GAA fans are up in arms this week after nearly 40 of them were sent parking tickets in the post after the recent Senior League Final.
The fans – hailing from both the Ardara and Naomh Conaill clubs – were issued the €40 fines for parking during the clash at O’Donnell Park in Letterkenny on November 12 last.
The motorists were forced to park on the footpaths outside the ground after the huge volume of supporters attending the game meant that the official car park filled up very quickly.
No tickets were actually placed on any car windows on the day, so fans were livid when they received the notifications by post and were quick to bring them to the attention of their respective clubs.
Both have made copies and, in conjunction with the St Eunan’s club in Letterkenny, were hoping to present their case to the local Superintendent this week.
Paul McGovern, ST. Eunan’s P.R.O told the Donegal Post: “Our ground holds more cars than most. I hope it doesn’t discourage fans from travelling to the grounds, I don’t think it will. This type of situation never happened here before so I don’t know why it came around that day.
“Hopefully it won’t happen again. We do however, ask fans to park their cars responsibly when attending games here.”
A senior spokesperson for the club said he didn’t want to make any official comment on the issue but said that they were working on getting the issue sorted.
Another huge swell of South West GAA fans are expected to descend on the venue once again this weekend as Kilcar and Naomh Conaill lock horns in the U21 decider on Sunday. They’ll have to set off earlier than usual if they are to secure one of the elusive spots in the designated car park.

A GROUP of local girls have beaten off thousands of dancers to make it through to the final of TG4’s ‘An Jig Gig’.
The group – made up of dancers from the Mc Nelis/Cunningham School of Irish dance – hail from Ardara, Donegal Town, Kilcar, Mullaghduff and Annagry and will compete on Sunday night to win the title.
Paula McNelis, one of the teachers at the school, praised the girls who are aged between 14-18.
“The standard that they are up against is amazing. They have all been dancing for a long time but they normally do competitive solo dancing so this is very exciting for them – it has the fun factor! They were good friends before the competition but now they are like sisters. It has brought such unity to the school.”
She also explained how it has been their hard work and dedication that got the girls to this commendable position.
“Our studio is in Donegal Town so it requires a lot of travelling and commitment from the dancers and their parents but they are so dedicated and very appreciative of this opportunity.
“Putting each routine together is very labour intensive and a lot of time goes into them. I am so proud of every single one of them; everyone has really pulled together. It has been phenomenal!”
The semi-final also saw another group from the dance school compete but unfortunately Aine McGill and Gerard Byrne left the competition then after a laudable performance.
”Aine and Gerard performed so beautifully and spoke so well – they did themselves and Donegal proud. You can’t walk into a shop in Ardara without someone commenting on how mannerly they were and how well they did and how graciously the accepted criticism,” Paula added.
When ‘An Jig Gig’ finishes up the hard-working troupe will begin rehearsing straight away for the World Championship which 14 talented dancers from the school will be taking part in. For now though all eyes are on TG4 for the final where they will perform their favourite routine from the series as well as another original routine.
“They are at the mercy of the judges now but I know they will do fantastic,” Paula concluded.
Tune in to An Jig Gig on TG4 this Sunday at 7.30pm to see if they are crowned winners.

A DONEGAL Town woman has spoken of her devastation after her prize-winning pup was poisoned and almost killed by toxic waste dumped in a local forest.
Marie McGettigan was travelling back from the US last week when she learned that her nine-month-old Labrador pup, Hunter, had taken ill. It is believed that Hunter, who along with Marie raises money for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, was poisoned by illegal substances dumped at the forest.
“He had been for a walk around the Drumkeelan Forest and was scuttling around all over the place as normal. Another dog that was with him was badly burned,” she said.
Marie has been breeding dogs for the past 30 years and is a long standing Guide Dogs volunteer and Chair of the Donegal Fundraising Branch.
She added: “I was told that he was with the vet but that things were not looking good. Hunter had been deeply unconscious for around 20 hours by the time I got home to Donegal and it was 36 hours before he sat up. I was devastated. It was very worrying but I’m so grateful to the staff of the Seaview Veterinary Clinic who were fantastic.
“People are obviously dumping a lot of toxic substances in that forest which poses a real health for both animals and humans,” Marie added.
The matter is currently being investigated by gardai in Donegal Town and officials from Coillte.
Thankfully Hunter is back to full health again and was even fundraising with Marie in the SuperValu Shopping Centre last weekend for the Irish Guide Dogs. He will also be competing in the Dublin Dog Show Society All Breed Championships on 27 December.
Hunter recently won first place in the Minor Puppy Category at the Belfast Championship Dog Show, which qualifies him for the 2012 Crufts Dog Show at The NEC, Birmingham next March.

