SAOIRSE32

Daily Ireland

Ciarán Barnes

A senior Belfast republican yesterday denied loyalist claims that he was involved in drugs.
Paul Carson spoke out after the north Belfast Ulster Defence Association claimed it had secret audio recordings of him negotiating drug deals with Loyalist Volunteer Force figures.
Mr Carson is a well-known member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the Irish National Liberation Army.
In a statement to Daily Ireland, Mr Carson accused his opponents of trying to demonise him.
He said: “I emphatically deny any allegations regarding any involvement in drugs.
“I have been and continue to be a republican all my adult life, and my republican credentials in the struggle are there for all to see.
“I have not been involved in drugs. My record in my community is clear.
“These allegations have been around for years and are an attempt to demonise me.
“They emanate from British intelligence, PSNI Special Branch and criminal and loyalist sources who are up to their necks in drug dealing.”
Mr Carson added: “These false allegations will not stop my involvement in republican socialist politics. Those making these allegations should put up or shut up.”
IRSP spokesman Willie Gallagher also rubbished the allegations.
He condemned those who spread lies about genuine republicans.
North Belfast loyalist Sammy Duddy, a political spokesman for the UDA, speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, claimed that his organisation had audio tapes allegedly of Mr Carson organising drug deals with an LVF boss from Ballysillan.
Mr Duddy claimed the content of the alleged tapes prompted the UDA to attack LVF homes in the Ballysillan area of north Belfast on Monday evening, during which a shot was fired.
He said: “That is why we had the incident in Ballysillan on Monday evening.
“I know for a fact that the UDA is in possession of these tapes.”
Daily Ireland understands the audio tapes were allegedly made by a relative of an LVF drug dealer from north Belfast.
It’s claimed because he owns a legally-held weapon, he was taken as backup to the drug meetings between his LVF relative and the alleged drug dealer.
At the meetings, he would secretly record his LVF relative negotiating the sale of ecstasy and cocaine.
The alleged tape recordings were then said to have been given to a young LVF man from Ballysillan for safekeeping.
It’s then claimed this man had a major fallout with the LVF and he then gave the UDA the alleged tapes in return for protection from that organisation.
After listening to the contents, the UDA claims it decided to confront the LVF man.
A UDA gang went hunting him on Monday evening.
The gang members called to a house in Ballysillan but were unable to find their target.
They then clashed with friends of the LVF man, one of whom fired a shot in the air.
The PSNI has been investigating the incident.
The north Belfast UDA is now claiming it will make the alleged tapes public.

Daily Ireland

Green campaigners write to Peter Hain for definitive answer -British government still to confirm it has no plans to build a nuclear power plant in the Border regions of Down or Newry and Mourne district council areas

Ciarán Barnes

Click to view

The British government has been asked to give a definitive answer on whether it intends building a nuclear power plant in the North.
Green campaigners have written to secretary of state Peter Hain demanding to know if any sites in the North are being considered for new plants.
There are fears that the British government is looking at developing a nuclear plant in either the Down or Newry and Mourne district council areas.
Concern increased after British prime minister Tony Blair’s recent admission that a new energy review would “include specifically the issue of whether to facilitate the development of a new generation of nuclear power stations”.
Down SDLP councillor Margaret Ritchie, who is a member of the all-Ireland Nuclear-Free Local Authorities forum, said renewable energy and not nuclear power could meet the North’s energy needs.
“There is absolutely no good reason why this should change just because Tony Blair has been seduced by the nuclear lobby into calling yet another energy review,” she said.
Louth Fine Gael councillor Michael O’Dowd, the local authorities forum chairman, urged others to oppose the building of a nuclear power plant in Ireland.
“Civil society must make its voice heard now to oppose construction of a nuclear facility anywhere on our island, and we will be calling on local councils in all parts of Ireland to make their views known.
“Northern Ireland is well positioned to generate a large proportion of its energy from renewable sources, particularly wind power, and there is also scope for energy-saving programmes to have a big impact.
“Mr Hain must tell Tony Blair that there is no need or desire for any nuclear power station to be built in Northern Ireland,” Mr O’Dowd said.
The ramifications of developing a nuclear site in the North are huge.
Nuclear plants rely on the mining of uranium, a process that is extremely damaging to health and the environment. No safe solution exists for the disposal of waste, which remains active for at least one million years.
Patricia McKenna, a former Green Party MEP for Dublin, said nuclear power plants were really military projects.
She said the use of nuclear power had never been peaceful and was clearly linked to nuclear arms.
“The generation of electricity in nuclear reactors produces nuclear substances that can be used for making nuclear weapons,” she wrote in Tuesday’s Daily Ireland.
“The dangers associated with the handling of weapons-usable nuclear substances require a high level of security and secrecy in even so-called democratic countries.
“Given Blair’s concern about international terrorism, one would expect him to take a precautionary approach to the nuclear industry.”
With England’s main nuclear power plant at Sellafield less than 100 miles (160 kilometres) away from Ireland’s coast, anti-nuclear campaigners are waiting with bated breath for Mr Hain’s response.
The nuclear-free forum expects to receive a reply from the secretary of state within the next three weeks on whether sites in the North are being considered for nuclear power plants.
Fallout from the Chernobyl reactor disaster spread across Europe, affecting millions.

