SAOIRSE32

BBC

Thousands of spectators had to leave the course

Down Royal racecourse in County Down has been evacuated following several telephoned bomb warnings.

Police carried out the evacuation of the Hillsborough site on Saturday afternoon and racing has been abandoned. One package has been found.

The two-day Northern Ireland Festival of Racing is one of the most popular in the Irish racing calendar. About 8,000 people were forced to leave the course.

Course chairman James Nicholson said they had no option but to abandon it.

Army technical officers are at the scene.

Mike Todd, the manager of Down Royal racecourse, said he was saddened by events.

“The management and committee of Down Royal racecourse wish to express their great sadness that today’s meeting has been interrupted because of the actions of a tiny minority in our community who are clearly set on living on the past,” he said.

“It is a disaster for such a major sporting event in Northern Ireland to be disrupted”.
Peter Eastwood
Bookmaker

“We wish to thank all the racegoers for their co-operation during the evacuation of the racecourse and assure our customers that all bets placed on races not run will be refunded through their bookmakers.”

Ulster Unionist peer Lord Magennis, who was at the meeting, said it had cost the racing industry a lot of money.

“There were lots of very good horses racing and it meant that horses that were warmed up had to be boxed and taken off the course,” he said.

“When you consider that some of these horse owners have come from the length and breadth of Ireland, it’s an absolute disgrace.”

Motorists diverted

The organisers of the event said record crowds had been attending the meeting.

Bookmaker Peter Eastwood said he hoped the event could be re-scheduled.

“It is a disaster for such a major sporting event in Northern Ireland to be disrupted,” he said.

David Hood, of bookmakers William Hill, said it was an unfortunate incident but people had taken it in their stride.

“When the announcement arrived asking patrons to leave, people moved calmly and swiftly,” he said.

Motorists are advised to avoid the Gravelhill Road and the general area around Down Royal racecourse.

The clash between the top Irish chasers was the main event of the festival.

Beef Or Salmon pushed Kicking King into second place in last year’s race.

Derry Journal

Friday 4th November 2005

Any process for ‘On the Runs’ must be time limited and uphold the basic rights of victims, SDLP Leader Mark Durkan has said. Mr. Durkan said: “The SDLP did not seek On the Run (OTR) legislation. It is not part of the Good Friday Agreement. Our priority in negotiations has been human rights, equality and justice issues. “Many will also question the timing of OTR legislation - when paramilitaries still will not let those they have exiled come home.
“The SDLP recognises that the OTR legislation will cause all victims enormous difficulties - be they victims of state violence, of loyalist violence or of republican violence. “It is all the more important, therefore, that any OTR legislation does not do them a downright injustice. “That is why the SDLP is setting out key principles that must be included in any OTR legislation.”
Above all else, says Mr. Durkan, any OTR process must respect the rule of law. “Even if nobody will go to prison, there must always be a trial - at which people can assert their guilt or innocence. If people are found guilty, that must always be registered.
“Second, the OTR process should be time limited for six months to a year. That way, those who have been responsible for the hundreds of unsolved murders have some incentive to come forward and give their victims closure. “If there is no time limit, then people who have committed murders know that they can afford to sit back, say nothing and wait to see if they are in danger of ever being charged, knowing full well that if they are they will not go to prison. “No time limit would show total contempt for victims’ interests.” Mr. Durkan insists On The Runs must attend their trial in open court. “One of the most outrageous aspects of the government’s original plans is that the OTR does not even have to appear in court to show some respect for those they have hurt. “Fourthly, the victim must have the right to make a victim impact statement. This would allow the victim the chance to make clear how his or her life was damaged by violence.
“Fifth, it must be limited to crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement gave everybody a full and equal chance to participate in the political process. Those who failed to do should not be spared a prison sentence. “Sixth, if an OTR becomes involved in breaking the law it should always be possible to return them to prison - like people released under the Good Friday Agreement.
“These are six basic points to ensure respect for the rule of law. They are basic principles for respect for the suffering of victims. “Government and those who have negotiated the legislation must hold true to them. The SDLP, for our part, will argue for them when this legislation reaches the House of Commons,” concluded the Foyle MP.

Irish Examiner

05 November 2005
By Alan Erwin

BUILDER Dominic McEvoy was charged with the £26.5 million (€39.2m) Northern Bank heist in Belfast after his DNA was allegedly found on a hat at the home of hostages, a magistrates’ court heard yesterday.

McEvoy, 23, accused of the biggest cash robbery in Irish history, also denied being a member of the Provisional IRA when he was questioned by detectives,.

