Search

07 Jan 2026

Man suspected by police of importing drugs into the North charged with breaching bail

Ethan Irvine (27) of Rosses Gate in Derry was breached because he was caught driving on the Foyle Bridge on January 4 on his own and his bail conditions stipulate he can only travel in a vehicle driven by his partner

£250,000 fraud case involving Donegal woman adjourned at Derry Magistrate's Court

Derry Magistrates' Court

Reporter:

Court Reporter

05 Jan 2026 2:33 PM

Email:

news@derrynow.com

A man suspected by police of being involved in bringing drugs from the Republic into the North has appeared at Derry Magistrates' Court for breaching his bail. 
Ethan Irvine (27) of Rosses Gate in Derry was breached because he was caught driving on the Foyle Bridge on January 4 on his own and his bail conditions stipulate he can only travel in a vehicle driven by his partner. 
A police officer said that Irvine is on bail in connection with class A and B Drugs.
He said police believed Irvine was linked 'to an organised crime gang' bringing drugs into the North. 
The officer said that two hotel keys from an hotel in the Republic were also found in the vehicle and police were awaiting CCTV to find out who checked in and if it was the defendant that would be another charge.
Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey said that the breach was accepted and came about because Irvine's partner who is pregnant did not want to travel on the icy roads and he wanted to check on an elderly relative. 
He said the defendant had been on police bail for 16 months without a breach.
The solicitor said that Irvine made a 'foolish' decision to drive.
As regards the hotel keys Mr Harvey said they had been used by the defendant's partner and her sister.
District Judge Oonagh Mullan re-released Irvine on bail but added a tagging condition. 
He will appear again on January 21.

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2026 Iconic Media