DONEGAL Town will come a-‘Live’ next summer as the hugely successful tourism showcase ‘Donegal Live’ comes home for one weekend only.
It was announced this week that the county’s major promotional event will be held on home turf for three days over the weekend of May 25.
The event has already been staged outside the county on three occasions, twice in Dublin’s Temple Bar and at Merchant Square in Glasgow.
Around 20 tourism sectors were represented at these events, promoting the many quality attractions, activities, events and hospitality options that Donegal has to offer including golf, surfing, festivals, walking and equestrian.
Speaking at Monday night’s launch in The Discover Ireland Centre in Donegal Town, Mayor Tom Conaghan said: “This event will be a chance for the people of the town to really pull together and let the people of Ireland and further a-field know that we are not the forgotten county. We have great potential and a huge number of people prepared to get involved in doing things for the good of the county. It can’t go wrong if it’s starting off in Donegal Town.”
Donegal Live Chairperson, Ernan McGettigan said the event would be one of the biggest ever held in the town: “We are absolutely to delighted to face up to the challenges and opportunity to host this event after the successful of two major festivals this summer – the Donegal Summer and Taste of Donegal Food Festivals. Both of these are going from strength to strength every year.”
Donegal Town Community Chamber Chair, Bernie Mulhern said she was proud that the town had been chosen to hold the event, adding that business here were 100 per cent behind it.
Next May’s extravaganza will be focused on The Diamond where major international musical acts will perform and in a marquee on The Quay with interactive stands featuring the many quality attractions, activities, food, festivals and accommodation on offer in the county.
Monday’s launch was also attended by the Co. Mayor, Cllr Noel McBride, who said there was no better place to showcase Donegal than back in the county itself.

DANIEL O’Donnell is currently celebrating his 50th birthday in an undisclosed location with his wife Majella.
Mrs. O’Donnell revealed that she was whisking her husband away to the secret location on a special episode of ‘The Late Late Show’ on Friday night, which was filmed to mark the crooner’s milestone birthday.
“It’s a secret, we’re going away for three days, he doesn’t know where but it might be quieter than he expected!” she told the host Ryan Tubridy.
“I have a strange feeling we could be going camping,” Daniel laughed as Majella warned him to pack his woolies on the chat show.
The millionaire singer turned half-a-century old on Monday, December 12 and said that he was delighted to make it to the age and to be there to celebrate it.
He also divulged that he is now going to take it easy and plans on taking up new hobbies.
“I have been singing for 30 years now and I am going to do things I didn’t have time to do before and just relax.
“I want to do a course in Irish: I can speak a bit but we aren’t fluent even though I am from a Gaeltacht area: I would like to get a better grasp of it.
“I also hope to take up Sean Nos dancing in Glencolmcille.”
The millionaire singer admitted that this birthday was particularly poignant for him as his father died suddenly of a heart attack two months before his own 50th birthday, when Daniel was only six-years-old.
“I now realise how much living he had to. It’s only when you get to that age do you realise how young he was and what a shame it was, it was so tough.”
The crooner was flanked by number of friends and family on Friday’s show who extolled the singer and sent their best wishes to him on the special day.
The star was joined on stage by his sister Margo, wife Majella and family friend, Fr Brian Darcy who married him and Majella.
However, his beloved 92-year-old mother, Julia, was at home on the night but ever the loyal son, Daniel made sure to say hello to her and give her a big wave.
“She is doing well but she is not well enough to be on the road like she would have been. I know if she was fit she would be here tonight,” he added.
Cliff Richard sent Daniel a birthday wish all the way from Barbados; Legendary goalkeeper, Packie Bonner – who has known the singer from an early age – was in the audience, as well as singers Mary Duff; Philomena Begley and Mark Roberts who all paid tribute to the singer.
Daniel also performed a medley of his hits and sang a duet with his sister Margo. He ended the birthday celebrations by singing ‘Have I told you lately that I love you’ with his wife Majella as the pair held hands on stage.

