There have been calls for traffic calming measures near Carraig Bridge in Bridgend, following a number of road accidents at the location in recent years.
Speaking at last Tuesday’s Inishowen Electoral Area meeting in Carndonagh, Cllr John Ryan said Gardai accident figures revealed there was a “high proportion” of accidents in the area – the most recent of which occurred a week previous.
The busy minor road runs from Killea and passes a number of housing estates and a national school in Bridgend before entering on to the main Derry to Buncrana road.
Cllr Ryan said the calming measures might not need to be extensive but “something needs to be done.”
He said: “There has been a series of accidents there and if you look at the accident figures from the Gardai there is a high proportion at that location.
“We need to do something with this road because you’re driving along and all of a sudden you’re in the village, which has greatly extended over the past number of years.
“It might not take an awful lot of work and there is already some traffic calming measures in place because the school is there. But, if we can do something with the road above – even put in that new coloured tar or put rumble strips on place – to slow down vehicles. A child was knocked down there a few years ago and thankfully they made a full recovery. This road needs seen to.”
Donegal County Council Roads and Transportation Services Executive Engineer Charlie Kerr told Cllr Ryan that engineer Trevor Gordon had inspected the site and acknowledged there had been a “few incidents lately relating to speed.”
He outlined how motorists pass the traffic calming gateway before entering the narrow section of road but “do some do not slow down sufficiently” and “the Gardai have been informed.”
Mr Kerr added that the Council was inspecting further methods to slow traffic down, “such as lining etc” and they may be able to progress this further through discretionary funding.

Plans are under way to establish a permanent memorial to infants buried in an “unconsecrated” plot outside Burt’s main cemetery, it has been revealed.
A meeting will take place in An Grianan Hotel, Burt this Thursday to discuss the plans for the project, which has already received strong support.
The memorial will remember those infants who had not been baptised and were therefore buried in an unconsecrated plot outside the main cemetery.
Over the years, the local cemetery has been extended, incorporating the plot within the present boundaries.
Almost every parish in the county has experienced similar situations and many have taken steps to address this sensitive subject.
At an inaugural meeting held two weeks ago, support was expressed for the project by all those attending, including Fr Gerard Sweeney, curate of Burt, Inch and Fahan, who said he would be “happy” to conduct a service of remembrance when the project is completed.
Already, some donations for the “Burt Graveyard Project” have been received and future fundraising activities will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting.

An Inishowen doctor has been helping transform the lives of the sick in a poverty-stricken region of India.
Prof Dennis McGonagle, who is from Glengad but now lives in Leeds, travelled to the Asian country earlier this year and has told the Inish Times he “is very committed to returning.”
He was one of 15 doctors who visited the Punjab region along with the “Slum Doctor” charity, which works to improve the lives of the sick in the country where free healthcare is not available to all.
Prof McGonagle, who along with the rest of the team funded the trip himself, said: “There is extreme poverty and hardship there but the people are incredibly friendly, polite and kind.”
Working up to 12 hours at a time the team saw around 8,000 patients over three days, organised 300 hearing aids to be fitted, carried out 300 eye operations, 50 general operations and around 20 hip and knee operations.
Prof McGonagle said: “We would see the patients when we were there and then the charity organises payment for their treatment for them after we leave.
“I listed 16 people for joint replacements when I was there.”
He added: “In the 20 years I’ve been practicing medicine I have never seen such advanced cases of arthritis. Many of the people I saw arrived on stretchers.”
One woman in her 30s, he said, arrived on a stretcher while another man who came in on a zimmer frame had been walking on a fractured hip for over two years.
“The poverty is such that many patients with mild arthritis could not even afford simple pain killers. We were able to give them a month’s supply of Ibuporfen.”
Dennis said it was a colleague and friend, Dr Vijay Bangar, who first introduced him to the Slum Doctor project, and now that he has gone once he is very committed to returning.
He said one of the things that shocked him most about India was the extreme divisions in wealth: “It’s very divided and there is amazing contrast even between neighbours.
“India is coming on great as a country but there is still amazing poverty. I’ve often heard it referred to as ‘a Thrid World Superpower’.”
The son of Danny and Mary McGonagle, as a child Dennis attended Glengad National School and then Carndonagh Community School before studying medicine and UCD.
He graduated with first class honours and moved to Leeds in 1996 where he completed a PhD.
He is now Professor of Investigative Rheumatology at the University of Leeds and
Honorary Consultant Rheumatologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
He asked if there were any “physios, doctors or nurses” in the Inishowen area who were interested in getting involved to email him at D.G.McGonagle@leeds.ac.uk.