BreakingNews.ie

05/01/2006 - 13:50:16

A court in the North is to review the case of three loyalists who were given suspended sentences for threatening a police officer with a deactivated gun.

The move follows a ruling by the British Attorney General that the sentence was too lenient.

The three men had set up a loyalist roadblock in Portglenone, Co Antrim, last July 12, and were pointing a deactivated gun at motorists, saying they were protecting an Orange march in the village.

They eventually ran off when one motorist they targeted identified himself a PSNI officer.

Last October, a judge ruled that the three should only receive suspended sentences, prompting outrage from the SDLP, which said people who use weapons to threaten the public should be treated more severely.

BreakingNews.ie

05/01/2006 - 13:59:54

A payslip gaffe may have compromised the security of thousands of people receiving salaries and pensions from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, it was claimed today.

Police chiefs confirmed a computer error occurred last month which left people being identified before Christmas as receiving pay from the PSNI in the payslips sent to banks and building societies.

The blunder was revealed by Democratic Unionist councillor Jimmy Spratt who demanded immediate investigations by Northern Secretary Peter Hain and the North’s Policing Board.

Mr Spratt said: “Thousands of serving officers, including part-time reservists, civilian workers and retired people, have their salaries paid into banks and building societies through a computer system.

“It is my understanding that a major blunder occurred last month during changes to the computer system, which resulted in payslips identifying people as receiving pay from the PSNI.

“Officers were informed of this breach in the last few days.

“However, we do not know how many officers are affected, if retired officers and civilian workers were also identified.

“We could be talking about thousands of people having had their security breached and being forced to move house.

“This is another major embarassment for the PSNI, considering there is still a terrorist threat out there and considering one of the banks was breached last year in a major bank robbery.

“Peter Hain and (Northern Ireland Office Security Minister) Shaun Woodward need to get to the bottom of this and the DUP will also be asking the Policing Board to investigate this gaffe.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland employs around 7,500 officers.

The organisation has also undergone a programme of civilianisation in some of its departments to free up officers for frontline duties.

There are plans to create another 300 civilian jobs over the next two years.

Following the discovery of the computer error, the PSNI asked officers who felt their personal security had been breached to take steps to ensure their safety.

A PSNI statement confirmed today: “The police are aware of a computer error in police payslips, which went out to banks last month.

“If any officer feels his or her personal security has been compromised, they will review their situation.”

Mr Spratt was critical, however, of the PSNI’s handling of the error.

“Officers are being asked to contact the security branch. The onus is being put on them,” he said.

“But I think the PSNI needs to be more proactive. If civilian workers and retired officers are affected, when are they going to be notified?

“We need to a know if an outside company were involved in changing the payslip system.

“There has to be an investigation into how this happened. The Policing Board are, I believe, obliged to look into this.