A 21-year-old Romanian man appeared in court last week to face charges of stealing a total of €1,470 from two branches of AIB in South Donegal this summer when he went to get currency changed.
Judge Kevin Kilrane heard that on June 15, Rindus Horobas entered AIB in Donegal Town with £1,300 sterling in £50 notes and asked for the money to be converted into euro and in denominations of €50. The money was converted into just over €1,440 and presented it to the defendant who then asked for it to be changed into €20 notes. When this had been counted out, he asked for it to be changed back to the sterling £50 notes he had originally brought in. After the bank clerk had received the euro back, only €850 was returned, a shortfall of €620 but the defendant had already left the premises.
Mr Horobas then visited AIB in Bundoran on June 29 with £1,400 sterling in £20 notes and again asked for the money to be changed into euro which totalled over €1,500. He asked for the money firstly in £50 and then in £20 notes and gave the euro back but a shortfall of €850 was discovered after he had left the bank.
The accused was later identified on CCTV and apprehended at Dublin Airport earlier this week after returning to the country from a visit to family in Romania. The court heard that he has previous convictions for deception and theft for which he had received three sentences, two of which were suspended. Defence solicitor, Moya O’Donnell told Donegal District Court that her client, a father of two young children who is now living at Firhouse, Tallaght in Dublin, pleaded guilty to the charges and that his father had brought €2,000 to court which more than covered the shortfall.
Mr Horobas was initially remanded in custody to appear at Sligo District Court this Thursday and to pay a fine of €5,000 or face 18 months in jail. However the court later heard from Ms O’Donnell that the defendant’s father was having the money for the fine transferred to court by courier. Judge Kilrane agreed to hear the remainder of the case at a special court sitting in Carrick-on-Shannon that afternoon when the €5,000 fine was paid. Mr Horobas was also ordered to pay the €2,000 compensation originally offered to Mohill Tidy Towns.

A HARD-working community organisation from Donegal has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Ulster Bank Sir George Quigley Award.
Inver Community Project – a local community action group in Inver – were named co-winners at a ceremony held at Ulster Bank in Dublin along with the Klawitter Theatre Group, from Bray, Co. Wicklow.
The award of €10,000 will be shared by the two organisations enabling them to both complete the projects they put forward in their application.
The Inver Community Project aims to create a community garden that they hope will lead to the development of a farmers market in Inver.
Bernadine McCole, Administrator and Project Co-ordinator of the Inver Community Project told the Donegal Post: “We are delighted that our dream of establishing an organic garden at our Centre is one step closer to being realised! Thanks to the funding received from the Sir George Quigley Award, three local interdenominational schools will work alongside a professional gardener and other community volunteers to build an organic garden that will eventually be used by the Centre to provide lunch for Senior Groups.
“As we are close to the Atlantic Ocean, we are able to use seaweed to increase the fertility of the soil. The project will begin in early March 2012 when the seaweed will be harvested and brought to the site. The students begin sifting, sowing and weeding in April and continue working over the summer months to provide crops that will be in September and October.”
The award aims to support community groups and charities in their ambition to achieve long-term sustainability.

BALLYSHANNON District Court learned last Friday of the process of baking ‘cannabis cakes’ from the solicitor of a man who admitted trying to sell them at this year’s Rory Gallagher Festival.
Judge Kevin Kilrane was told that gardaí became suspicious when they observed a van at Portnason, Ballyshannon on June 5 this year, with its rear doors open. The defendant, Paraic Brannigan, was sitting in the front passenger seat and started shouting to his friends to close the van. After a search, the gardaí found 18 ‘cannabis cakes’ in the back.
The judge asked: “Who bakes these cakes and where can I get them from?”
Defence solicitor, Gerry McGovern informed the judge that a green leaf was put into the cake, which was then baked like a bun.
When asked by the judge: “Is this like a ring in a barm brack – do you have to keep chewing away until you find it?”, Mr McGovern replied:
“It’s like a flavour in the cake. The content is very low. You’d have to chew away for a long time to get high. You could not get anything out of it except enjoy it with a cup of tea.”
He added that the cakes had a total value of €60 and were being sold by his client for €4 each at the festival.
Brannigan, 35, of Claremont Park, Rahoon, Galway was charged with possession of drugs for sale or supply and of providing a false name and address to gardaí.
Inspector Denis Joyce said that the defendant had not come to the attention of gardaí before but noted that they had no knowledge of him whatsoever.
In evidence, the defendant said that he had previously worked in an orphanage in Mexico for eight years and wanted to pursue community work. He added that he had been doing a yoga course for the past 12 months.
Mr McGovern added: “He has never been in trouble before and has spent most of his life in voluntary work. He hasn’t drank for ten years and is a man of impeccable character. He came to the festival and did a stupid which he apologised to the gardaí for the next day.”
Judge Kilrane adjourned the case until January 6 next to allow the defendant an opportunity to produce his passport and verify his identity. “I’m not sure who we are dealing with here or if he is genuine,” the judge added.