As well as the robbery, he was charged with possession of a gun or imitation firearm and the false imprisonment of bank official Kevin McMullan and his wife Karen as part of the raid last December.

The couple’s home in Loughinisland, Co Down, was taken over before the robbers ordered Mr McMullan and a colleague to head into the bank’s Belfast HQ as normal. Both families were held captive while the gang cleared the underground vaults.

McEvoy, the first man to be charged with the robbery which police on both sides of the border have blamed on the IRA, nodded only to confirm he understood the offences as he stood in the dock during a 40-minute hearing at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.

Detective Inspector Sean Wright revealed the suspect was interviewed seven times after his arrest at his home on Tuesday before charges were levelled against him.

The officer told the court McEvoy replied in a statement: “I have no involvement in the Northern Bank robbery or in the kidnapping at Loughinisland Road. I have given police during interview full details as to the best of my recollection where I was on December 19 and 20, 2004.

“In particular, I didn’t leave any hat at the scene in Loughinisland Road. There is, as I understand it, police DNA profile of another person on the hat.

“I do not know how police can scientifically say that person didn’t leave any hat at the scene.”

McEvoy, of Mullandra Park in Kilcoo, had his head bowed for most of the hearing. A large crowd of supporters packed the public gallery to hear his lawyer challenge the police case against him.

Even though Mr Wright insisted he could connect McEvoy with the charges, defence solicitor Peter Corrigan disputed the evidence being relied upon.

He said: “It would be the defence’s case that the only evidence against the defendant is that his DNA, along with other unknown persons’ DNA, is on the hat outside Loughinisland.”

Although Mr Corrigan said his client told police he did not leave a hat at the scene, the detective replied that he spoke only to read a prepared statement and to deny membership of the Provisional IRA. “In the remainder of the interviews, the defendant declined to comment,” he added.

McEvoy was one of five men arrested during a 36-hour operation by police hunting the gang who carried out the audacious heist just before Christmas.

Resident magistrate Ken Nixon remanded McEvoy in custody until December 2 when he is due to appear again in court via video link. As he was being led from the dock, his friends stood to applaud him.

Irish Examiner

05 November 2005
By Jimmy Woulfe

THE public water supply in a rural area of West Limerick, where a potentially deadly form of gastroenteritis triggered a major health scare this week, has been found to be contaminated.

Limerick County Council yesterday launched a major investigation to establish the cause of contamination in the Kilfinny Group Water Scheme.

The water scheme services the Ballingarry area, where a young person was hospitalised and found to be suffering from the gastroenteritis bug e.coli 0157.

Seven other residents in the Ballingarry area have also tested positive from the e.coli 0157 outbreak but are being treated by their GPs.

Medical experts warn that such a strain of gastroenteritis can cause kidney failure and is extremely dangerous, particularly when it affects young children.

The acting director of public health in the Mid- West, Dr Tessa Greally, and a medical team from the HSE Mid West have been screening residents in the area for the past few days.

A local crèche decided to close, voluntarily, until the source of the bug was traced.

GPs in the area have been asked to maintain a “high index of suspicion” on any cases of diarrhoea, especially blood-related diarrhoea.

Households connected to the local group water scheme have been warned not to drink from the supply. The move followed the announcement by Limerick Country Council of positive test results and confirmation the supply was contaminated.

Engineering and environmental staff from the local authority were yesterday trying to identify the source of the contamination.

Locally-based Cllr Tom Neville, whose home is connected to the Kilfinny supply, said: “The council told us on last week that the quality of the water was not suitable for drinking. Then, a subsequent test suggested the water was clear, but further testing last Wednesday found the water unfit and people were told to stop drinking it.”

With the county council having recently announcement a planned major upgrade scheme for group water projects, Cllr Neville said the Kilfinny scheme must now be given priority.

The e.coli 0157 was reportedly discovered after a child from the Ballingarry area, suffering from another illness, was transferred from the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick to Temple Street Children’s Hospital in Dublin.

While people who test positive may not show any symptoms, the health service said it was anxious to ensure potential sufferers are not working in the food-related industries.

Residents have been asked to take extra hygiene precautions.

Irish Examiner

05 November 2005
By John Breslin

A FORMER Garda Commissioner has rejected allegations he was involved in blocking the pursuit of the suspected killers of Seamus Ludlow.

Laurence Wren, deputy commissioner when the names of four suspects linked to the Ulster Defence Association were passed to the gardaí by the RUC, most probably made the decision not to follow up on the information, Mr Justice Henry Barron said.

“It’s just surmising, there’s no positive charge against me in any shape or form. I do not accept it at all,” said Mr Wren, Garda Commissioner from 1983 to 1987.