“Thousands of people need to be reassured, including retired officers and civilians receiving PSNI pensions and pay.”

Belfast Telegraph

By Chris Thornton
05 January 2006

Wreath-laying ceremony on 25th anniversary - Examiner photo

Relatives of ten Protestant workmen murdered in the Kingsmills massacre were due to gather at the scene of the attack for a memorial service today, the 30th anniversary of the killings.

Another service is due to be held in Bessbrook, the Co Armagh village where nine of the victims lived, on Sunday.

The ten men were gunned down by the IRA on January 5, 1976, as they returned home from work in a cloth factory in Glenanne.

They were ordered off the bus and shot after the only Catholic on the bus had been singled out and ordered to run off. Of the 11 men who remained, only one survived the shooting - despite being wounded 18 times.

The massacre was the terrible culmination of months of sectarian attacks, which had seen six members of two Catholic families fatally wounded the night before.

Today’s service was being held as a former loyalist paramilitary recalled that the UVF planned “particularly gruesome” attacks in response to Kingsmills.

William McCaughey, who operated as a police officer and loyalist paramilitary in Armagh, said the UVF had organised guns and cars to murder nuns at a convent in Newry. He said the attack was called off because of the weight of public opinion.

“After Kingsmills there was never the same intensity on either side,” McCaughey said. “It was quite obviously the worst period of the Troubles in that, regardless of the killing rate, fear was at its height.”

The murders are due to be reinvestigated by the PSNI’s historic review team.

Victims’ group Fair claims it has new evidence about the murders, but will not give the material to police unless the Government drops its planned OTR legislation.

Irish Examiner

05 January 2006
By Paul O’Hare

PEOPLE shielding the killers of Lisa Dorrian should identify where her body was dumped, a senior churchman urged yesterday.
Church of Ireland Bishop of Down and Dromore the Right Reverend Harold Miller said: “It is morally unacceptable to leave a family not knowing where their loved one is to be found.”

Lisa, 25, went missing from a caravan site in Ballyhalbert on the Co Down coast last February. But despite extensive searches, no trace of the Bangor woman has been found.

The bishop urged people with information about Lisa’s disappearance to visit a memorial website set up by the Dorrian family.

He said: “At the beginning of a new year, the whole sense of her loss has been greatly heightened.

“We can only imagine how her family must be feeling. Thankfully, the new website about Lisa set up last month has had many responses and messages of goodwill, but, although helpful, we need more at this time.

“People in the community who have any details of her disappearance must come forward with the relevant information.”

He said anyone who knows what happened to Lisa must consider the heartbreak caused.

When the website- www.lisadorrian.co.uk - was launched last month Lisa’s sister Joanne said she hoped it would bring global attention to the case.

Since then it has attracted more than five million hits and messages of support have been posted from Australia and the US.

Detectives arrested five suspects but they were all released without charge. One line of inquiry was that loyalist paramilitaries were involved in the murder. But it is understood the senior investigating officer now does not believe that to be the case.

Ms Dorrian’s family have campaigned relentlessly in an attempt to keep public attention focused on the case. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Irish Government have both pledged their support.

A forensic expert brought in to help trace the disappeared - those murdered and buried by the IRA at the height of the violence in the North - is also expected to examine the case.

RTÉ

05 January 2006 12:26

Former British Northern Secretary, Lord Merlyn-Rees, has died aged 85.

Lord Rees was Northern Secretary from March 1974 until September 1976.

He was an effective minister, whose natural instinct was to unify and moderate in the face of conflict and extremism.

Lord Merlyn-Rees spent the great bulk of his 30 years in the House of Commons on the front bench, either in Government or Opposition.

His decision in the early 1980s not to seek re-election on to the shadow cabinet made him one of the most experienced and seasoned back-benchers on either side of the House.

Irelandclick

by Damian McCarney

A paramedic has slammed the Ambulance Service for not providing enough emergency vehicles to meet spiralling demand.

Figures provided by the N I Ambulance Service (NIAS) highlight just how stretched resources are by the rising number of emergency calls.

