SAOIRSE32

Belfast Telegraph

From yesterday

By Kathryn Torney
17 August 2006

Thousands of students across Northern Ireland received their all-important A Level grades this morning.

More than 31,000 grades have been issued by the exam boards. The overall A to E grade pass rate has risen slightly on last year (up 0.2% to 97.7%) and Northern Irish students also continue to outperform their English and Welsh peers.

The oldest student to complete an A Level exam in Northern Ireland this year was 84-year-old Susan McGillan from Strabane, who sat her exam in Irish at North West Institute.

Meanwhile, the youngest was 14-year-old Jonathan Siri, who sat French A Level at Campbell College. Conall MacLoinsigh, who turned 15 last month, sat Irish at Christian Brothers Grammar in Omagh. All were due to receive their results today.

Girls continue to win the battle of the sexes. However, boys are catching up, outperforming girls at the A grade in Biology, Economics, English, Irish, Further Maths and Technology.

Neil Anderson, Director of Operations at the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), said: “A-Levels continue to hold their place as very popular top class qualifications, highly regarded by students, teachers, universities and employers.

“Congratulations to all of the thousands of candidates receiving their results this morning after much hard work and study.”

AS grades were also released today, with 94.7% of entries achieving A to E grades and 32.6% of entries achieving the top grade.

Meanwhile, Ballymena Academy principal Ronne Hassard today claimed that the introduction of an A* grade at A-Level and a system whereby students apply to courses after receiving their results, should both be considered for Northern Ireland.

Mr Hassard, writing in the Belfast Telegraph, also challenged the popular theory that improving results mean that exams are getting easier.

Belfast Telegraph

By Brendan McDaid and William Allen
18 August 2006

The Dean of Derry today said it was unlikely that the name of a Derry man who has been pardoned 90 years after he was executed for desertion during the First World War would be added to the war memorial in St Columb’s Cathedral.

The Rev William Morton said that a number of factors had to be taken into consideration after Bernard McGeehan’s family yesterday vowed to fight for his name to be inscribed alongside those of other soldiers with local connections.

Defence Secretary Des Browne announced yesterday that he is to seek a group pardon for the 306 British and Irish soldiers executed for alleged cowardice and desertion during the First World War.

Bernard McGeehan, from Moat Street, faced the firing squad in Poperinghe in November 1916 after he turned up looking for his regiment six days after going missing from the front line of the trenches.

Bernard (28), who had been a messenger boy for the post office in Derry around 1902, was shot within hours and the cell where he spent his final hours was later discovered to have the word ‘Derry’ roughly inscribed on it.

John McGeehan said yesterday he would now be contacting Dean Morton to ensure his cousin’s name is added to the roll of honour and monument at the Cathedral as well as the Cenotaph at the Diamond.

Mr Morton, however, responded yesterday: “I understand the importance and significance of this announcement for Bernard McGeehan’s family and in particular for his cousin John McGeehan, who has been pursuing this for many years.

“As far as the war memorial in the Diamond, I have no responsibility for that.

“Also the names inscribed on the monument in the cathedral would be people directly connected with the cathedral. There would have to be some connection.

“There is also the problem of how do we undo a war memorial, which is a historical monument.

“Or if you put up a separate plaque is that going to be the first of many? Is it going to be practicable?”

The Dean, however, said Bernard’s name and details would be placed in an insertion and added to the eight volumes of soldiers’ names housed in the cathedral.

“It is not that we are shutting the door,” Dean Morton said.

Meanwhile, the Derry-based founder of a peace school on WWI’s killing fields today vowed to keep fighting to have the names of Irish and British soldiers shot for mutiny added to cenotaphs throughout the British Isles.

Glen Barr, chief executive of the International School for Peace Studies at Messines, has welcomed the Government’s U-turn on pardoning the soldiers shot for desertion in the trenches.

Mr Barr, who last year received letters from Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Ministry of Defence insisting there would be no pardons, said: “We are delighted this has happened and we will now start to campaign for their names to be added to the cenotaphs both in Ireland and the UK.”

Belfast Telegraph

City an international hot-spot as number of visitors increases five-fold

By Lesley-Anne Henry
18 August 2006

Belfast is back in the headlines - but for all the right reasons.

The number of tourists visiting Ulster’s biggest city has increased five-fold since the first IRA ceasefire in 1994, figures from the Belfast Visitor Convention Bureau (BCVB) have revealed.

And, with growing numbers from all five continents giving good old ‘Norn Iron’ the thumbs up, the city is set to become even more cosmopolitan.

What was once a European no-go city whose only foreign visitors were journalists is now an international hot-spot for tourists from all four corners of the globe.

And this summer that trend continued, with many of Belfast’s main tourist venues attracting a host of different nationalities.

So what’s the attraction?

Anita Mathur from San Francisco said she would recommend Belfast to anyone when she returns to the US.

“I think it is fantastic. We are here for three days. We took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour earlier.

“It’s nice to have something like that available so you can learn a bit about the history of the area and understand a bit better what went on.

“I would recommend Belfast to anyone, it is beautiful,” she said.

Heather Boyd from Ottowa in Canada was on a day trip from Scotland.