Mr Wren added: “There was never any objection to writing to outside police forces, the RUC or otherwise. But the question of going into their area, and likewise they coming into ours, did not exist.”

The commissioner of the day sent out a directive making this policy clear.

Seamus Ludlow, aged 47, was shot dead in 1976. The British security forces had names of four suspects by the summer of the following year, but they were not passed on to the gardai until January 1979. No action appears to have been taken until after Mr Ludlow’s family began to ask questions in the mid-1990s. The four were arrested and two made statements confirming their involvement in his death but the North’s DPP did not press charges.

Mr Wren said he remembers nothing of the case, that he was not involved, that his branch, C3 anti-subversive, was not involved in investigating crime.

The Barron Report is deeply critical of gardaí at various levels, but Mr Wren does not accept he played a part in those failings.

“It was not my direct concern at all,” he said.

Of Mr Ludlow’s family, he said: “I have nothing to say to them.”

The murdered man’s brother Kevin has called for an independent public inquiry that is able to compel witnesses in this jurisdiction to attend. The family believes the Irish Government will then be able to exert pressure on the British to co-operate.

Kevin Ludlow is also seeking an apology from the gardaí, for failing to adequately pursue the suspects and for falsely giving the impression for years the IRA killed him for being an informer.

The big question is why was so much covered up? Why were we told lies for 30 years?” said Mr Ludlow.

An Oireachtas sub-committee is to hold hearings to discuss the Ludlow report.

Belfast Telegraph

By Noel McAdam, Political Correspondent
nmcadam@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

SINN Fein has told the DUP to “get real” over the disbandment of the Royal Irish Regiment home battalions.

As the DUP prepared for further talks with Defence Secretary John Reid over a phased financial package, Sinn Fein said continuing unionist demands for retention of the RIR sent nationalists a very negative signal.

Options for a locally recruited element to the garrison to be retained, and ways soldiers wishing to go on serving in Northern Ireland can be allowed, have been put to the Government by the DUP.

Sinn Fein Newry and Armagh MP Conor Murphy said: “They need to get real. They seem to be oblivious to the past. The RIR and UDR before it was little more than a unionist militia with a long history of involvement in collusion with unionist paramilitaries and indeed directly in the deaths of nationalists and republicans, including public representatives.

“Continuing demands by unionists to retain this organisation send out a very negative signal to broad nationalist opinion about the willingness of unionist political leaders to embrace a future built upon peace, democracy and equality.”

And Lisburn Sinn Fein councillor Paul Butler also accused the DUP of hypocrisy and double-speak for refusing to talk to republicans while associating with leading loyalists.

Belfast Telegraph

By Claire Regan
cregan@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

BBC presenter Mark Carruthers is to make an appeal for support for the local lifesaving work of the Royal National Lifeboat Association on Radio Ulster this weekend.

The appeal, which will be broadcast at 8.52am tomorrow, will highlight the work of the 300 volunteer lifeboat crew members based in Northern Ireland. Over the past year they have responded to 218 emergency calls and rescued 224 people.

“Many thousands of people visit our coast and inland waterways every year and rely on the lifeboats to assist them when they get into difficulty. This summer alone, the lifeboats were launched 127 times,” he said.

“The lifeboats are crewed by volunteers who freely and bravely give their time and risk their own lives to save those who find themselves in danger at sea. Their work is essential, often difficult and sometimes dangerous and they deserve our support.”

Northern Ireland has nine lifeboat stations with 13 inshore and all-weather lifeboats. Volunteer crew members come from all walks of life and are standing by every day and night waiting to respond to an emergency pager bleep.

Pat Mathison, regional manager for the RNLI in Northern Ireland said: “The costs of running the lifeboat service are enormous. For example the all-weather lifeboat in Portrush costs £2m a year to keep in service.

“The money raised through this appeal will help meet some of the essential costs of keeping the lifeboats ready at all times to go to sea.”

The RNLI is a registered charity which provides a 24/7 search and rescue service every day of the year.

Belfast Telegraph

By Brendan McDaid
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

LOYALIST leader David Ervine has told Catholic schoolgirls that he believes paramilitarism in Ulster is coming to an end.

The East Belfast MLA, whose Progressive Unionist Party is linked to the UVF, was invited to speak to politics students at former convent grammar school Thornhill College situated in Londonderry.

Speaking during a weekend-long visit to the city, Mr Ervine said: “There is all to play for now on the political front.

“I believe the political process will eventually catch up with the peace process and that these two parallels will converge and come of age.

“At that point the process of devolution will take place and there will be an absolute abandonment of violence and paramilitarism.”

