SAOIRSE32

An Phoblacht

Finucanes call for boycott

Photo: Geraldine Finucane, widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane

The widow of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane has written to every senior judicial figure in England, Wales and Scotland asking them not to sit on an inquiry into her husband’s 1989 killing.

Geraldine Finucane wrote personally to every senior judge in Britain asking them to refuse to accept any appointment to sit on an inquiry and to reject the controversial new Inquiries Act.

Under the act, which became law after being pushed through by the British Government last week, ministers have the right to decide if some evidence can be heard behind closed doors.

Despite pressing for a public inquiry for years, Finucane believes the terms of the Act could prevent the truth of her husband’s killing in 1989, and allegations of British involvement in colluding with loyalist paramilitaries in the killing, coming out.

In her letter, Geraldine Finucane said: “In view of these considerations, I write to request that if approached to serve on an Inquiries Act inquiry into my husband’s murder, you, like Lord Saville and Judge Cory, refuse to accept such an appointment.”

The Finucane family have said they will not cooperate with the inquiry into the solicitor’s killing under the new legislation.

Public inquiries into the deaths of Pat Finucane and three other people were recommended by retired Canadian High Court Judge Peter Cory in 2002, in which he said there was strong evidence of collusion.

NIO minister Paul Murphy warned that some of the evidence would have to be heard in private due to security concerns, but Cory said the Act would make a “meaningful inquiry impossible” and advised other Canadian judges not to sit on such an inquiry into the solicitor’s death.

Finucane said she felt she should make judges very aware of what was happening.

“The best way to sum up the Inquiries Act is that the word public does not appear in the title,” said Finucane.

Government has no confidence in British Inquiries Act

Responding to a Dáil Question from Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin on Wednesday, Bertie Ahern stated that the Dublin Government has no confidence in the Inquiries Act, one of the last pieces of legislation passed by the British Government before the Westminster parliament was dissolved for the General Election.

“Can the Taoiseach confirm that he raised with the British Prime Minister Tony Blair the total unacceptability of this Act to the Irish people?” asked Ó Caoláin. He said the Act “would allow a British Minister to effectively gag an inquiry and is designed to prevent any real inquiries into the murder of Pat Finucane and others as a result of collusion”. He pointed out that Judge Peter Cory has stated that the Act “would make a meaningful inquiry impossible” and would create “an intolerable Alice in Wonderland situation”.

Ó Caolain asked the Taoiseach to echo the call of the Finucane family to every senior judge in Britain not to serve on any inquiry established under the Act.

While the Taoiseach did not make that call, he stated that his government had raised objections to the Act with the British but only some of their proposed amendments had been adopted. He said they did not have confidence in the Act as now passed.

An Phoblacht

Rosemary Nelson inquiry opens amid controversy

click to view photo: Assassinated solicitor Rosemary Nelson

The opening of an inquiry into the murder of Lurgan defence lawyer Rosemary Nelson this week was largely symbolic, with the immediate adjournment of the proceedings to allow an investigation process to begin.

Many people believe the hearing, which is not expected to reopen until next year, may also prove to be little more than symbolic. They have good reason. First, the British Government has already tampered with the rules of the inquiry to make public disclosure of information it might find politically ‘embarrassing’ more difficult.

Peter Cory, the Canadian judge tasked with calling for an inquiry, has already condemned the new restrictions, declaring the imposition makes establishing the truth virtually impossible. The restrictions effectively transfer power to suppress disclosure away from the judiciary and into the hands of government ministers — in other words, into the hands of some of the very people accused of collusion.

Second, the media has already established a restricted notion of collusion in relation to the Nelson killing as a casual relationship between individual members of the RUC and loyalist killers. Did members of the RUC pass Rosemary’s personal details onto loyalists?

In other words, the inquiry will consider informal illegal relationships between state personnel and unionist paramilitaries. To reduce the inquiry to this denies evidence already within the public arena of organised state sponsored murder involving specific units within the RUC and British Intelligence and directly accountable to the British Cabinet.

Third, within hours of the formal opening of the inquiry into possible collusion, the RUC officers involved had already been publicly declared innocent. According to the Sunday Times, a report into the killing of Rosemary Nelson by Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest collusion by the RUC.

The only criticism the Ombudsman’s report suggests is that the RUC, then headed by Ronnie Flanagan, did not take threats to Nelson’s life seriously. The report, which has been forwarded to the PSNI for comments, concludes that there is no evidence of collusion or of the RUC intentionally putting the solicitor’s life at risk. The report also accepted the RUC conclusion that there was no evidence of a specific terrorist threat against Nelson’s life.

Fourth, the killing of Rosemary Nelson can only be fully understood in relation to the killing of Belfast defence lawyer Pat Finucane ten years earlier. The mechanisms of state collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane have been further exposed and to consider the killing of Rosemary Nelson outside those mechanisms is in itself a cover up.

Rosemary Nelson died on 15 March 1999 after a booby trap bomb placed under her car exploded. Before she died, Rosemary, a human rights lawyer, told the UN and a US Congressional hearing that she had received death threats from the RUC.