There has been much sorrow across the Atlantic after the sad and sudden passing of local man Keith Watts.
Keith, who spent much of his life in Canada, died in Buncrana on August 19. Tributes have since been pouring in from friends and family in both Inishowen and Vancouver.
The son of Arthur and Irene Watts, Keith was born and grew up in Sheffield. In 1953 he met Buncrana woman Bridie Doherty in Derry and married her five years later.
The couple, who had four children and would have celebrated their 53rd anniversary last week, spent the first years of their marriage in Sheffield where Keith worked in local governement.
After moving to Canada in 1963 Keith had a rich and varied career, starting off at a private detective agency in Vancouver.
He then went on to work as an accountant for a logging company, before taking soccer coaching lessons which eventually led him to a position at the Simon Fraser University.
It was there, said Bridie, that Keith was at his happiest: “That was the job he loved the most since he got to work with young people.”
The university are planning a memorial service in October for Keith, who was the longest serving coach in their history and led them to consecutive national college championships in the 1980s.
Speaking to the Vancouver Sun, current SFU soccer coach Alan Koch, who played for Keith in the 90s, called him “an absolute gentleman” and said “he was a fantastic coach, a great mentor and a great role model.” Keith spent 20 years at SFU before retiring ten years ago.
Bridie, who described her husband as “the most modest of men,” said he always loved Ireland and explained how he “never settled again” after a family holiday in Buncrana in 1968.
Thus, the couple returned to Inishowen after Keith retired, where he enjoyed walking and taking care of his garden at their home in Lisnakelly – of which he was “very proud.”
Upon his return he also volunteered with the Milk Cup football tournament in the North, which he loved.
Bridie described her husband as “quiet and reserved but very friendly” and said locals would have known him as “the man with the backpack and baseball cap.”
Keith was 75-years-old when he died. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Inishowen’s communties must work together with state bodies to protect our sites of historical interest, that’s the message from one of the country’s top politicians.
Minister of State Brian Hayes, who has a special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), was speaking to local councillor Peter McLaughlin last week.
Cllr McLaughlin said the Minister had committed to visiting the area in order to assess how to move forward with OPW-manged sites, such as An Grianan of Aileach.
The Buncrana councillor said: “The Minister explained how his empahsis is on working with and getting assistance from local communities regarding these sites.
“He said he would be looking to take direction from the local communities.”
He added: “Amongst other sites, we talked about Grianan and it’s rich historical significance. I got him to commit himself to coming up and taking a look at it.”
Cllr McLaughlin said he would now be talking to the West Inishowen Historical Society and other local groups to discuss ideas on how to move forward.
“Grianan is something I think is under-utilised, it’s importance cannot be underestimated,” he explained.
“We all know what we have here but sometimes it felt like the OPW weren’t pulling their weight when it came to the site. However it is in their interest to work with us in order to help protect it.
“Local committees should now start putting forward ideas to enable us to maximise the potential of this magnificent site.”
Cllr McLaughlin said he loved taking people up to visit the ancient ring fort and said Minister Hayes shared his enthusiasm once he heard some of the tales about it.
“I am delighted he committed to coming up here to visit the site. Once I told him about it being marked on the oldest known map of the world he got very excited!”
There was widespread outrage in the area in 2007 after the Grianan site was partially closed as it underwent repair by the OPW. Many locals were also upset by the quality of the restoration work itself.
Cllr McLaughlin said he hoped this latest commitment for Minister Hayes “would prevent a repeat of that scenario.”