Mr Ervine added that he felt that more schools across Northern Ireland should follow Thornhill’s example by inviting different politicians into schools.

He also called on young people across Northern Ireland to take a more active interest in politics.

He said: “Exposure to each other is good. I would encourage schools whether their ethos is Protestant or Catholic to bring politicians of all shades in and allow the students to question them and put them under the spotlight.

“It’s better than soundbites.”

He added: “Politicians are often heard through short bursts on TV or in column inches.

“I hope more and more young people become involved in politics. It is a stultified arena. Young voices could be valuable voices in the future.”

Jarlath Parlour, head of politics at the college, said a range of politicians had already been invited by the students at Thornhill.

“The objective is to expose the students to a broad range of political opinion so they can be more accurate and informed in their views,” he said.

“The girls themselves have organised all these events.”

Mr Parlour said that politics seemed to be coming a more popular subject for students.

“It helps them make more judicious decisions.”

Mr Ervine will also attend a number of First World War remembrance events organised by the Maydown Ebrington group.

Among the many events taking place will be a wreath-laying ceremony on Sunday with representatives from associations attached to the British and Irish armies taking part.

Belfast Telegraph

Loyalists to discuss concerns with Hain

By Linda McKee
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

LOYALIST women scaled down protests they had scheduled for Belfast yesterday after securing a meeting with the Secretary of State.

Members of Women Raising Unionist Concerns said they would be meeting Peter Hain at 9.15am on Tuesday.

Chairperson Jean Barnes said the group had continued with peaceful protests in north Belfast and in the Woodvale area of east Belfast yesterday, but scaled them down in light of the meeting.

She said the reduced protests were an “act of good faith” following the positive feedback they had received.

Mrs Barnes said the women had talks with the Assistant Chief Constable, the Police Ombudsman and the Northern Ireland Office.

“The protests would have been a lot bigger had no-one contacted us,” she said. “Any protest we would have would be peaceful. The last thing we want to do is cause civil unrest.”

She said the women of the network across Belfast had embarked on a journey to address social inequality, policing issues, the heavy-handedness and aggressiveness of the PSNI and the Parades Commission.

“We will engage positively with anyone in the best interests of our community,” Mrs Barnes said.

“We will continue peacefully protesting and highlighting our concerns. We are willing to move forward.”

Belfast Telegraph

But Empey wants Dail rights ended

By Linda McKee
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

ULSTER Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey has called on Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to scrap the idea of Dail speaking rights for Northern Irish MPs.

The move would back up the Irish premier’s “welcome” comments on the constitutional question, he said.

Addressing party colleagues at a dinner in Ballymoney last night, Sir Reg said: “Bertie Ahern’s comments yesterday that the constitutional question has been settled are welcome when taken and put into context with other recent positive developments.

“But he must back up his rhetoric by actions. A good place to start and an indicator of his bona fides would be to scrap the notion of speaking rights.

“All of these things coming together have the potential to create amore positive environment in which political progress can be made. However, in light of so many false dawns and failed attempts, people are sceptical.”

Unionists also remain sceptical about the results of direct rule, Sir Reg added.

“Direct rule is imposing more taxes on us and taking decisions on matters such as education that fly in the face of the expressed will of the people,” he said.

“Unionists have been reduced to the role of bystanders while all this is taking place.

“There is the potential for a new agenda - one where unionism is no longer powerless and bypassed.”

The Ulster Unionist leader said parties in the Republic were now subjecting Sinn Fein’s policies to critical analysis.

“Their continued growth can no longer be guaranteed,” Sir Reg said.

“If government, and the Prime Minister in particular, finally stops meeting every one of Sinn Fein’s insatiable demands, takes heed of unionist distrust and frustration and seeks to introduce measures to try and rebuild trust and confidence in the unionist community, these positive developments can, over time, perhaps unlock the political process,”

Belfast Telegraph

By Debra Douglas
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

THE heartbroken family and friends of murdered Lisa Dorrian attended a special remembrance service for her last night.

More than 500 people, including North Down MP Lady Hermon and many local councillors, packed the Most Holy Redeemer Church in Ballyholme, Bangor, to pay tribute to the 25-year-old who vanished without a trace eight months ago.

During the emotional service, Lisa’s sister Joanne sang a rendition of the Mariah Carey song Hero for her sister.

“It is a song Michelle, Lisa and I used to sing when we were younger and I wanted to sing something to remind us of her, it’s also a beautiful song,” she said.

Lisa’s ex-boyfriend Jamie Mills and her aunt Rita Walker also read at the service, both choking back tears as they spoke.

Joanne told the Belfast Telegraph the service was something the family wanted to do.

