Killybegs
Co. Donegal • 36 stories • Since 05 Jul 2016 • Latest 20 Aug 2026
Latest updates for Killybegs
Source cards as of 2026-09-12.
News
Sliabh Liag murderers get appeal date
'It only took him six weeks to destroy me': criminal who beat, raped and coercively controlled partner to remain in prison after appeal...
'I have to have some regard to the public purse': Sliabh Liag murderers denied three senior barristers for appeal
Criminal who raped and controlled partner rejects jury verdict, court hears
Planning
Planning new application: 2661545
FINTRAGH CONCHEOW , KILLYBEGS , DONEGAL PO CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION AND RENOVATION OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LIVING ACCOMMODATION AREAS WITH ALTERATIONS TO ALL FACADES, CONNECTION TO ALL EXISTING SITE SERVICES AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION AND RENOVATION OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LIVING ACC
Planning new application: 2661524
SHORE ROAD , KILLYBEGS , DONEGAL PO CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BOAT HOIST DOCK (APPROX. 25X9M) AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF THE EXISTING BOAT YARD
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BOAT HOIST DOCK (APPROX. 25X9M) AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT ON THE EASTERN SHORE
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING FISH PROCESSING FACILITY TO ACCOMMODATE FISH PROTEIN PRODUCTI
Latest by Date
20 Aug 2026 latest- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION AND RENOVATION OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE TO...
- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BOAT HOIST DOCK (APPROX. 25X9M) AND ASSOCIATED...
- planningPlanning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING FISH PROCESSING FACILITY TO...
- courtsSliabh Liag murderers appeal convictions
- planningPlanning refused: CHANGE OF USE OF PART OF EXISTING PREMISES TO PROVIDE STUDENT ACCOMMODATION CONTAINING 5...
- planningCONSTRUCTION OF A NEW GARAGE AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
- planningPlanning conditional: CONSTRUCTION OF A STEEL PORTAL SHED FOR STORAGE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
- planningPlanning application received: STORAGE SHED AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
- planningPlanning application received: A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR PROPOSED WORKS TO FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF TURBINE...
- planningPlanning conditional: CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE AND DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH SEPTIC TANK AND...
- planningPlanning application 2660873
- planningPlanning application received: Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd., intend to apply for permission for proposed works...
Crime & Courts
22 stories
Sliabh Liag murderers appeal convictions
Two former lovers who beat another man to death before throwing his body over the highest cliffs in Ireland at Sliabh Liag in Donegal have argued that their murder convictions should be overturned. Alan Vial (41) and Nikita Burns (25) were convicted last year following a trial at the Central Crimina
Courts News Ireland report
23 Jul 2026 · Courts News Ireland
Sliabh Liag murderers get appeal date
A hearing date has been set for appeals by Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, who were convicted of murdering Robert Robin' Wilkin before his body went over some of Europe's tallest cliffs at Sliabh Liag in Donegal. Vial and Burns, who were living together having dated for a short period at the time of the
Courts News Ireland report
20 Feb 2026 · Courts News Ireland
'It only took him six weeks to destroy me': criminal who beat, raped and coercively controlled partner to remain in prison after appeal rejected
(Pictured: Survivor Ms Sinéad O'Neill. Photo: Collins) A criminal who assaulted, raped and coercively controlled his partner during a six-week relationship in which she endured “violence and extreme degradation”, will remain in prison after a court today rejected his appeal against conviction. Dean
Courts News Ireland report
12 Dec 2025 · Courts News Ireland
'I have to have some regard to the public purse': Sliabh Liag murderers denied three senior barristers for appeal
A judge has denied legal aid for a third senior barrister to represent each of the Sliabh Liag murderers Alan Vial and Nikita Burns in their bid to overturn their convictions, noting he had to have “some regard to the public purse”. Vial and Burns, a former couple, were convicted by a Central Crimin
Courts News Ireland report
20 Jun 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Criminal who raped and controlled partner rejects jury verdict, court hears
By Fiona Magennis A criminal has appealed his conviction for raping, assaulting and coercively controlling a woman during a six-week relationship in which she endured “violence and extreme degradation”, arguing that his trial jury was prejudiced by his victim giving evidence that he previously tried
Courts News Ireland report
06 May 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Family ‘overwhelmed’ by Sliabh Liag pair’s lack of remorse
(Pictured: Victim Robin Wilkin's sister Irene McAleer and brother David speaking outside court today. Photo: Collins) The sister of Robin Wilkin has said she feels overwhelmed by the lack of remorse shown by her brother's "cold, calculating" murderers and by the way they dumped his body over Ireland
Courts News Ireland report
07 Mar 2025 · Courts News Ireland