She said: “This is the most beautiful city centre I have ever seen.”

The Italian Pagano family were in town for five days and also liked what they saw. They were particularly impressed by Belfast City Hall.

Son Alessandro Pagano told the Belfast Telegraph: “We have just arrived and we like Belfast.

“It is a very nice city and the people are great too. We like it very much.”

Canadian couple James and Deborah Bonthron were taking a tour of Belfast City Hall.

The pair from Toronto were particularly impressed with the regeneration of the Waterfront area.

Said Deborah: “We like Belfast. We are here for eight days and thought we would get to see a bit more, but we like Belfast so much, we are so impressed with it, we want to stay here longer and do all the tours.

“My grandmother was from the Templemore Avenue area of east Belfast and her two brothers were riveters on the Titanic which is exciting.

“We took the Titanic Trail which is a really neat audio visual tour that was only £10 for two - it was a really good deal.

“We are having a great time.”

German backpackers Katharina Von Sohlern and Tobias Bottger both 19, were on a whistle-stop visit. The Munich duo said they would liked to have stayed longer in Belfast.

“We have a good impression of the city so far.

“We are only here for five hours and will be getting the boat to Stranraer, but we have a good impression. It is a very beautiful city.”

Andre and Myrene Delas from La Cote St Andre in France were also visiting Belfast for the first time and gave the city 10 out of 10.

Spanish couple Joseph and Briginia Johnston said Belfast was a “beautiful place”.

“It is a nice city, we are here for one week. We think it is beautiful,” said Joseph.

Mark and Zoe Bailey were visiting Belfast for the first time from England and also had a good first impression.

“It is bigger than I thought. We haven’t seen too much of it yet but we like what we see. We probably would come back,” said Mark.

Londoner Heather Loving took her five children to Belfast for the day.

She said: “We are staying in Dumfries in Scotland and thought we would take a day trip to Belfast. I have never been here before.

“I am impressed so far, I am just looking for all the designer shops that they keep telling me about.”

Lisa McMurray, director of communications at the BVCB said numbers of tourists topped a million last year.

“In 1994 we had 200,000 staying tourists in Northern Ireland. In 2005 there were over one million. I think the figures speak for themselves. They come to see Belfast - to take tours of the city and for the nightlife.

“They also use Belfast as a gateway to explore other parts of the province including the Causeway and other parts of the north of Ireland.”

Meanwhile, July was the busiest month at the BVCB’s Donegall Place outlet.

Staff dealt with 41,500 enquiries - up 26,500 since 2001 when the Welcome Centre first opened its doors and a 5% rise on last year. And Thursday, July 20, was the busiest ever with 2,300 visitors through the door.

The positive news comes on the back of a National Lottery survey which said people living in Belfast were more satisfied with life and more hopeful than in other UK cities.

Another survey revealed that the quality of life was better in Belfast than the rest of Britain.

Daily Ireland

SF accuse SDLP of ‘obsessive attacks’ on all things republican

By Ciaran O’Neill
18/08/2006

The political temperature in the North rose significantly yesterday, as the SDLP and Sinn Féin launched vicious attacks on each other.
The quiet political summer season ended as Sinn Féin accused the SDLP of ‘obsessive attacks’ on republicans and of aligning itself with the DUP on a number of issues.
However, in response, the SDLP claimed that Sinn Féin had walked ‘themselves into trouble’ in the political process and was now ‘lashing out like a wounded animal’.
The parties traded insults as the focus remained on the November 24 deadline set by the Irish and British governments for the restoration of devolution in the North.
Sinn Féin Assembly Group Leader John O’Dowd said it was important that pressure was maintained on the DUP to end their ‘rejectionist position’ and embrace the political institutions laid out in the Good Friday Agreement.
“Instead, the leadership of the SDLP currently find themselves aligned with Ian Paisley on many key issues, on policing, criminal justice, Community Restorative Justice, 28 day detention without trial, MI5 phone-taps, reform of local government and the maintenance of MLAs salaries,” he said.
“In recent days senior SDLP members have joined the DUP in disgraceful attacks on the GAA.
“Instead of joining with Sinn Féin in demanding the maximum change, the SDLP is engaged in obsessive attacks on all things republican, attacks which are music to the ears of the DUP.”
Mr O’Dowd said his party would not be ‘bullied’ by the DUP.
“We will continue to demand the maximum change, proper policing and to drive forward the all-Ireland agenda. Unlike the SDLP, our focus is on defending the Good Friday Agreement against DUP rejectionism.”
However, SDLP Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly claimed Sinn Féin’s ‘failed negotiating techniques’ played into the hands of the DUP.
She said: “Every time Sinn Féin walk themselves into trouble, they lash out at the SDLP while in the same breath they demand that we save their hide once again.
“John O’Dowd’s latest rant plays fast and loose with the truth and the facts on who is protecting the Good Friday Agreement.
“The DUP rejectionists have got the upper hand because Sinn Féin gave it to them.
“In 2004 Sinn Féin aligned themselves with the DUP and signed up to the so-called Comprehensive Agreement which gave the DUP extensive vetoes on nationalist ministers and opened the way to a Shadow Assembly. Gerry Adams called it a good deal and a job well done. It was neither, and now nationalists are paying the price for their negotiating failure.”
Mrs Kelly said the SDLP had rejected the ‘Sinn Féin/DUP deal’ and continued to reject it.
“We will not accept the watering down of essential protections in the Good Friday Agreement to suit any party. Instead of lashing out like a wounded animal, Sinn Féin should focus on what it could do to move things forward, starting with signing up fully for a lawful society.”