Inishowen parents with young babies have been asked to take part in a pioneering initiative that can help reduce bullying in schools.
The “Roots of Empathy” programme was launched as a pilot scheme in the area last year and is now being rolled out across the peninsula.
The idea is that by bringing infants into classrooms and letting pupils see them growing up, the pupils will develop a deeper understanding for the feelings of others.
Co-ordinator Seana Hume explained how it works: “We’re looking for parents with babies aged between two to four months to volunteer to come into a local school nine times between October and June.
“The parent comes into the class to chat with pupils about their baby’s key milestones and development over their first year of life.”
She added: “The attachment relationship between a baby and a parent is an ideal model of empathy.
“Children learn to understand the perspective and emotional life of the baby and are then guided by the instructor to link this learning to their own lives.
“They gain deeper insight into their own and others’ emotions and into the impact of their behaviour on others.”
Two local schools took part last year – Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana and Scoil Cholmcille in Greencastle – and Seana said there were now eight Inishowen schools interested in participating this time around.
“We ran a pilot programme last year and it was a great success,” she said.
“We got great feedback from those schools – they can’t wait to do it again – and we’ve had no trouble getting new schools interested.
“The problem is finding parents with babies in the right age group.”
Seana added the parents who took part last year “got a lot out of it” and really enjoyed bringing their babies into the classrooms.
At the end of the programme they were given an album full of photos charting their child’s first year of life.
Likewise, she said the pupils also really enjoyed taking part: “The children loved to see the babies coming and loved seeing their milestones as they grew up in front of them.”
The Roots of Empathy programme was founded in Canada in 1996 and has since reached more than 373,000 children worldwide, including New Zealand, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Aside from the pilot programme here in Donegal last year, this is the first time the scheme, which is joint funded by the HSE and Peace III, has been implemented in the Republic.
Parents interested in taking part can contact Seana at Seana.hume@hse.ie or telephone 9109118.

The families of two Glengad fishermen tragically killed in a fishing accident last year are raising funds to “give something back” to those involved in the sea search.
Eddie Doherty (Liza) and Robert McLaughlin (Jackie) died on November 1 after their boat, the “Jennifer” capsized just off the Inishowen coast, while they were fishing for crab pots.
An extensive search immediately got underway and involved a number of diving groups from right across the country, lifeboats both North and South, as well as the Coast Guard services.
Mr Doherty’s body was recovered a short time after the incident, as was the boat.
However, the voluntary groups and rescue services continued searching for a further 24 days until Mr McLaughlin’s body was found at Malin Head on November 24.
Now, as a way of expressing their gratitude for the role the groups paid in bringing the men back home, the Doherty and McLaughlin families have organised a “Monster Draw,” the proceeds of which will be divided between all those involved.
In the next few weeks, the tickets will be sold door-to-door at homes around the peninsula, priced at 20 euro each, followed by a dance in the Malin Hotel on Saturday, November 12. The event will be free entry.
The first prize winner of the draw will receive 3,000 euro and the second prize is 1,000 euro. There will also be two third prizes of 500 euro and two fourth prizes of 250 euro.
Speaking to the Inish Times on behalf of the families, Mr Doherty’s son-in-law Martin McDermott said the families wanted to acknowledge the groups’ contribution and dedication to the search last year.
He said: “The biggest reason for doing this is basically, to give something back to all those groups and people who spent a month in Glengad.
“There was the lifeboat, the coastguard and six or seven diving groups from across the country who spent their own time on the search –all of them voluntary. They do fantastic work and all rely on fundraising, which is why we are doing the draw.
“We want to thank them for all they did.”
In January last, cheques for 1,000 each were presented to Greencastle Coast Guard and True North Diving Club by the Glengad community. The money was raised via donations made at the funeral of Mr McLaughlin and a monetary donation from parents association at Glengad’s St Cholmcille National School.