The Lurgan lawyer came to prominence after she defended a number of high-profile cases involving republicans and became the legal representative for the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, a nationalist community group contesting the Orange Order’s determination to parade through their area to Drumcree.

Rosemary also represented the family of Robert Hamill, a Catholic kicked to death by a loyalist mob in Portadown. An armed RUC patrol at the scene refused to intervene and made no attempt to arrest the killers. A similar probe into the death of Robert Hamill is due to open next month.

The formal opening of the inquiry into the killing was held in Craigavon Civic Centre. A three-member panel outlined the scope of their investigations. Retired British judge Michael Morland read an 18-page opening statement saying: “Our task is to seek out the truth.” He was joined by Valerie Strachan, former chair of the British Board of Customs and Excise and Anthony Burden, former British chief constable of South Wales.

Morland has a controversial history in relation to the Six Counties. He acted for the crown in 1973 internment proceedings and was a member of the 1974 Gardiner commission, which recommended phasing out special category status for political prisoners.

Irelandclick.com

Work still needed to tackle suicides – PIPS

The organisers of a North Belfast based suicide prevention group took part in an all-Ireland exercise to discuss the emergence of a forum to tackle the issues around suicide.
The Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self Harm (PIPS) project took part in the event at the invitation of Teen-Line Ireland alongside other groups from Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Ballynahinch last weekend who gathered to hear of the forthcoming launch of a new 24-hour help line and website.
Joe Barnes, one of PIPS Project co-ordinators said the need for greater resources to tackle the problem was immense.
“Recently another young man from North Belfast was buried as the result of suicide and again, just as recently a young mother from a rural community in County Wexford drowned herself and two of her children, aged three and four, in the River Slaney,” Joe Barnes said.
“Last week there was the funeral of a young man in Kerry who shot himself. Once again we are reminded of the continuing tragedy that transcends all religious, political, social and economic boundaries. It is not just a mental health issue but is something that needs to be addressed by society as a whole and without prejudice.”
In North Belfast, according to the PIPS Project, there have been at least seven suicides since the beginning of the year. In West Belfast that figure is similar. The number of attempted suicides is unknown.
Phil McTaggart whose son Pip took his own life and whose anniversary occurs this weekend, said he was still encountering grief-stricken families who found themselves with nowhere to turn for help.
“People are still coming up against brick walls and being told there aren’t enough beds, or money or resources. This needs to be tackled now because young and old people alike, who are depressed, are taking their own lives at an alarming rate in Ireland.”
In order to tackle the issues at a local level the Pips project has become involved in offering advice and training to interested parties.
Most recently a two-day suicide prevention training course was carried out in NICVA headquarters on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills and Training (ASIST) course was completed by over 20 individuals in the Duncairn Gardens based community centre.
The North Belfast Partnership Board and the Executive Programme in Springvale fund the rollout of the ASIST programme across North and West Belfast, which costs £150 per person.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Facing up to interfaces

Hazelwood Principal Noreen Campbell’s school is an interface college on the Whitewell Road. With sectarian strife going on around it, she tells how the school is breaking down the ancient barriers that keep the communities apart…