Over the past decade the number of Ambulance Activations to Emergency Calls in the Eastern Health and Social Services Board (EHSSB), which includes Belfast, has risen from 26,817 to 42,950 – a whopping rise of 60.15 per cent.
But over the same period the number of emergency ambulances only increased by one, from 43 to 44.

The figures were replicated across the North as a whole.
In 1994-95 there were 53,851 emergency calls made.

The most recent figures, for 2004-2005 had risen to 87,374, an increase of 62.25 per cent.

Over the same ten-year period the number of emergency ambulance vehicles rose by three from 137 to 140.

A worried paramedic who spoke to the Andersonstown News described the figures as “absolutely horrendous”.

“It is putting a lot of stress on ambulance crews and they are burnt out because demand has increased and there is no real increase in emergency vehicles.

“There is no point having a big trauma centre with doctors, consultants and surgeons if the patients come in dead.

“The first point of contact a member of the general public has is with the ambulance crew, and that is crucial for those patients’ chances of survival,” said our paramedic source.

The figures emerge at a time when the Ambulance Service has come under criticism for its response to a number of high-profile incidents. After December’s tragic Falls Road crash which resulted in the deaths of two people, it took an hour to remove all of the injured people from the scene. An ambulance had to come from as far away as Larne.

On Christmas Eve five people injured in a fire in Derry had to be brought to hospital by fire engine.

On that occasion the nearest ambulance at the time of the call was in Strabane.

A spokesperson for the NIAS said, “The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service provides a 24-hour emergency service based on historical patterns of activity, funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and our services are commissioned by the four area health boards in Northern Ireland.

“Staffing levels and issues of fleet and estates are regularly discussed at various fora involving all stakeholders.

“The relevant outcomes of these meetings are relayed to staff through the Trust’s communications network.

“The Trust recognises and appreciates the important role of staff in the provision of the service and would encourage any staff member who has concerns to bring them to the attention of the Trust’s management team via internal channels.

“Alternatively, concerned staff can approach staff-side representatives.
“NIAS has also commissioned the confidential services of Occupational Health and Staff Care to assist staff members with problems relating to stress and so on.

“Given also that NIAS has been asked, by the Andersonstown News, to answer questions for this particular story on a number of occasions in the past week, the Director of Operations would like to extend an invitation to the Andersonstown News and the concerned paramedic to meet with him, in order that these and any other concerns can be addressed.
“This meeting can be arranged by contacting NIAS HQ.”

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Irelandclick

by Roisin McManus

British army accommodation at Woodbourne barracks is set to be demolished this week.

The removal of the accommodation at the barracks on the Stewartstown Road has been welcomed by Sinn Féin.

“Local people will undoubtedly welcome the dismantling of these trappings of conflict from the local community,” said Upper Falls Councillor Michael Browne.

“The fact is that this should have happened long before now. Sinn Féin has long pressed the British government for complete demilitarisation in the North and we remain insistent that a demilitarisation programme has to be expedited,” he added.

Councillor Browne said that the dismantling of military facilities is only one part of the equation.

“The fact remains that land which could have been used to the advantage of local communities was commandeered for British military purposes,” said Councillor Browne. “It is essential that with demilitarisation this land is returned to local people and used in a manner beneficial to the entire community.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence speaking last night said, “Work is taking place today and a contractor is stripping cabling out of two Portacabins that were used as accommodation by the British army.

“The Portacabins will be demolished and the work should be completed by the end of the week,” he added.

Journalist:: Roisin McManus

Irelandclick

by Damian McCarney

Laganside Magistrates Court yesterday was in Alice in Wonderland territory when a man compelled to appear in court was barred from turning up.
Poleglass man Chris Ward, who is charged with the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery in December 2004, was due to appear for a remand hearing at the Belfast court on Wednesday.

However, a fortnight ago Mr Ward received bail from the High Court, and a condition of the bail imposed by Lord Justice Campbell stipulated that the 24-year-old was not permitted to come within a mile radius of Belfast City Hall.

