Donegal Town
Co. Donegal • 226 stories • Since 13 Dec 2014 • Latest 31 Aug 2026
Latest updates for Donegal Town
Source cards as of 2026-09-12.
News
Abuser teacher told boy (13) she'd been sexually assaulted as part of 'grooming', court finds
Teacher in bid to overturn her conviction for sexually abusing boy (13)
Teacher who indecently assaulted boy 40 years ago is jailed
Teacher convicted of abusing boy does not accept verdict, court hears
Planning
Planning pre-validation: 2661606
ARDLENAGH & LURGANBOY DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL (1) LEAN TO EXTENSION TO THE EAST ELEVATION OF THE MAIN BUILDING, (2) RELOCATED POWER WASHER STORAGE...
Planning application received: (1) LEAN TO EXTENSION TO THE EAST ELEVATION OF THE MAIN BUILDING, (2) RELOCATED POWER WASHER STORAGE
Planning new application: 2661599
DRUMBAR DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO. STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS...
Planning application received: MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO. STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
Planning application finalised: 2661309
DOONAN , DONEGAL TOWN , CO. DONEGAL CHANGE OF USE OF DWELLING HOUSE AND EXTENSION (PREVIOUSLY GRANTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 26/60021) TO SHORT TERM LET AND REPOSITIONING OF EXISTING ENTRANCE TO THE NORTH AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
Latest by Date
31 Aug 2026 latest- planningPlanning application received: (1) LEAN TO EXTENSION TO THE EAST ELEVATION OF THE MAIN BUILDING, (2)...
- planningPlanning application received: MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO. STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION TO THE REAR OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE INCLUDING...
- planningPlanning conditional: (A) CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW TWO STOREY DWELLING WITH INTEGRAL GARAGE AND SINGLE STOREY...
- planningPlanning conditional: REFURBISHMENT AND CHANGE OF USE OF FORMER COASTGUARD STATION KNOWN AS BALL HILL...
- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS TO A...
- planningPlanning application received: MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS
- planningPlanning application received: A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD)...
- planningPlanning application received: (1) DEMOLITION OF EXISTING SHED ATTACHED TO DWELLING HOUSE, (2) CONSTRUCTION...
- planningPlanning application received: AMENDMENTS TO DEVELOPMENT PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO....
- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLINGHOUSE, NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE & PROPRIETARY...
- planningPlanning conditional: (1) REFURBISHMENT OF BARN LOCATED TO THE SIDE OF EXISTING HOUSE FOR USE AS A...
News
1 story
Young woman hospitalised after crash in South Donegal
A young woman in her 20s was hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries following a road traffic collision in Donegal town. Gardaí attended the scene and investigations are ongoing.
Christie Galligan
Incident occurred in Donegal town in the early hours of yesterday morning; victim treated at Letterkenny University Hospital
15 Jun 2026 · oceanfm
Also covered in: Letterkenny
Crime & Courts
38 stories
Woman raped by partner declined counselling as notes could be used against her at trial
A man from Letterkenny, County Donegal, has been sentenced to ten years in prison following his conviction on charges of rape. The Central Criminal Court in Castlebar, County Mayo, heard that the offences occurred between September 2017 and July 2018. The accused was found guilty of two counts of anal rape and one count of vaginal rape of his then partner. During sentencing, Justice Patrick McGrath noted the serious…
Courts News Ireland report
17 Jan 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Also covered in: Castlebar Letterkenny
Abuser teacher told boy (13) she'd been sexually assaulted as part of 'grooming', court finds
(Pictured: Jacinta McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) A secondary school teacher who 40 years ago told a 13-year-old pupil she indecently assaulted that she was herself a victim of sexual assault did so as part of a “grooming” process, the Court of Appeal has ruled. “Whatever way one looks at this,
Courts News Ireland report
19 Dec 2024 · Courts News Ireland
Child rapist's five trials were not an abuse of process, appeal court finds
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal against conviction by a Donegal man sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the repeated rape of a teenager. Liam Carr, aged 62, with an address in Ballina, Falcarragh, County Donegal, was convicted following trial at the Central Criminal Court in Sligo in 2021 of 31 counts including sexual assault, anal rape and oral rape of the boy between September 1995 and September…
Courts News Ireland report
19 Dec 2024 · Courts News Ireland
Also covered in: Ballina Falcarragh
Teacher in bid to overturn her conviction for sexually abusing boy (13)
(Pictured: Jacinta McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) A secondary school teacher jailed for the indecent assault of a 13-year-old pupil nearly 40 years ago has argued that the jury in her trial should not have been given evidence of her telling the boy that she was herself the victim of sexual assau
Courts News Ireland report
24 Oct 2024 · Courts News Ireland
Teacher who indecently assaulted boy 40 years ago is jailed