The Whitewell/Whitecity interface has suffered a spate of tit-for-tat attacks – including children assaulting children from other religions.
But amid this backdrop of ongoing sectarian tensions in the area, a North Belfast integrated school gets on with the work of learning and allowing room for everybody’s culture.
Noreen Campbell is head of Hazelwood College and as she says the work at the school goes on regardless but not in spite of what’s happening outside.
Hazelwood nestles at the bottom of a spectacular view of Belfast’s Cavehill. Even with driving rain, the beauty of the setting shines through.
A Belfast linen merchant built the grand old house that now serves as the offices of the college. It became part of Hazelwood College after the closure of Graymount girls’ school.
All around the old house has grown the school buildings with Hazelwood nursery and primary schools further along the Whitewell Road. From its genesis in cold mobile classrooms in the 1980s the school marks its 20th anniversary next year with close to 1000 pupils on its books.
As the age-old sectarian tensions are played out around the Whitecity and Serpentine interface, in Hazelwood, the head explains, children place loyalist and republican flags side by side and discuss their identities with each other.
Daniel McColgan was a past pupil who attended Hazelwood just a few years before loyalists gunned him down as he arrived for work at Rathcoole postal sorting office in January 2001.
Noreen Campbell is from Fermanagh, but she was a founding parent of Hazelwood College, a founding teacher and has lived longer in North Belfast than anywhere else – and she’s “passionate” about integrated education.
And when the principal turns on the news in the morning and hears of another sectarian attack near her school, she knows that once the bell rings, learning starts regardless.
It is a culture, she explains that runs throughout the school.
“On a day-to-day basis what happens outside doesn’t really affect us. But we have systems in place which allow us to respond to students’ needs.”
The school run various schemes that allow pupils to express themselves including its ‘Speak Your Peace’ exercise which is currently into its fourth year. Last year the students discussed the issue of trust and responded to symbols and flags, football shirts and religious symbols.
One student recalls their experience of the day in the school’s annual report.
“Speak Your Peace day was great. It made me notice even more about differences, and how different we all are. I brought a tricolour in because it represents my area and my religion, but I realised when we spoke about it, a flag doesn’t represent me, nothing does.”
“We allow our students to have a voice so they can express themselves and things don’t build up,” says Noreen Campbell.
There are two representatives for each class and two for each year group that bear out the issues important to them.
A bicycle rack for children cycling to school is the latest suggestion from that group which has borne fruit.
“Everyone at the school buys into the culture of no sectarianism, no racism and no violence and our culture here teaches the students to respect everyone’s place. We strive to promote that all the time.”
The support that an interface school needs is right inside the classroom and any issues that a student has can be dealt with in any given class.
“We have a lot of support services in class and we have a counsellor who comes in one day a week. There is a long waiting list for the counsellor and ideally we would like to have a full-time one. There are lots of reasons why a student will want to see a counsellor and those issues will include sectarian issues. We have a student council, which also gives the students a voice and the teachers have informal relationships with the pupils that allow them to speak about problems in confidence. During 2001 and 2002 when the trouble was really bad we had a family trauma centre set up at the school. We have children who come here not only from around this area but from interface areas in Ardoyne, Glenbryn and Limestone Road and the parents support the school because they want their children to be taught in an integrated school.”
But it is in everyday lessons that issues of identity and sectarianism can be openly discussed with fellow pupils who actually come from those communities most affected.
“They will come up in history and English lessons. That is the beauty of an integrated school in breaking down divisions. In year 10 the students take part in Speak Your Peace and they will put a Union Jack on the floor beside a tricolour and talk about them. They are interested rather than reacting to them.”
Noreen Campbell says the status of the integrated school in divided North Belfast has seen its pupils go around the world to take part in discussions on cultural identity and reconciliation.
The school has had pupils travel to Japan, the US and recently to the United Nations youth forum in Barcelona. And seeing other countries and cultures puts our own conflict into perspective for the Hazelwood pupils.
A yearly peace assembly is one of the most important days in the calendar for the 740 students, soon to increase to 850. There the pupils and teachers reaffirm their commitment to reconciliation.
“When a student from Hazelwood leaves this school, research shows us that they come out open in their attitudes. They have more friends from the other side of their community and they are more likely to maintain those friendships. They are used to more points of view and they listen better.”
“So they come out well-rounded members of the community?” I ask. I get an insightful response
“They come out well-rounded members of the communities,” replies Noreen Campbell.

Journalist:: Andrea McKernon

Irelandclick.com

Anger as Sinn Féin members step down

Sinn Féin representative and community worker in the Markets, Sean Hayes, has blasted what he described as the “disenfranchising” of local voters following his suspension and that of several other South Belfast members by the party.

Also among those suspended was local council candidate, Deirdre Hargey, who had planned to run alongside current Sinn Féin councillor, Alex Maskey, in the forthcoming elections for Laganbank but has now been forced to step down.

It is believed that a further seven members also resigned in protest at the suspensions.

Mr Hayes said: “Thanks to this, the party in south east Belfast and the Ormeau Road has been effectively shut down.

“We are really annoyed. People in the Markets were expecting big things from Deirdre, who is young, dynamic and has no baggage whatsoever.

“She would have been a real force for good for the Markets and given badly needed representation for the community in council.

“What the party have done here is wrong. We have now been removed from the scene of these elections and it is this community which will suffer,” he added.

The decision by Sinn Féin to suspend members follows revelations that they were present in Magennis’s Bar on the night of the murder of Short Strand man, Robert McCartney.

Both Mr Hayes and Ms Hargey deny witnessing the murder on the evening and say that they were not present when it happened.

“We have to stop punishing people for something they didn’t do. It will get to the stage where as soon as a republican walks into a bar, they will be attacked or accused of something.”

Mr Hayes added that residents in the Markets were “angry” about the party leadership’s decision but stressed the importance of people still voting for Sinn Féin.

“Of course it’s natural for people to get angry about this. I have had many people who supported Deirdre approaching me and saying that they are not going to vote for Sinn Féin now.

“But whatever has happened, Sinn Féin are still the only party who can deliver services and resources to the community.

“We must now work on rebuilding local membership and strengthening our grass roots base.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Mallusk youth wins award

A Mallusk youth has won a prestigious award from the Terry Enright Foundation for her leadership abilities in representing her community.
Nichola McIlvenny, 20, received the accolade this week at the city hall and she said she was “over the moon”.
The award recognises young people who follow the example set by Terry Enright, a youth worker who was shot dead in January 1998 at the Space nightclub where he worked as a doorman.
The award recognises young people who follow the example set by Terry Enright’s work and who are dedicated to their own future development.
Nichola McIlvenny was sent along to the Terry Enright Foundation to partake in the leadership award through Greater Shankill Alternatives. It is a community restorative justice scheme in Monkstown.
She seeks to help anti-social young people who through their activities are under loyalist paramilitary threat.
She said she was delighted with the bog oak carving that depicts the ancient Irish Tír naÓg story of youth.
“I was in the middle of telling a friend about the story when I heard my name called. I couldn’t get over it,” she said.
Director of the Terry Enright Foundation, Seamus Colligan paid tribute to Nichola’s dedication after she completed a leadership programme “and has proven herself as a capable young leader who has potential to give positive leadership within the Protestant/unionist/loyalist community.
“One could be in no doubt of Nichola’s commitment. She has readily taken on any piece of work asked of her on the leadership programme. Nichola like so many young people is a second-generation survivor of the conflict. Furthermore, society has set a path for many young people who are perceived as not having achieved academically and Nichola has not allowed herself to be pigeon-holed in this way.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Boy With a Heart of Gold