This was intended to prevent the former Northern Bank employee from interfering with prosecution witnesses, who may include other employees of the city centre bank.

In Mr Ward’s absence, a representative from his solicitors, Winters & Co, informed the Magistrates Court that it was not possible for the defendant to appear in court without breaching his bail conditions, as the venue is located only a few hundred yards from Belfast City Hall. The hearing was adjourned until February 15, and in the meantime it is expected that there will be an application for a variation in the terms of his bail.

Journalist:: Damien McCarney

Irelandclick

Today the Andersonstown News launches a campaign to have the plug pulled on the controversial asbestos dump which has been given the go-ahead in the centre of our community

Read inside the heart-breaking story of local man, Michael Mc Cann, whose dad, Joe, suffered a painful death from asbestos-related disease.

As West Belfast begins the battle against an asbestos site being set up at the heart of the community, the son of local man, Joe McCann, who died from exposure to asbestos, speaks about his passionate objections to the controversial plans

by Francesca Ryan

As the bitter battle intensifies between the Planning Service and those opposing plans for an asbestos storage facility in the Kennedy Way Industrial estate put forward by Grove Services Group, we spoke to one man who knows only too well the damaging effects asbestos contamination can have on health.
Michael McCann’s father, Joe, died in 1998 from mesothelioma, a deadly tumour of the membrane which surrounds the lungs – caused almost exclusively from breathing in asbestos fibres.

Speaking to the Andersonstown News this week, Michael explained the horrific nature of the disease that fast took its toll on his father and related his fears regarding plans to place an asbestos storage facility in the West of the city.

“My father was diagnosed in April of 1998 and died that September,” said Michael.

“He had mesothelioma, one of the most severe forms of asbestos poisoning, he originally went into hospital with fluid in the lungs but the doctors kept him in as his health quickly deteriorated.”

Highlighting the gravity of the disease, Michael recalled the moment they knew there was no hope of recovery for his father.

“Before we found out what the illness was exactly, my father asked the doctors if it was cancer. The doctor told him that if it was cancer, he would’ve been allowed out of hospital to go about his business, that really shocked us.”

The incurable disease rapidly compromised Joe’s lifelong good health as his family witnessed a sharp deterioration in the otherwise fit 75-year-old.
“My father prided himself in his health. He didn’t drink or smoke and walked up to six miles every day. To see him in the latter stages of his life was just horrifying, there is no other word for it.”

Despite his intense dislike of being in the hospital, the severity of Joe’s condition meant he could not manage at home and was confined to a hospital bed for the last few weeks of his life.

“It was just horrendous for us to watch him die – a strong healthy man, and six months later he was dead from this horrific illness.

“Towards the end he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t talk and he couldn’t breathe, he had to wear breathing apparatus.

“The only way I can describe it is like watching someone drowning without the water, it was distressing for all of us and utterly horrifying.”

Joe McCann worked in the Falls Baths for over 45 years. Before the building’s demolition in 2003 an asbestos sampling survey was carried out and asbestos was found in the basement and the boiler room.

“Obviously the Falls Baths was where by father had been contaminated with asbestos. 30 and 40 years ago asbestos was used everywhere in building, but back then we didn’t know the dangers. Those in the medical field did, your average person didn’t, but we do now, which is why I find these plans for a storage site in West Belfast unbelievable.

“All it takes is for one microscopic fibre to become lodged in your lung, it can lie dormant for 30 years before it manifests itself but it will lead to a terrible death.

“I am not an expert in the subject but I know what my family went through and it was a horrible experience.”

Michael went on to ask why such a dangerous substance was being stored in the centre of a huge residential area like West Belfast.

“Can these people give us a cast-iron guarantee that there will be no spillages, no leakages, that not one microscopic fibre can escape from this storage facility?

“It is one thing to carry out security checks, but can they guarantee it?
“I wonder how these people would feel about an asbestos facility being placed next door to their own homes.

“This site is surrounded by huge housing estates and runs parallel to a motorway which we are hearing is used by 65,000 people every day. Where is the sense in using this location?”