'The Plan': how two lovers came to throw a pensioner's body off Ireland's tallest cliffs
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns had just beaten Robert ‘Robin’ Wilkin’s head in with a rock when they came up with their plan – to cast the body off Ireland’s tallest cliffs. They were pulled in on the Roshine Road near Killybegs where they spent about 15 minutes trying to decide what to do. The plan hat
Courts News Ireland report
06 Mar 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Sliabh Liag pensioner wouldn't have died immediately from skull fractures if they were only injuries, pathologist tells trial
(Pictured: State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster. Photo: Collins) A 66-year-old man would not have died immediately from two skull fractures that the State alleges were inflicted with a rock before he was put off Ireland's tallest sea cliffs, if they were the only injuries he suffered, a pathologist h
Courts News Ireland report
24 Feb 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Donegal cliff murder trial adjourned as legal issue arises
The trial of Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, who deny murdering 66-year-old Robert Robin' Wilkin before his body was put over Ireland's tallest cliffs, has been adjourned for ten days to allow lawyers in the case to address an issue. Mr Justice Paul McDermott asked the jury of seven women and five men t
Courts News Ireland report
14 Feb 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Sliabh Liag accused denies lying to escape responsibility for pensioner's murder
A murder accused who has claimed that it was his former lover and co-accused who beat 66-year-old Robert Robin' Wilkin to death with a rock – and that she helped put his body over Ireland's tallest cliffs – has denied lying in the hopes of escaping responsibility for what he did. Alan Vial (39), on
Courts News Ireland report
12 Feb 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Sliabh Liag murder accused tells trial he lied about pensioner sexually assaulting co-accused
A man accused of murdering a 66-year-old and putting his body over the cliffs at Sliabh Liag in Donegal has accepted he lied to gardai when he claimed the pensioner had sexually assaulted his co-accused, then 21-year-old Nikita Burns. Alan Vial (39) said he and Ms Burns, now 23 years old, "came up w
Courts News Ireland report
11 Feb 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Sliabh Liag murder accused takes stand and describes pensioner's body rolling off cliffs
A man has taken the stand in his own defence to tell his murder trial that he was fighting with a pensioner – whose body was found in the waters beneath Sliabh Liag – when his former lover and co-accused hit the victim on the back of the head with a rock, causing him to stop breathing. Alan Vial (39
Courts News Ireland report
10 Feb 2025 · Courts News Ireland
Also covered in: Dunkineely
Planning
14 stories
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION AND RENOVATION OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LIVING ACC
CHARLES & JANIE GILLESPIE — FINTRAGH CONCHEOW KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSION AND RENOVATION OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LIVING ACC...
CHARLES & JANIE GILLESPIE
File ref: 2661545 · Donegal County Council
20 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BOAT HOIST DOCK (APPROX. 25X9M) AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT ON THE EASTERN SHORE
MOONEY BOATS LTD. — SHORE ROAD KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BOAT HOIST DOCK (APPROX. 25X9M) AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT ON THE EASTERN SHORE ...
MOONEY BOATS LTD.
File ref: 2661524 · Donegal County Council
17 Aug 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING FISH PROCESSING FACILITY TO ACCOMMODATE FISH PROTEIN PRODUCTI
KARL MCHUGH — KILLYBEGS TD & GLEBE TD KILLYBEGS CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF EXTENSIONS TO EXISTING FISH PROCESSING FACILITY TO ACCOMMODATE FISH PROTEIN PRODUCTI...
KARL MCHUGH
File ref: 2661436 · Donegal County Council
30 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: STORAGE SHED AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
AIDAN DOOGAN — KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. STORAGE SHED AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS...
AIDAN DOOGAN
File ref: 2661276 · Donegal County Council
09 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning conditional: CONSTRUCTION OF A STEEL PORTAL SHED FOR STORAGE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
PATRICK BYRNE — AUGHAVOGUE KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF A STEEL PORTAL SHED FOR STORAGE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS...
PATRICK BYRNE
File ref: 2562266 · Donegal County Council
09 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW GARAGE AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
NOEL MARTYN is seeking permission CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW GARAGE AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS at BALLYARA, KILLYBEGS, DONEGAL PO, CO. DONEGAL. New Application.
NOEL MARTYN
File ref: 2660893 · Donegal County Council
09 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning refused: CHANGE OF USE OF PART OF EXISTING PREMISES TO PROVIDE STUDENT ACCOMMODATION CONTAINING 5 NO. BEDROOM
RICHARD TIMONY ON BEHALF OF THE SEAMANSHIP CENTRE — ROSHINE ROAD KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. CHANGE OF USE OF PART OF EXISTING PREMISES TO PROVIDE STUDENT ACCOMMODATION CONTAINING 5 NO. BEDROOM...