James Savage is the pride of North Belfast this week after winning a Heart of the People award at a glittering ceremony at Belfast City Hall.
Over 100 young people aged between eleven and 25 took part in the Heart of the People Awards that originated in West Belfast in 1998.
But 12-year-old James stole everybody’s heart with his determination to live life to the full despite facing life with spinal cancer.
And the local hero was praised for saving the life of his epileptic mum, not once, but twice.
Ann O’Neill nominated the Limestone Road youngster saying he was an inspiration to everyone.
“I got to know James at a Christmas party and got to hear good stories about him. I heard about the things he does in his class in school for other children.
“His sister died tragically and he has been through a lot in and out of hospital, but he’s so bright and is an inspiration to everyone.”
James, a dedicated dog lover, was this week taking his award in his stride with his mum Sinead.
“He never complains even though he’s been through painful surgery,” she said.
“He loves animals and is torturing me for a new Shitsu puppy.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

US lawyer lends support to New Lodge Six campaign

An American human rights lawyer, who came to Ireland to attend the Rosemary Nelson inquiry visited the New Lodge this week as part of the ongoing New Lodge Six campaign.
Ed Lynch was at the Ashton Centre to review the campaign, which was started by the families of the six men to try and uncover the truth as to why they were killed.
It was claimed at the time and carried in the media that the men Jim McCann, Jim Sloan, Tony Campbell, John Loughran, Brendan Maguire and Ambrose Hardy had been killed in a shoot out with the IRA, but the families instantly rubbished the claim.
Several other people were wounded, but it wasn’t until a Community Inquiry was held in November 2002 that people could give their accounts of what happened. At that time an international panel found that the killings of the six men had never been properly investigated and that there had never been a full accounting of the tragedy.
It was found that the men had been killed without any justification. However, despite the best efforts of the families and their legal representatives, all attempts to get the British government to acknowledge the injustice have been ignored.
A petition to the United Nations to have the case reinvestigated is currently being considered. The meeting in the Ashton Centre was attended by one of the original members of the international panel, Ed Lynch.
Also in attendance were the families of the men, New Lodge Six committee members, Claire Reilly of Relatives for Justice, Gerry Hyland of Madden and Finucane and local Councillor Carál Ní Chuilín.
Ed Lynch said the lack of movement was disappointing, but added, “it is important that we do not lose heart”.
“While it may be over 30 years ago the families continue to endure immense pain and loss. These events are also symbolic of other such state killings of defenceless people in this community and elsewhere,” he said.
“The State cannot be allowed to permit its forces to murder citizens with impunity. This should be an indisputable universal principle for any government that says that it values human rights. This must apply everywhere whether the culprits are US forces in Iraq or British forces in Ireland. The killing of unarmed citizens is abhorrent”.
Willie Loughran, brother of John Loughran said despite the lack of movement the case had been worth it.
“To be absolutely honest I never expected justice from the State. However, this campaign has been worth it,” he said.
“The inquiry proved beyond doubt what everyone already knew. The important thing for me is that the people have spoken, we have documented the facts and the truth is there for everyone to see.”
Copies of the New Lodge Six Community Inquiry Report can be obtained at the Ashton Centre 90-742255 from Paul O’Neill.
Meanwhile Relatives for Justice spokeswoman Claire Reilly has asked people whose loved ones were killed by the state to get in touch.
“While I was in the New Lodge I was struck by the fact that there are a lot of people sitting there without support.”
Claire can be contacted at 90 220100.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Holy Rosary becomes first casualty of education cuts

A mother and toddler group held in Holy Rosary Primary School will close its doors for the last time at the end of this school year, one of the first casualties of the education cuts.

by Evan short

Formed 20 years ago, the Early Years Learning Service meets once a week to prepare pre-school children for their transition to primary school.

Much loved by the local community it is vastly oversubscribed, and each year there is a lengthy waiting list of children wanting to take one of the limited places in the class.

Mrs Diane Boyle, who has a child at the group, is furious that the funding has been withdrawn.

“This is a great wee group and the children love it. It’s brilliant preparation for when they go to the main school and we are all devastated that it is being closed down.

“No one from the Education Board has come to see the work that is done here, they are just making the decisions knowing nothing about us.
“It’s not as if it is expensive. They only have to pay four salaries, the school provides all the facilities,” she said.

Sean Merrick is Headmaster of Holy Rosary Primary School and he said he was also very sorry to lose the class.

“I am very disappointed as the Early Years learning service is of great value. It benefits the children by developing their social skills, and the parents also get a great deal from it, learning strategies for helping their children develop at home. Everyone at Holy Rosary will be very sorry to see it go.”

Eithne Gorman has been a teacher with the programme for 20 years, and is now having to face up to the reality that as of September, she will no longer be taking the group. I am extremely annoyed that such a valuable service is being lost. Our experience is working with parents and children and all that is being lost with the closing of the service.