Last month the Andersonstown News revealed that, according to documents from the Department of Regional Development, a safety inspection carried out by Grove Services Group noted that there is a high risk to residents living near the asbestos dump breathing in cancer-causing asbestos fibres and a risk of asbestos escaping from bags transporting the deadly substance.

Sinn Féin’s Paul Maskey, who is heading the fight against the plans, told the Andersonstown News he will be stepping up the campaign next week.
“Residents of the greater West Belfast area are against these plans, they are backed by Belfast City Council yet the Planning Service are granting permission despite the health and safety implications.

“The health of thousands of people living in West Belfast will be put at risk when this asbestos dump opens but we are determined to fight it at every step.

“We are taking the petition to local shopping centres next week, there will be a meeting of the Management Board, comprising members of the Council and the Planning Service, in the near future where we will hopefully see this irresponsible decision reversed.”

Journalist:: Francesca Ryan

BBC

A security alert in Larne has been declared an elaborate hoax.

A suspicious package was found outside a shop in the town’s main street at about 0845 GMT on Thursday.

Army bomb experts attended the incident. It is the second alert in the town in two days and DUP East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said it was unacceptable.

“All that this mindless activity will achieve is to disrupt people’s daily lives and hurt local shops which are affected by closures,” Mr Wilson said.

“Today’s events are a sad reminder that there are still those in our society who wish to see ordinary people who are trying to get to school, work or go shopping have their day disrupted and cause panic for young children who are affected.”

From: John Carmody - National Events Organizer
Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
Po Box 722 - Kildare - Ireland
087-6275579 - Intl. code +353-87-6275579

Dear Friend,

Just 1 minute can make a huge difference. EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy wants to force Austria to change part of its new animal protection law that bans the use of wild animals in circuses. McCreevy is trying to undo Austria’s prohibition against using wild animals in circuses. He argues that Austria’s animal protection law contravenes Article 49 of the EC-Treaty by unjustifiably restricting the freedom of providing services offered by foreign circuses. The fact is that animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these confusing and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks and other painful tools of the trade. For more information, please visit captiveanimals.org.

Animals in circuses need your help. Not only would this law affect animals in Austria, it would also set a precedent for the rest of Europe. Please take a moment to send protest letters to EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy and the EU commissioner for your country by using the online forms at http://www.vgt.at/circus.php. If everyone on ARAN’s mailing list sign and send this off it will create a huge difference - that’s over 1100 people!!!

Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN)
“Ireland’s National Animal Rights Group!”

ARAN is a grassroots voice that is dedicated to speaking out against all forms of cruelty to animals. We work with many national and international animal protection groups and actively support international campaigns for animal rights along with working to encourage activism among the public and volunteers. Thanks so much for everything that you do for animals. ARAN is thankful that you’re on the activist network and we encourage you to take full advantage of that network by contacting us anytime with questions, requests, ideas, events or concerns!

Please visit www.ad-international.org to learn more about the new Animal Defenders International & ARAN campaign to ban the use of animals in circuses here in Ireland. Something to think about: We believe that the Golden Rule applies to animals, too. We don’t accept the prevailing notion that “people come first’” or that “people are more important than animals.” Animals feel pain and suffer just as we do, and it is almost always humans making animals suffer and not the other way around.Yet in spite of how cruelly people behave towards animals — not to mention human cruelty to other humans — we are supposed to believe that humans are superior to other animals. If people want to fancy themselves as being of greater moral worth than the other creatures on this earth, we should begin behaving better than they do, and not worse. Let’s start treating everyone as we would like to be treated ourselves.

BBC

By Shane Harrison
BBC NI Dublin Correspondent

Residents of the village of Nobber, north Meath, in the Republic of Ireland, stumbled upon archaeological treasure when they decided to clean up an old graveyard.

Now they are hoping that tombs in the shape of Celtic crosses, dating back 1100 years, will put them on the map, alongside such famous archaeological sites as Newgrange.

The old graveyard at Nobber, North Meath

Until recently, the graveyard in the village of Nobber, about two hours’ drive from Dublin, was overgrown with weeds and briars.