(Pictured: Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) A secondary school teacher who indecently assaulted a 13-year-old pupil nearly 40 years ago has been jailed for two and a half years. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63), of the Mullins, Donegal Town, Co Donegal, was found guilty of two counts of in
Courts News Ireland report
11 Jan 2024 · Courts News Ireland
Teacher convicted of abusing boy does not accept verdict, court hears
(Pictured Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) By David O'Sullivan and Isabel Hayes A former secondary school teacher found guilty of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old pupil nearly 40 years ago does not accept the verdicts of the jury, a court has heard. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63), of
Courts News Ireland report
09 Dec 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Teacher guilty of abusing her male student in 1980s
(Pictured: Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) By Isabel Hayes A teacher who was on trial accused of sexually abusing her 13-year-old male student 38 years ago has been found guilty of the charges against her. The jury in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial of Jacintha McSherry O'Connor
Courts News Ireland report
20 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Jury to continue deliberating in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
(Pictured: Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) By Isabel Hayes & David O'Sullivan The jury in the trial of a teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student 38 years ago will continue their deliberations tomorrow. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63) of The Mullins, Donegal Town, Co Doneg
Courts News Ireland report
19 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Jury continue deliberations in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
(Pictured: Ms Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) The jury in the trial of a teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student 38 years ago has continued its deliberations. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63) of The Mullins, Donegal Town, Co Donegal, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of
Courts News Ireland report
18 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
'A case where danger lurks': closing speeches in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
(Pictured: Ms Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) The jury in the trial of a teacher accused of indecently assaulting her male student 38 years ago has started its deliberations. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63) of The Mullins, Donegal Town, Co Donegal, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of
Courts News Ireland report
17 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Teacher takes stand and tells jury she never abused child
(Pictured: Ms Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) A teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student 38 years ago has told a jury she never had sexual relations of any kind with the child. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor took the stand in her Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial today and d
Courts News Ireland report
16 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Teacher told gardai that student fantasised about her, trial hears
(Pictured: Accused Ms Jacintha McSherry O'Connor. Photo: Collins) A secondary school teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student 40 years ago told gardaí he fantasised about her and had a crush on her, her trial has heard. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor (63) told gardaí that nothing “untowar
Courts News Ireland report
13 Oct 2023 · Courts News Ireland
Planning
187 stories
Planning application received: (1) LEAN TO EXTENSION TO THE EAST ELEVATION OF THE MAIN BUILDING, (2) RELOCATED POWER WASHER STORAGE
SHAUN MOLLOY & SONS LIMITED (TRADING AS DONEGAL WASTE AND RECYCLE) — ARDLENAGH & LURGANBOY DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. (1) LEAN TO EXTENSION TO THE EAST ELEVATION OF THE MAIN BUILDING, (2) RELOCATED POWER WASHER STORAGE...
SHAUN MOLLOY & SONS LIMITED (TRADING AS DONEGAL WASTE AND RECYCLE)
File ref: 2661606 · Donegal County Council
31 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO. STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
KEITH CLEARY PLANT LTD. — DRUMBAR DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO. STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS...
KEITH CLEARY PLANT LTD.
File ref: 2661599 · Donegal County Council
30 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION TO THE REAR OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE INCLUDING ALTERATIONS TO ALL FACADE
EDEL DUNPHY — NO. 4 GLEBE DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION TO THE REAR OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE INCLUDING ALTERATIONS TO ALL FACADE...
EDEL DUNPHY
File ref: 2661581 · Donegal County Council
26 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning conditional: (A) CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW TWO STOREY DWELLING WITH INTEGRAL GARAGE AND SINGLE STOREY CANOPY AREA, (B
KARL & CIARA LACEY — BALLYBOYLE DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. (A) CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW TWO STOREY DWELLING WITH INTEGRAL GARAGE AND SINGLE STOREY CANOPY AREA, (B...