“We have been told we will be redeployed elsewhere, but it is a shame that our expertise will go to waste,” she said.

Eithne and the other staff have been approached by some of the parents to help them in the campaign to get the funding reinstated.

“Over the years the parents have given us support, so there is no reason why we should not help them in their fight to restore this valuable service.
“There are 180 pupils who benefit from the service throughout Belfast, and they are all going to lose out when we have our funding withdrawn.”
Belfast Education Library Board confirmed that the Early Years Learning Service was going to be affected by funding cuts.

“We can confirm that there is a proposal going to the board to close the Early Years Learning service, comprising two teachers and two classroom assistants.

“This non-statutory service was set up at a time when there was no pre school provision. This is now provided through PEAG playgroups, the Surestart scheme and various parenting initiatives. Additionally at that time, there was no enriched curriculum provision. Therefore we believe the needs of these children can continue to be met without the use of this service, through these different methods of support.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick.com

Pedigree dogs stolen to order by cruel criminals

Ruthless criminal gang cash in on South Belfast pet owners’ misery by abducting pedigree pets for lucrative dog farming

The USPCA has issued a warning to local dog owners as fears grow that a lucrative pet scam – that is making thousands for criminal gangs every year – has turned its attentions to South Belfast.

Over the past few months pedigree dogs have been abducted from gardens and parks all over South Belfast for what now appears to be a stolen-to-order pet scam.

USPCA, Stephen Philpott said it was a cause for great concern.
“There is a worrying trend here. We haven’t got precise figures for pet abductions but we do know that they’re on the increase.”

One South Belfast man who knows only too well the pain of losing his beloved pet was left devastated following the abduction of his one-year old prize pit bull dog on Sunday night.

Chung Wing of Cusack Street off the Lisburn Road, returned home from work to find that callous thieves had broken in and taken Max, his one-year-old English Pit Bull, believed to be worth an estimated £1,600.

Neighbours confirmed to the police that strangers were lurking about the street all evening.

Mr Wing said: “I am absolutely gutted. Max was only a puppy and I can’t believe that anyone would do this or why.

“I’ve called the police and at first they didn’t know whether to take it seriously then they said they’d look into it but weren’t sure what they could do about it.”

A shaken Mr Wing also said that he feared for Max’s health.
“He’s very ill at the minute. I was due to take him to the vets next morning for a bad skin condition that he has. He won’t get treated now and I am seriously concerned that he will get sick.”

The abduction is the latest in a long line of pedigree pet thefts in the area and something that Chief Executive of the USPCA, Stephen Philpott said was a cause for great concern.

South Belfast is a particular target because of the high numbers of prize pups owned by residents in the Malone and Upper Lisburn Road areas.

“There is a worrying trend here. We haven’t got precise figures for pet abductions but we do know that they’re on the increase.

“These dogs have a very high monetary value and this is something that goes on, not just in Belfast, but right across Northern Ireland.

“Illegal puppy farming is extremely big business these days with some of the dogs fetching up to thousands of pounds.

“There is very little that police can do as they have few facilities to deal with this problem and even though I would recommend that people call us about any incidents like this, I am afraid that Max may even be out of the country now.”

Mr Wing, however, refuses to give up hope.

“I would appeal for anybody who knows anything to please come forward.
“I feel my life has been absolutely shattered. Max and I were so close and I don’t know what to think about the whole thing.

“I haven’t done anything to anyone, why would they do this to me? Words cannot describe how I feel about these people.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the USPCA hotline on 02890 814242. Calls will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Daily Ireland