RICHARD TIMONY ON BEHALF OF THE SEAMANSHIP CENTRE
File ref: 2660932 · Donegal County Council
09 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR PROPOSED WORKS TO FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF TURBINE COMPONENTS TO THE PERM
BORD NA MÓNA POWERGEN LTD. — KILLYBEGS GLEBE AGHAYEEVOGE CASHELREAGH GLEBE BRUCKLESS AIGHAN BRUCKLESS & DARNEY DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR PROPOSED WORKS TO FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF TURBINE COMPONENTS TO THE PERM...
BORD NA MÓNA POWERGEN LTD.
File ref: 2661265 · Donegal County Council
08 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning conditional: CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE AND DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH SEPTIC TANK AND PERCOLATION AREA
DARRAGH MCNERN & TONI HERRON — TULLAGHCULLION KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO CO. DONEGAL. CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE AND DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH SEPTIC TANK AND PERCOLATION AREA ...
DARRAGH MCNERN & TONI HERRON
File ref: 2561838 · Donegal County Council
02 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application 2660873
A planning application has been filed with Donegal County Council under reference 2660873. Status not recorded.
DIANE HARVEY
File ref: 2660873 · Donegal County Council
02 Jul 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Planning application received: Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd., intend to apply for permission for proposed works to facilitate the deli
Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd — Killybegs, Glebe, Aghayeevoge, Cashelreagh Glebe, Bruckless, Aighan, Bruckless and Darney Killybegs, Glebe, Aghayeevoge, Cashelreagh Glebe, Bruckless, Aighan, Bruckless and Darney Co. Donegal. Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd., intend to apply for permission for proposed works to facilitate the deli...
Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd Bord na Móna Powergen Ltd
File ref: 2661202 · Donegal County Council
30 Jun 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
(1) RETENTION OF FORMER WINDOW PREVIOUSLY BUILT UP AND NOW RE-OPENED TO THE SIDE OF THE
GARY & MAIREAD ANDERSON ON BEHALF OF NORWEST HOSPITALITY LTD. is seeking permission (1) RETENTION OF FORMER WINDOW PREVIOUSLY BUILT UP AND NOW RE-OPENED TO THE SIDE OF THE SINGLE STOREY PART OF THE EXISTING BUILDING AND (2) CHANGE OF USE OF THE SINGLE STOREY PART TO A COFFEE TAKE AWAY AND ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS at MAIN STREET, CORPORATION, KILLYBEGS DONEGAL PO, CO. DONEGAL. New Application.
GARY & MAIREAD ANDERSON ON BEHALF OF NORWEST HOSPITALITY LTD.
File ref: 2660805 · Donegal County Council
25 Jun 2026 · Donegal County Council (Planning)
Court Reports
Cases and rulings mentioning Killybegs from local newspapers and Courts News Ireland.
Sliabh Liag murderers appeal convictions
Two former lovers who beat another man to death before throwing his body over the highest cliffs in Ireland at Sliabh Liag in Donegal have argued that their murder convictions should be overturned. Alan Vial (41) and Nikita Burns (25) were convicted last year following a trial...
Sliabh Liag murderers get appeal date
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, who were convicted in March 2025 of murdering Robert Robin Wilkin at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal, have been granted a hearing date for their conviction appeals. Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, and Burns, aged 23, of Carrick, had pleaded...
'It only took him six weeks to destroy me': criminal who beat, raped and coercively controlled partner to remain in prison after appeal rejected
A man convicted of assaulting, raping and coercively controlling his partner over a six-week period has had his appeal against conviction dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Dean Ward, aged 38, formerly of County Wexford, was sentenced to seventeen years imprisonment following...
'I have to have some regard to the public purse': Sliabh Liag murderers denied three senior barristers for appeal
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns, convicted of murdering Robert Wilkin near Sliabh Liag in County Donegal, have been denied legal aid for a third senior barrister to represent them in their Court of Appeal bid to overturn their convictions. Mr Justice John Edwards ruled that legal...
Criminal who raped and controlled partner rejects jury verdict, court hears
A man convicted of raping, assaulting and coercively controlling a woman over a six-week period has appealed his conviction at the Court of Appeal, arguing his trial was prejudiced by inadmissible evidence. Dean Ward, aged 38, was found guilty in June 2022 of twelve offences...
Family ‘overwhelmed’ by Sliabh Liag pair’s lack of remorse
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns were convicted of the murder of Robin Wilkin, 66, at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday following a two-month trial. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed the mandatory life sentence on each defendant yesterday. Vial, aged 39, from Drumanoo Head,...