KARL & CIARA LACEY
File ref: 2660400 · Donegal County Council
21 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning conditional: REFURBISHMENT AND CHANGE OF USE OF FORMER COASTGUARD STATION KNOWN AS BALL HILL COASTGUARD STATION,
KAREN ESPEY — SUMMERHILL DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. REFURBISHMENT AND CHANGE OF USE OF FORMER COASTGUARD STATION KNOWN AS BALL HILL COASTGUARD STATION, ...
KAREN ESPEY
File ref: 2660088 · Donegal County Council
13 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS TO A DWELLING AND GARAGE GRANT
SINEAD GALLAGHER — MUCKROS DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS TO A DWELLING AND GARAGE GRANT...
SINEAD GALLAGHER
File ref: 2661478 · Donegal County Council
07 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS
KEITH CLEARY PLANT LTD. — DRUMBAR TD DONEGAL TOWN CO.DONEGAL. MACHINERY SHED AND 2 NO STORAGE UNITS ALONG WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS...
KEITH CLEARY PLANT LTD.
File ref: 2661482 · Donegal County Council
07 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF THE FOLLOWING: (1
DAVID MAHON PROPERTIES LTD — GLEBE & RAFORKER DONEGAL TOWN CO DONEGAL. A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF THE FOLLOWING: (1...
DAVID MAHON PROPERTIES LTD
File ref: 2661462 · Donegal County Council
05 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: (1) DEMOLITION OF EXISTING SHED ATTACHED TO DWELLING HOUSE, (2) CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION TO EXIS
ELIZABETH LAWN — LURGANBOY DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. (1) DEMOLITION OF EXISTING SHED ATTACHED TO DWELLING HOUSE, (2) CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION TO EXIS...
ELIZABETH LAWN
File ref: 2661448 · Donegal County Council
01 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: AMENDMENTS TO DEVELOPMENT PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 20/51194 (AMENDED BY PLANNING
MILLTOWN SPV1 LIMITED — MILLTOWN DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. AMENDMENTS TO DEVELOPMENT PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 20/51194 (AMENDED BY PLANNING...
MILLTOWN SPV1 LIMITED
File ref: 2661439 · Donegal County Council
31 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLINGHOUSE, NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE & PROPRIETARY TREATMENT PLANT INCLUDING ALL
DEREK LYTTLE — DRUMBAR DONEGAL TOWN CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLINGHOUSE, NEW VEHICULAR ENTRANCE & PROPRIETARY TREATMENT PLANT INCLUDING ALL ...
DEREK LYTTLE
File ref: 2661383 · Donegal County Council
24 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning conditional: (1) REFURBISHMENT OF BARN LOCATED TO THE SIDE OF EXISTING HOUSE FOR USE AS A SELF-CONTAINED APARTMENT ANCILLARY TO THE U
MICHELLE BRESLIN & PAURIC CALDWELL — CLARLOUGHEASK , DONEGAL TOWN , DONEGAL PO. (1) REFURBISHMENT OF BARN LOCATED TO THE SIDE OF EXISTING HOUSE FOR USE AS A SELF-CONTAINED APARTMENT ANCILLARY TO THE USE OF THE HOUSE, (2) CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION TO NORTH SIDE OF BARN TO INCLUDE A DOMESTIC GARAGE AND GYM AT GROUND FLOOR AND APARTMENT ACCOMMODATION ON THE FIRST FLOOR LINKED TO THE BARN AND (3)…
MICHELLE BRESLIN & PAURIC CALDWELL
File ref: 2661080 · Donegal County Council
23 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Court Reports
Cases and rulings mentioning Donegal Town from local newspapers and Courts News Ireland.
Abuser teacher told boy (13) she'd been sexually assaulted as part of 'grooming', court finds
A secondary school teacher from Donegal Town has had her conviction upheld by the Court of Appeal following a challenge to her trial proceedings. Jacinta McSherry O'Connor, aged 64, was found guilty in October 2023 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of two counts of indecent...
Teacher in bid to overturn her conviction for sexually abusing boy (13)
A secondary school teacher from Donegal Town has appealed her conviction for indecently assaulting a 13-year-old male student in 1985. Jacinta McSherry O'Connor, now 64, was found guilty following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial in October 2023 and sentenced to three...
Teacher who indecently assaulted boy 40 years ago is jailed
A secondary school teacher from Donegal Town has been sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment following her conviction for indecently assaulting a male pupil in 1985. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63, was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault at Dublin...