It is surrounded by evergreen trees and bushes, a church that has fallen into disrepair and the remains of a medieval monastery.

It took 12 men nearly two years working at night and at weekends, in all four seasons to clear up Mother Nature’s mess. She rewarded them in full.

Richard Clarke, a volunteer worker, said the graveyard was very neglected.

“We started in, basically, with our hands and clippers and spades and any little thing at all that would break down some of the old vegetation that had overgrown the place,” he said.

Celtic crosses

In the course of cleaning up the wind-swept cemetery, they found small concrete tomb stones, like Celtic crosses, some less than a foot high.

Graves, they now know, that date back to the 10th century.

Archaeologists, like Professor George Eogan, an expert on Newgrange, are excited by the discovery.

He said it proves that this north Meath townland with its own monastery, was significant in the relatively early Christian times.

“It certainly, was an outstanding place around the 10th century. It was one of the leading sites in Ireland at that earlier period,” Professor Eogan said.

But the small weather-beaten tombs, with their fading etched marks were not all that was found in the clean-up.

Local people also discovered evidence of a church built in the 12th century and medieval tomb stones lying flat on the ground with elaborate designs and concrete carvings of kneeling men.

Tony McEntee, who helped organise the tidy up, said Nobber should be very proud of its voluntary workers.

“Were it not for all the work that these men put in, these discoveries would never have been known,” he said.

The one-street village of Nobber is a small, agricultural community on the Navan to Kingscourt Road.

People, including the Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee, now hope to capitalise on the discovery and make their village a major tourist attraction.

“To get jobs into the area is an issue but the fact is that you have something here, a home-grown industry that people are very proud of - it would be great to put the whole package together.”

A simple tidy up has paid rich dividends.

BBC ON THIS DAY

5 January 1976

The bullet-riddled minibus in which the men died

Ten Protestant men have been shot dead as they were returning home from work in a mini-bus in Northern Ireland.

The attack happened on the Whitecross to Bessbrook Road in South Armagh this evening as the men, all textile workers, returned from a factory six miles from Bessbrook.

The mini-bus in which they were travelling was ambushed by up to a dozen attackers. It is believed the massacre was in revenge for the murders of five Catholics in Lurgen and Whitecross last night.

Initial reports suggest the passengers were forced to line up outside their vehicle, after which they were systematically gunned down.

Detectives found more than 100 spent cartridges at the scene.

One survivor remains critically ill in hospital with bullet wounds to his lungs and a further passenger, a Catholic, was ordered away before the shooting.

Nine of the dead men were from the village of Bessbrook - the bus driver came from Mount Norris.

Johnston Chapman had to identify the bodies of his two nephews, who died in the attack. He said: “They were just lying there like dogs, blood everywhere.”

“If the people who did this saw them like that, surely to God if they had any conscience they would say ‘well we’re about to cut this out.”

Both Republican and Loyalist terrorists have been involved in violence during the past few days.

The Provisional IRA has said it is ready for a full-scale military campaign if there is not a British declaration of intent to withdraw from Northern Ireland.

But the violence has been condemned from all sides.

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Merlyn Rees condemned the recent attacks as “straight gangsterism”.

He said: “Retaliation breeds retaliation and unless people down there realise the wicked nonsense of what they are doing to their fellow men this will go on and on and on.”

Seamus Mallon, of the nationalist SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) said the barbarity of this latest crime was matched only by its cowardice.

Ulster Unionist MP Harold McCusker said he was afraid County Armagh was facing anarchy.

In Context

A commemoration service to mark the 25th anniversary of the Kingsmill Massacre, as it came to be known, was held in South Armagh in 2001.

The attack, which was one of the worst single sectarian attacks in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, was carried out by a group calling itself the South Armagh Republican Action Force, which was widely believed to have been made up of IRA members.

Only one man, Alan Black, survived the attack despite being shot 18 times.

Another workman on the bus, a Catholic, was ordered away from the scene.

No-one was ever charged over the murders.