Nursing school opens in Dundalk

If you’re a fan of No Angels, currently showing on Tuesdays on Channel 4, then you’ll know how much business nurses can bring to the local community.
Although fictional medical students Lia, Kate, Beth and Anji spend most of their cash down at the local pub, real-life nurses inject money into all areas of the economy, including the housing and educational sector, thanks to the length of their training courses and their need for permanent accommodation.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) in Co Louth is a case in point.
The college, which currently caters for nearly 4,000 full and part-time students, is currently embarking on a multi-million euro revamp, which will see the addition of a new nursing building, as well as four new sports pitches and an indoor sports complex, to its present 45-acre campus.
Institute bosses hope the move will see a huge upsurge in applications from those wishing to study in Dundalk while the local economy is bracing itself for an upturn in business as students descend upon the border town.
Local politicians have welcomed the expansion plan and believe it will be a positive move for Dundalk, which has suffered from years of economic misery.
“This new addition to DKIT will definitely be an advantage to the town,” says councillor Martin Bellow.
“It will generate more money, and more shops and housing will be needed which can only be a good thing.
“DKIT is already one of the biggest employers in Dundalk so we would welcome any addition to its campus.
“We lost our maternity unit here two years ago so the fact that it is a dedicated medical extension is also good news.”
The development is part of a drive to introduce several new courses to the institute, which already teaches subjects as diverse as business, science and engineering.
Although there are no plans at present to boost the number of places currently available on the Institute’s medical programme, DKIT bosses are hopeful that the opening of a dedicated nursing building, due to take place on Friday, April 29, will see an increase in applicants.
The institute’s border location has traditionally made it difficult to attract students, resulting in it having the highest number of initial vacancies of any state-funded college in August following the first round of CAO offers for non-degree courses.
The provision of bigger and better facilities means this could be set to change.
With Ireland’s population rapidly expanding, the need to recruit more nurses, particularly those trained in specific specialities, has never been greater.
“There are more than 700 nursing vacancies in the South of Ireland so we are talking about a massive shortage of nurses at present,” says Tony Fitzpatrick from the Irish Nurses Organization (INO).
“Because of changes to the training programme, which has seen a shift from a three-year diploma to a four-year degree, that shortage is set to increase further as, with the changeover, there won’t be any nurses graduating this year.”
Low pay and long days – a typical nurse works a 39-hour week compared to the average 35 hours – have also affected recruitment levels.
“It isn’t just a question of training more nurses and training them better, but also retaining them,” says Fitzpatrick.
“Hundreds have left the profession in the last year alone because they get more money overseas or in another job.
“Pay needs to be addressed and brought onto the same par as other medical services if new facilities, such as those in Dundalk, are to be properly utilised.”
The Irish Nurses Organization is hopeful that the new DKIT building will encourage similar investment elsewhere in Ireland, regenerating the nursing service and highlighting the problems it faces.
“This is a vital move,” says Fitzpatrick.
“It will make nursing more professional, helping employees feel more secure in their jobs and allowing them to specialise in different areas.
“The health service is dying at the moment due to overcrowding, a lack of resources and a dependancy on agency staff.
“Opening this new building will make people look at the state of nursing in Ireland and make changes to the way in which it is run.”
With most medical services still located further south - Galway, Cork and Dublin run undergraduate degrees in medicine while Dublin also boosts the Royal College of Surgeons – Institute bosses are hopeful that the new nursing building may encourage other training programmes to also ‘shift’ further north.
“Attracting potential nurses from the border areas is something the government should be looking very closely at,” says Fitzpatrick.
“Limiting courses to either Belfast or Dublin discourages people from applying but creating world-class facilities in Dundalk encourages more cross-border co-operation and gives students from the North and South an alternative place to study.”

Belfast Telegraph

Murder police are attacked
Officers petrol-bombed at scene of shooting

By Deborah McAleese
22 April 2005

Police at the scene of a horrific murder in Newry were attacked with petrol bombs and bricks.

The attack happened shortly after 4pm yesterday as police were guarding the scene of Jonathan Graham’s murder in the mainly nationalist Derrybeg estate.

A gang of youths threw petrol bombs, bricks and bottles at the officers, who were forced to don protective headgear.

Police are today questioning a man about the killing of Mr Graham (20), who was gunned down by a masked man as he parked his car close to his Ardcarne Park home early yesterday morning.

And it has emerged that Mr Graham’s mother is currently recovering from surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital - the same hospital where her son died.

A friend of Mr Graham’s narrowly escaped death after shots were fired through a window of his house at nearby Parkhead Crescent, missing him by inches, at around the same time of the murder.

And there have also been reports of further shots being fired at another house in the area.

Although police have not yet connected the incidents, a number of security sources believe the shootings were a result of ongoing inter-estate rivalry.

The officer heading the inquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Tim Hanley, of the Murder Investigation Team, said police will be “considering all possible motives in relation to this murder.”

Meanwhile, Dominic Bradley, SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh, said that the shootings were the outcome of a problem that had been brewing for some time within the area.

Mr Bradley said that a few months earlier, a number of residents in the area had contacted him and told him they were very concerned that something bad was going to happen.

He said: “The residents told me they were fearful that trouble could develop within the area. Unfortunately that trouble had not gone away.”

Murder squad detectives have set up a major incident room at Ardmore police station in Newry.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police on 3026 5500.

Daily Ireland

No action over cop’s gun show

A PSNI woman who brandished her weapon in public after leaving a bar in Co Antrim will not be disciplined by the force, Daily Ireland can reveal.
The PSNI has conducted an investigation into the incident which took place last month at a house near the seaside village of Cushendall.
The woman had been drinking after being told earlier that day of a threat to her life from paramilitaries.
In the early hours of the morning a row broke out at the party in the house and the PSNI woman, a Catholic who had joined the force only a week before, came downstairs with a gun behind her back.
Cushendall Sinn Féin councillor Oliver McMullan asked the Police Ombudsman’s office to investigate.
However, the Ombudsman said they did not have the authority to investigate because the PSNI woman was off-duty, although they did see a copy of the PSNI investigation.
The PSNI’s internal report concluded that no action would be taken against the woman.
Mr McMullan said it is “deeply worrying” that the PSNI woman is still serving.
“This was an outrageous incident in which a loaded gun was produced when drink was involved,” he said.
“That this woman should still be serving and that the PSNI are the only people to investigate the incident is also very worrying.
“How can we be sure that such an incident won’t happen again and what sort of message is the PSNI sending out to the community by its actions?”
Paddy Murray, a solicitor acting on behalf of Oliver McMullan, said it was regrettable that the Ombudsman’s office couldn’t investigate.
“We don’t have any faith in the PSNI investigating themselves so the conclusions of their investigation don’t mean much.
“This is obviously a very serious incident that is of concern to the wider community.
“It is regrettable that it has reached an impasse,” he said.
The PSNI woman was barred from a Cushendall pub in the wake of the incident.
She had been drinking in the bar earlier that day when she was told of the threat to her.