Teacher convicted of abusing boy does not accept verdict, court hears
A 63-year-old former secondary school teacher from Donegal Town has been convicted of two counts of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old male pupil in 1985 while working as a student teacher at a Dublin secondary school. The offences occurred during home tuition sessions and on...
Teacher guilty of abusing her male student in 1980s
A woman has been found guilty of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old boy in the 1980s following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63, of Donegal Town, was convicted on two counts of indecent assault by majority jury verdict after 11...
Jury to continue deliberating in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court will resume deliberations tomorrow in the trial of a teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student decades ago. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63 and from The Mullins in Donegal Town, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of...
Jury continue deliberations in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
A jury at the Central Criminal Court has continued deliberations in the trial of a Donegal woman accused of indecently assaulting a male student nearly four decades ago. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63 and from The Mullins in Donegal Town, has pleaded not guilty to two...
'A case where danger lurks': closing speeches in trial of teacher accused of abusing her male student
At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, the jury has begun deliberations in the trial of a teacher accused of indecently assaulting a male student nearly four decades ago. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63, from Donegal Town, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault...
Teacher takes stand and tells jury she never abused child
A teacher from Donegal Town has denied charges of indecent assault against a male student alleged to have occurred nearly four decades ago. The 63-year-old woman pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting a child between June and September 1985, when she was a...
Teacher told gardai that student fantasised about her, trial hears
A 63-year-old teacher from Donegal Town has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting a male student in 1985 when she was a trainee educator in Dublin. During trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, the defendant told gardaí that nothing inappropriate occurred...
Teacher goes on trial accused of abusing boy in 1980s
A former English teacher has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with indecently assaulting a pupil during the 1980s. Jacintha McSherry O'Connor, aged 63, of Donegal Town, Co Donegal, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault on dates between...
Jasmine McMonagle murder accused was suffering from mental disorder, psychiatrists tell trial
The Central Criminal Court in Monaghan heard testimony on 22 March from two psychiatrists who both concluded that Richard Burke was suffering from a mental disorder that substantially diminished his responsibility at the time of the alleged killing. Mr Burke, aged 32, of...
Man jailed for rape and abuse of niece when he was teen
A 30-year-old man from Donegal has been sentenced to five years imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended, for the rape and sexual abuse of his niece when he was a teenager. The man pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two counts of oral rape and five counts...
Jury view CCTV footage of teens before and after alleged rape
A jury at the Central Criminal Court has viewed CCTV footage from Donegal Town showing a teenager accused of rape before and after the alleged offences on St Patrick's Day 2016. The accused, now 19, denies the charges relating to a 16-year-old girl. During cross-examination,...
Alleged rape victim (18) breaks down in cross-examination
An 18-year-old woman testified at the Central Criminal Court regarding allegations that she was raped in Donegal Town on March 18, 2016, following St Patrick's Day celebrations. The woman, who was 16 at the time of the alleged incident, described the assault occurring in a...
Teen goes on trial accused of raping girl (16)
A trial has begun at the Central Criminal Court concerning allegations of rape and sexual assault following an incident in Co Donegal on St Patrick's Day 2016. The accused teenager, now aged 19, has denied one charge of rape and one of sexual assault against a 16-year-old girl....
Chief Superintendent tells tribunal she wanted investigation to be "clear and transparent"
At the Charleton Tribunal on 6 October 2017, Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn of Donegal Division gave evidence concerning the handling of allegations against whistleblower Garda Keith Harrison. Chief Supt McGinn stated her priority was ensuring gardaí acted in a clear and...
Donegal man jailed for three years for raping teenager when he was aged 15
A man from County Donegal has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for the rape of a 14-year-old girl at a youth disco in December 2010, when he was aged 15. The Central Criminal Court heard that he pushed the girl into the ladies toilets and raped her in a cubicle. The...
21-year-old man acquitted of Donegal rape
A 21-year-old man has been acquitted at the Central Criminal Court of rape allegations arising from an incident in Donegal Town in July 2012. The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charge. The trial heard evidence that the complainant and the accused, both aged 18 at the...
Rape trial jury to resume deliberations
The jury in a rape trial at the Central Criminal Court is to resume deliberations tomorrow following over two hours of consideration today. The accused, now aged 21, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of raping a woman in an alleyway in Donegal Town in July 2012, when both...