Pair guilty of murdering pensioner whose body was thrown off Donegal cliffs
Alan Vial and Nikita Burns have been found guilty of murdering 66-year-old Robert Wilkin at the Central Criminal Court. The jury returned majority verdicts of ten to two against each accused. Wilkin's body was discovered in the sea below Sliabh Liag cliffs in County Donegal on...
'The Plan': how two lovers came to throw a pensioner's body off Ireland's tallest cliffs
At the Central Criminal Court, Alan Vial and Nikita Burns have been convicted of the murder of Robert Wilkin, a 66-year-old man whose body was disposed of at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal in June 2023. Following an altercation on the Roshine Road near Killybegs, the accused...
Jury begin deliberating in Sliabh Liag murder trial
A jury has begun deliberations in the Central Criminal Court in the murder trial of two Co Donegal residents. Alan Vial, aged 39, from Drumanoo Head in Killybegs, and Nikita Burns, aged 23, from Carrick, have each pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert Robin Wilkin on 25...
Dangerous to act on Sliabh Liag accused's testimony, judge tells jury
At the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott has warned the jury that it would be dangerous to rely on the testimony of Alan Vial, who has implicated his co-accused Nikita Burns in the death of Robert Wilkin. Both deny murdering the 66-year-old man, whose body was...
Woman (23) a ‘bystander’ in Sliabh Liag murder, defence tell jury
At the Central Criminal Court, closing arguments concluded in the trial of two people charged with the murder of Robert Robin Wilkin near Sliabh Liag in County Donegal on 25 June 2023. Nikita Burns (23) of Carrick and Alan Vial (39) of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, have both...
Sliabh Liag murder accused a 'cynical liar', prosecution tell jury
At the Central Criminal Court, the prosecution has described Alan Vial, aged 39, of Killybegs, County Donegal, as a "cynical liar" who fabricated his account to evade responsibility for the death of 66-year-old Robert Robin' Wilkin. Bernard Condon SC, prosecuting, told the jury...
Sliabh Liag pensioner wouldn't have died immediately from skull fractures if they were only injuries, pathologist tells trial
At the Central Criminal Court, the State Pathologist gave evidence in the trial of two individuals charged with the murder of a man alleged to have been pushed from Sliabh Liag cliffs in County Donegal in June 2023. Dr Margaret Bolster told the court that two skull fractures...
Donegal cliff murder trial adjourned as legal issue arises
The trial of Alan Vial and Nikita Burns at the Central Criminal Court has been adjourned for ten days to allow legal representatives to address an outstanding matter. Both defendants deny murdering Robert Robin Wilkin, whose body was discovered in the sea below Sliabh Liag in...
Sliabh Liag accused denies lying to escape responsibility for pensioner's murder
Alan Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, denied during cross-examination at the Central Criminal Court that he fabricated allegations against his co-accused to evade responsibility for the death of Robert Robin Wilkin, aged 66. Mr Vial, who has pleaded...
Sliabh Liag murder accused tells trial he lied about pensioner sexually assaulting co-accused
A man accused of murdering a 66-year-old pensioner at Sliabh Liag in County Donegal has admitted to gardaí that he fabricated allegations of sexual assault during questioning in 2023. Alan Vial, aged 39, told the Central Criminal Court that he and his co-accused devised a false...
Sliabh Liag murder accused takes stand and describes pensioner's body rolling off cliffs
A 39-year-old man accused of murder has testified at the Central Criminal Court that his co-accused struck the alleged victim with a rock, causing the pensioner's death. Alan Vial, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, told the court he was physically struggling with...
Geologist used Google Street View to help identify possible source of murder weapon, trial hears
A geologist has given evidence at the Central Criminal Court that a bloodied rock allegedly used in the murder of a pensioner near Sliabh Liag in Donegal was most likely transported to the scene by human activity rather than occurring naturally there. Dr Sophie O'Connor of the...
Brother concerned that Sliabh Liag accused was off medication and drinking, trial hears
At the Central Criminal Court, a witness told how he harboured growing concerns about his sister's wellbeing in the period preceding an alleged murder in Donegal. The brother of Nikita Burns said he was worried that she had ceased taking prescribed medication for her bipolar...
'Ironically, he always wanted to be buried at sea': Sliabh Liag murder accused to gardai
Alan Vial, aged 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert Robin Wilkin, a 66-year-old pensioner, on 25 June 2023 in Donegal. Mr Wilkin's body was recovered eight days later in the sea below Sliabh Liag cliffs. During...