Belfast Telegraph

50,000 recycling bins are bound for Belfast

By Debra Douglas
22 April 2005

Belfast City Council is to embark on a major recycling drive, it emerged today.

With the estimated cost of waste handling set to jump from £2m to £15m, the council is to distribute more than 50,000 environmentally friendly blue and brown bins to encourage householders to recycle.

A spokesman for the council said that the action would be taken to help the council meet stringent EC targets.

“We have serious targets to meet within Europe and failure to do so will lead to heavy fines for the council,” he said.

He added: “These fines will then be passed on to the rate payers so what we are trying to do is provide them with the facilities to recycle.

“Waste is the biggest single issue facing this council and we have to get to the stage where we are recycling everything we can.”

Between June and August, 33,000 homes across the city will be given the bins. Another 20,000 will be distributed between February and November 2006.

Black wheelie bin collections across the city are to be cut from weekly to biweekly with the new bins being collected on alternative weeks.

The spokesman added: “Not recycling is like throwing money on the rubbish tip.”

BreakingNews.ie

National Library and Museum become semi-state

22/04/2005 - 14:09:37

The National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland are to become independent semi-state bodies.

From May 3, Minister for Arts John O’Donoghue said they would be autonomous national cultural institutions.

Today the Minister named the new board of the National Library.

Minister O’Donoghue said: “The National Library will be in a better position to provide enhanced support and services the public from now on. The National Library and its wonderful collections are in safe hands - I wish them well.”

Irelandclick.com

3,000 for Glengormley marches

Nationalist politicians have reacted angrily to two band parades that will bring over 3,000 bandsmen to Glengormley next Saturday night including one for a dead UDA man.
Unionists have hit out accusing nationalists of electioneering and say that the larger of the two marches is a community event to celebrate Ulster Scots heritage.
But this morning the Whitewell Defenders flute band’s spokesman John Montgomery admitted his band would be joining the “competition” after it had marched in memory of murdered UDA man Gerry Evans.
At 6.30pm the Pride of Carnmoney Hill flute band will gather together with 50 other bands and an expected 2,500 people.
They will meet at Glengormley Park, march down the Carnmoney Road and through the commercial street of Portland Avenue before turning up the Ballyclare Road. The march will proceed along the Antrim Road, Glencairn Park, Glencairn Drive, Ballyclare Road and back to Glengormley Park, dispersing time is 10pm.
At the same time the Whitewell Defenders flute band will also march in Glengormley.
Eight bands and 400 participants will gather at 6.30pm at Glengormley High school and march along the Burnhill Road into Queen’s Drive, Queen’s Avenue, Queen’s Park, and along Queen’s Avenue and Queen’s Drive again, dispersing at 8.30pm.
The march is to commemorate Queenspark UDA man Gerry Evans The top loyalist was shot dead at his fishing tackle shop at Northcott shopping centre in 1994 by the INLA.
Sinn Féin’s Breige Meehan condemned the decision to allow the parade and said she would be leading a delegation to the Irish Secretariat and the Parades Commission.
“This parade is madness. It is none other than a sectarian march through a community that is mixed in many areas. The presence of the UDA band shows it’s not a heritage parade.”
SDLP general election candidate for South Antrim Noreen McClelland appealed for calm ahead of the parades
“These two parades, by the Whitewell Defenders and Pride of Carnmoney flute bands are being held late on a Saturday evening. Given the lateness of the hour and the large numbers involved, I imagine that some people will have been drinking beforehand and that the atmosphere will be particularly volatile,” she said.
But Nigel Hamilton of the DUP, who said he would be taking part in the march, said nationalists were objecting to a band competition, adding that it would follow a “children’s fun day”.
“It is to celebrate Ulster Scots heritage and has nothing to do with sectarianism,” he said.
“It is a band competition and it will be well supported by bands throughout the province. Last year it was very successful. If republicans and nationalist representatives are trying to curry favour with their electorate and play on this it is a cheap shot,” said Cllr Hamilton.
John Montgomery said he did not expect any trouble at the march.
“It was the Whitewell Defenders who helped a Catholic man in White City home late last weekend. The parade is to commemorate Gerry Evans, which we have been doing for the past 15 years and afterwards we will be joining the competition,” he said.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

BreakingNews.ie

**See also Troops Out Movement - Peter McBride

Family of slain teen bid to have army killers dismissed

22/04/2005 - 07:58:15

Peter McBride

The family of a north Belfast teenager killed by two British soldiers 13 years ago have begun a new campaign to get the pair dismissed from the British army.

Eighteen-year-old Peter McBride was shot dead while running away from a Scots’ Guard patrol in the New Lodge area of Belfast in September 1992. *‘An identity check showed that he was not wanted and a body search found him unarmed. Peter McBride panicked and ran away from the soldiers. Scots Guardsmen Mark Wright and James Fisher chased him, shot him in the back and killed him’. (TOM)

Peter’s killers, Wright and Fisher

Two years later soldiers Mark Wright and James Wright were convicted of his killing and sentenced to life in prison. However, they were freed in 1998 and were later allowed to rejoin the British army.

