Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The readings from the seismometers at St Columba's College. (Brendan O'Donoghue)
A minor earthquake tremor was heard in the Finn Valley area on Thursday evening.
Two seismometers at St Columba's College in Stranorlar picked up the sounds just before 8pm.
Science teacher Brendan O'Donoghue, who was instrumental in St Columba's joining the international Seismology in Schools network, heard a sound akin to snow sliding off a roof at 7.48pm.
Several people around the Finn Valley reported hearing a similar noise.
“A little later I checked both seismometers and found the signal at that time on each of them,” Mr O'Donoghue told Donegal Live
A frequency spectrum showed activity of high frequencies, 20-40Hz, which he said “also suggests a nearby source”.
He said: “As a seismic wave travels outwards its frequency shifts to lower values. Typically a seismic wave from a distant event would reach here with a frequency of 0.05 to 0.06 Hz.”
At a rough estimate, he said the source would likely be around 8km from St Columba's College. The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies will now analyse the data.
Mr O'Donoghue said: “When DIAS make their data available we should be able to locate the epicentre.”
As well as recording earthquakes, St Columba's contributes to international monitoring bodies for things like nuclear tests.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
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.
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.
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.