“We had planned to do it on the six-month anniversary but with the Crimewatch stuff going on, we had to delay it,” she said.

“Today is mum’s birthday, which has been hard, but we knew it would be difficult and wanted to do something for Lisa.”

The family are still struggling to come to terms with Lisa’s murder, Joanne said.

The shop assistant went missing after a party at Ballyhalbert in February.

Despite extensive land, sea and air searches, she has not been found.

It is believed individuals linked to the LVF were behind the killing, but detectives have been met with a wall of silence.

A number of people were arrested in connection with her murder but all were released without charge.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

THE second inquest into Mr Ludlow’s murder was held earlier this year following a campaign by his family and raised a series of questions about a high-level Garda decision to quash the original investigation.

The two-day hearing before Louth County Coroner Ronan Maguire at Dundalk courthouse, which is not covered in this week’s Barron Report, heard a number of intriguing revelations. Among these were the following:

• the investigating officer, then Detective Inspector John Courtney, was told the names of the four alleged killers, linked to the UDA by the RUC in 1979, but his request for authority from counter-subversive chiefs in Dublin to interview the group was not granted

• gardai investigating the crime failed to retain crucial evidence from the crime scene including the clothing which the deceased was wearing

• the RUC interviewed the suspects in 1998 and heard admissions from two of the linking them to the killing and yet there still have not been any convictions

• Mr Ludlow was the victim of a “random” act by killers from Northern Ireland who were simply looking for any unlucky victim. He was last seen late at night in Dundalk, where he often hailed a lift back to his home

• IRA involvement in the killing - a long-term rumour in the Dundalk area which would imply the victim was informing on republicans - was ruled out within three months of the Garda’s investigation

• the first inquest, in 1976, was not attended by any family members as they were not given sufficient notice.

Belfast Telegraph

By Michael McHugh
newsdesk@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
05 November 2005

A FORMER loyalist linked with the murder of a Co Louth man has moved to clear his name despite admitting witnessing the shooting.

Paul Hosking from Co Down has vigorously protested his innocence of any involvement in the murder of Seamus Ludlow in May 1976, and claimed he and his family have been victimised over the incident.

The Irish Justice Committee is to investigate further issues arising from a landmark report on the killing from Mr Justice Henry Barron, which was published on Thursday.

His report, which is privileged in law, named four men alleged to have been in the car which picked up Mr Ludlow on the night of his death.

Speaking from his home in Newtownards, Mr Hosking told the Belfast Telegraph last night: “These boys came down to the bar I was drinking in. I was in the UDA at the time.

“We all went out for a drink and then we took a drive. I was in the car and we picked up this guy. The guy got out of the car to go to the toilet and he was shot.”

Mr Ludlow was collected in the car in the centre of Dundalk and shot and his body dumped close to his Thistle Cross home north of the town.

The Barron Report described Mr Ludlow as the innocent victim of a “random sectarian killing of a blameless Catholic civilian”.

Mr Hosking has been interviewed twice by RUC detectives, in 1986 and 1998, but has never been charged with any offence.

The loyalist said he was tired of having the finger of blame pointed at him and added that he may make a submission to the Irish Justice Committee, which will consider the report in January.

“This has been going on for years and I am fed up with it,” he said. “I feel like I am the victim, it is awful for my family and they have gone through hell.”

BBC

Martin McGuinness said loyalists must be encouraged towards peace

The government should be doing more to “encourage loyalists along a peaceful path”, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness has said.

Mr McGuinness said there “were progressive elements within the UVF and UDA”, but they needed more support.

The Mid-Ulster MP also said the Independent Monitoring Commission “was wrong” to say the IRA was involved in a recent assault.

He said he had “put questions to the secretary of state on the matter”.

Mr McGuinness, who was speaking on the BBC’s Inside Politics programme, said it was clear that others, “even within the UDA, were seeking a role as we move forward politically”.

“That is a good thing and they should be encouraged. It is not just the responsibility of the taoiseach or people in Dublin to encourage them,” he said.

“As an observer of all of that, I would have to be very concerned that the British government are not really playing their part and engaging with progressive figures within loyalism who wish to play a constructive role as we move forward.”

BBC

Two men are still being questioned by detectives investigating the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in Belfast.

The robbery took place at the bank’s Northern Ireland headquarters at Donegall Square West in the city on 20 December last year.

On Friday, Dominic McEvoy, 23, of Mullandra Park, Kilcoo, County Down, was remanded in custody accused of involvement in the robbery.

A 40-year-old man arrested on Thursday was released unconditionally on Friday.

Some money seized in County Cork last February was linked to the robbery, but virtually all of the missing millions remain unrecovered.