SWC chief welcomes pay deal for local lecturers


THE news that lecturers are set to join teachers in Fermanagh and accept an improved pay settlement was music to the ears of the principal and chief executive of South West College in Enniskillen. Celine McCartan said she was “pleased that an improved pay offer was tabled to lecturers’ trade unions” after the offer was endorsed by […]


Fermanagh man buys The Linen Green for £4 million


A FERMANAGH man has agreed a multi-million pound deal to buy Moygashel-based The Linen Green. The 122,266 square feet area consists of around 30 retailers, businesses and coffee shops and it’s a popular stop-off for keen shoppers and tourists to the North. Enniskillen businessman David Mahon of David Mahon Properties has purchased The Linen Green […]


Files show authorities lied about Michael Leonard death


ARCHIVES uncovered by a victims’ charity have revealed the British authorities lied to the Irish government regarding information about the killing of local man Michael Leonard. The 24-year-old Pettigo man was shot in the back and killed by the RUC while crossing the border at Brookhill, Letter, Fermanagh in May, 1973. His family, including his cousin […]


Huge demand for new homes in Fermanagh


FERMANAGH estate agents have said they’re experiencing ‘very high levels of demand’ for houses from first-time buyers. Fermanagh estate agent, Niall Smyth, has said that demand within the first-time buyer sector in the county is ‘very positive’. “The key issue for first time buyers is the ability to purchase. Co-ownership is a mechanism that increases […]


Fermanagh set to lose 15 phone boxes


IT’S THE end of an era, with Fermanagh set to lose up to 15 public pay phones, with BT stating they are simply not being used often enough. With almost everyone now habitually carrying a mobile phone with them, the use of public payphones has plummeted over the past decade or two. With many removed from the […]


Exodus of Fermanagh health workers moving south


THE local health service is hemorrhaging experienced professional staff, who are hopping across the border where they are getting “significantly” better pay for doing the same jobs. The Western Trust has warned of a “challenging” situation in retaining Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in the local service, with over 40 staff leaving the area to go south over the […]


Petrol prices cheaper in North than Republic… for now


PETROL prices are cheaper in the North than in the Republic of Ireland for the first time in years, but border retailers may not have to cut their prices to ensure they remain in business just yet. Currently, petrol and diesel are 10 cents cheaper in the North, with the gap due to widen with a […]


Children’s commissioner visits Erne Integrated


STUDENTS at Erne Integrated College in Enniskillen welcomed a special visitor last week, with NI Commissioner for Children and Young People stopping by the school. The Commissioner, Chris Quinn, visited the Erne Integrated last Monday, February 26, giving pupils the chance to ask questions and raise issues which are particular to a school in a […]


Fermanagh outraged at ‘cultural issue’ comment


FERMANAGH patients are more than willing to travel for elective treatment, they are simply requesting equal access to timely treatment when it comes to emergency care. That’s the message from Save Our Acute Services (SOAS) following local anger at comments made in a report to the Department of Health which stated there was “a cultural issue” […]


O’Dowd outlines new measures to cut MOT waiting times


INFRASTRUCTURE Minister John O’Dowd has outlined several measures to tackle MOT waiting lists across the North. Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, Mr O’Dowd said more than 50 newly recruited examiners would start working in test centres from June. “The DVA currently has 55 MOT examiner vacancies across its network of test centres,” the minister told MLAs. “It […]