A group of local people have come together in a bid to save one of Inishowen’s most recognisable landmarks.
O’Doherty Castle on the Isle of Doagh has fallen into disrepair in recent times and now the Carrickabraghy Restoration Society is hoping to acquire funding to save the ancient fort.
The group, who have already received funding from the Heritage Council, have applied for aid from Inishowen Development Partnership and are hoping other local and national bodies will back their bid.
Marius Harkin, chairperson of the Society, said the castle was of huge historical significance and should be restored for the benefit both locals and toursits.
He added, however, repairs were urgently needed to prevent the structure from falling down.
The castle, which is situated at the extreme end of Doagh Island, has a rich heritage.
The residence of the McFaul family from 834 to 1200, it is at the centre of a legend of a Viking raid on Donegal in the tenth century.
The story goes that three local princesses were taken hostage by the Vikings, however one escaped and came ashore at Carrickabraghy, taking much plundered treasure back with her.
During the raid her father counted over 100 Viking long ships in Trawbreaga Bay but he still managed to keep the invaders out.
Afterwards he gave his daughter a dowry of one hundred cows and every chief in Inishowen was rewarded with a horse for playing their part in the battle.
It is believed the O’Dohertys made it their home during the 13th century and the current castle was build sometime in the 1600s.
Over the years many notable figures have been guests at the castle, such as Sir Cahir O’Doherty after his lands on Inch Island had been taken from following his part in a rebellion against the English.
Work to restore the castle is expected to begin in the next few months and should be finished next year.
The Carrickabraghy Restoration Society have been consulting with archaeologists, engineers and architects who specialise in conservation projects.
For more information on the project visit www.carrickabraghy.com.

The night sky above Inishowen will light up this weekend as the peninsula remembers loved ones who have died through suicide.
Chinese lanterns will be released as the country takes part in World Suicide Prevention Day. Proceeds from the sale of the lanterns will go to the Buncrana Community Combatting Suicide group.
You can support this special initiative by releasing a lantern from your home or wherever you are at 10.00pm on Saturday. Or, join with others for refreshments at the Coffee Cup in Buncrana at 8.45pm before walking down to release the lanterns at the Stone Jug.
BCCS chairperson Breda Friel said: “The lantern release is a beautiful and fitting memorial to loved ones we have lost and a reminder to our whole community that there is hope as we stand together and support one another. We are grateful for sponsorship from the Coffee Cup and SuperValu Buncrana for the lantern release.”

A Boston-based band, with strong Inishowen connections, is to receive the honour of performing at the NYPD’s 9/11 10th anniversary concert in New York next week.
Devri, who describe themselves as a “pub/festival/wedding band,” are led by Malin’s Declan Houten on vocals, mandolin, guitar and banjo. The other members are Kerry drummer Stevie O’Callaghan and self-proclaimed “Boston Yanks” Chuck Parrish and Larry Flint, on guitar and bass respectively.
Over the years they have been joined by “excellent” Inishowen musicians such as Kevin Doherty (Fiddle), Shane Devlin (Banjo), Johnny Towey (Box) and Martin McPhilimy (Piano).
Speaking to the Inish Times, the band members revealed how they became involved in the concert through their strong links with various charities, especially those to do with the fight against children’s cancer.
They said: “The Childrens Hospital in Boston is famous throughout America for its work and we try to help as much as possible.
“The Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums here in the City are very proud of their Irish heritage and they too, along with (singer) Pauline Wells, do so much for charity. So, I suppose it was only fitting that we would all come together at some stage for this excellent cause.”
The band described their participation in the concert as an “honour.”
They said: “The concert will obviously mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, what one of the Police Pipers calls ‘ Our Generations Pearl Harbour,’ but it also celebrates the resilience of the people of New York City; the families of those Police, firefighters, and emergency services who ran towards those buildings while everyone else was running away – men and woman whose surnames are every bit as common in Ireland as they are here; whose people came here for a better life, but with a loyalty to their new homeland and a willingness to serve.
“The concert will also honour our young men and women who wear the nation’s uniform and they will be represented by The Band of The United States Marine Corp.
“Devri are delighted and honoured to be involved again and hope to be so for many years to come.”
You can check out the band at www.devriband.com