The McBride family has secured two High Court rulings calling for the pair to be dismissed from the British army but the British authorities have ignored the judgements.

Last night, the dead man’s sister met London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Labour election candidate Yasmin Qureshi as part of a new campaign to ensure all soldiers convicted of human rights violations and serious crimes are automatically sacked.

BBC

Illegal dog fighting ‘increasing’

A Staffordshire bull terrier had to be put down after the fight

Organised dog fighting is on the increase in Northern Ireland, according to an animal charity.

The Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals (USPCA) said family pets were being stolen to take part in such illegal activity.

A Staffordshire bull terrier had to be destroyed in Londonderry this week after being savaged by two other dogs.

The USPCA’s Stephen Philpott said the charity takes about 7,000 calls a month about alleged animal cruelty.

“The USPCA is busier now than ever investigating reports of cruelty,” he said.

“However, as time goes by the levels of cruelty inflicted on animals has become more severe.”

Mr Philpott said a child appeared to have been used as a distraction to get the Staffordshire bull terrier out of its back yard in Derry on Sunday, before being set upon by other dogs.

There are incidents where people’s family pets are being used and stolen to blood dogs to make them better fighters in the ring
Stephen Philpott
USPCA

The animal suffered injuries to its head, legs and stomach and had to be put down.

Mr Philpott said he did not believe this incident was related to organised dog fighting, but the animals were blooded just for fun.

“There are incidents where people’s family pets are being used and stolen to blood dogs to make them better fighters in the ring,” he said.

“I don’t believe this incident had anything to do with organised dog fighting. I think it’s more to do with some sort of entertainment value that the individuals were looking for.

“They obviously knew the dog. They knew what breed the dog was and they obviously worked out that if they got the dog out of the yard, the dog would be able to put up a good fight for itself because of the particular breed that it was.”

‘Unclear legislation’

He said the USPCA would pursue the incident in a bid to get evidence to bring people to court.

He has also called for the law on pitbull terriers, which are proscribed in Northern Ireland under the Dangerous Dogs Act, to be properly enforced.

However, Nigel Cardwell, a dog warden in Belfast,said the current legislation was unclear.

“There is legally a grey area. What most people refer to as pitbull terriers are in fact not pitbull terriers at all. Most of what you see about are Staffordshire bull terriers which are a legal breed,” he told the BBC’s Stephen Nolan show.

“They gave this catch-all area. What they said was: “Dogs having characteristics, the type known as a the pitt bull terrier.

“Pitbull terriers are a construct of various different breeds. It is a type of a dog. It is a generic thing. They are virtually impossible to identify.”

Irish Independent

Charge against suspected killer of boy raised to murder by DPP

Friday April 22nd 2005

AN engineering student was yesterday charged with the murder of 11-year-old schoolboy Robert Holohan after the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled that an earlier manslaughter charge be dropped.

The court yesterday heard that Wayne O’Donoghue (20) of Ballyedmond, Midleton, Co Cork, replied “no thanks” when he was cautioned and charged with the new offence .

The young victim, a student at Midleton CBS, disappeared after going for a cycle on January 4 last on his new BMX bike.

After a massive manhunt, his body was found on January 12 in a ditch near Inch Strand, some 12 miles away.

A post-mortem indicated that Robert had been asphyxiated.

Yesterday, Superintendent Liam Hayes explained to Judge Michael Pattwell at Midleton District Court that the DPP has directed that a murder charge be brought against O’Donoghue and that no evidence should be offered on the earlier manslaughter charge first brought on January 17.

Sergeant Joe O’Connor then told the court that he formally arrested, cautioned and then charged O’Donoghue at Midleton Garda station at 9.55am yesterday morning.

During yesterday’s 10-minute hearing the accused sat with his head bowed, staring at the floor, standing only briefly to acknowledge a query from Judge Pattwell on the issue of free legal aid.

Defence lawyer Frank Buttimer said he had no submissions to make at this stage on the book of evidence which was formally served on his client.

Judge Pattwell asked whether there was any question about the accused’s ability to enter a plea.

Mr Buttimer said that there was no question on that issue.

Because of hearings on the earlier manslaughter charge, the judge warned the media that they were to restrict themselves to what they were legally entitled to report about the present case.

Yesterday’s hearing was once again observed by Robert’s parents, Mark and Majella.

Wayne O’Donoghue’s father, Ray, sat silently at the back of the court.

O’Donoghue appeared in court for the eighth time yesterday.

An earlier hearing was told that there were 1,351 statements to be processed and over 1,022 witnesses to be dealt with as part of the state’s book of evidence in the case. Gardai also had to deal with almost 1,900 lines of inquiry.

O’Donoghue is formally remanded for trial to the Central Criminal Court.

He has been been in custody at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise since January 18. He was transferred from Cork Prison to the Midlands Prison within 24 hours of his initial charge for safety reasons.

The defendant will appear before the Central Criminal Court next Thursday.

Ralph Riegel