Paddy McGill takes stock at GAA HQ, in the company of Peter Campbell, Manus Boyle and Mayo's Lee Keegan. We hear too from Donegal boss Jim McGuinness.…

Status yellow warning issued for Sligo and Leitrim

Safety concerns continue regarding local junction

Safety measures added to local road

Donegal Cllr calls lack of fresh water in South Donegal "unacceptable"