Daily Ireland

By Connla Young
18/08/2006

The family of an unarmed civilian shot dead by the PSNI has reacted angrily to news that one of the officers involved intended to claim compensation for injuries allegedly received.
Neil McConville was shot at close range near Lisburn in Co Antrim on April 29, 2003. He died later in the back of a PSNI vehicle. A report by Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan into the incident, to be published later this year, is expected to be critical of the PSNI.
Barry McConville, the dead man’s uncle, said the family was stunned when a solicitor acting for one of the police officers involved in the PSNI operation requested Neil McConville’s insurance details.
It is understood the officer intends to seek compensation for injuries he claims to have received after the PSNI rammed a car in which Neil McConville and another man were travelling.
“This officer was involved in the incident and now he has the audacity to say to us that he was injured during this incident,” said Barry McConville.
“The Police Ombudsman hasn’t even published her report yet. To us, this is sheer hypocrisy and breathtaking audacity.”
Mark Thompson of the campaign group Relatives for Justice, which has campaigned on behalf of the McConville family, said he was disgusted at the compensation development.
Last night, the family’s solicitor Kevin Winters said: “Neil’s mother was shocked to receive such a request this morning.
“She’s fighting a grave injustice and, to quote her, ‘this is adding insult to injury.’”

Belfast Telegraph

By Nigel Gould
18 August 2006

Dozens of Ulster patients suffering from an incurable cancer linked to asbestos exposure could be deprived of a new life-giving drug because English medical chiefs have ruled it too expensive, it can be revealed today.

The drug, Alimta, is believed to extend the life of a mesothelioma sufferer by up to four months.

But it is not a cure.

The drug has been available on the NHS in Scotland since July last year after being approved by experts at the Scottish Medicines Authority.

But the medical authority in England and Wales, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), ruled that the drug was not cost effective.

At the moment, there is no equivalent body in Northern Ireland - but just last month our Department of Health established a formal link with NICE.

Now, health chiefs here will adopt a wait-and-see approach over the drug’s use in Ulster.

Mesothelioma, which usually kills within a year of diagnosis, is mainly caused by fibres of asbestos that damage the lungs.

It is found in clusters where asbestos was used most widely, and that means places like the shipbuilding industry.

Former mayoress of Derry City Council, Mary Carlin, whose husband Tony died from mesothelioma three years ago at the age of 56, today described NICE’s decision as a “disgrace”.

“Are people going to die sooner to save money?”, she said.

“We would have jumped at the chance if this would have been around for Tony. We had been advised against an operation but anything in tablet form, we would have gone for it.

“People will look at this and say anything is better than nothing.

“It is a horrendous illness.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said final guidance from NICE for the use of the drug would not be published for a few months.

The health spokeswoman said: “NICE is carrying out a technology appraisal of the drug pemetrexed disodium (brand name Alimta) for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma (a form of asbestosis).

“The institute produced its Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending that this medicine should not be used for the treatment of this condition on the grounds of clinical and cost-effectiveness.

NICE intends to publish its final guidance on this drug in October.

“The department established a formal link with NICE in July 2006 and under this link will assess all of the institute’s guidance currently in development for its applicability to NI and will advise the Health and Personal Social Services accordingly.

“We have asked the NI Cancer Network (NICAN) to comment on any potential contextual difference in NI that might mean that the NICE guidance is either less applicable or not applicable in the NI context.

“The network’s comments will inform the department’s decision on whether to endorse this particular technology appraisal for implementation in the HPSS.”

But a spokeswoman for Lily UK, which manufacturers Alimta, said it would be appealing the decision.

“NICE’s current position is a major blow for patients with mesothelioma many of whom were unwittingly exposed to asbestos in their working lives making submarines, ships, boilers, and trains,” she said.

In January last year, Dr Ken O’Byrne, consultant oncologist at St James’s Hospital and chairman of the British Thoracic Oncology Group, warned in Dublin that mesothelioma was increasing rapidly in Ireland and had yet to peak.

An estimated 80-100 victims die from asbestos-related illnesses in Ulster every year.

Admissions to Ulster hospitals from such conditions have nearly trebled in just 10 years.

Could you benefit from Alimta? Please phone Nigel Gould on 028 90 264425 or e-mail ngould@belfasttelegraph.co.uk

BBC

The family of a murdered County Donegal teenager has said they have waited 33 years to find out who killed him.

Henry Cunningham was shot dead (Picture from Irish News)

Henry Cunningham, 16, was shot in a motorway ambush as he travelled home from work outside Belfast.

His brother, Robert, said the PSNI Historical Enquiries Team have told them the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force was responsible.

He claimed the police knew at the time. “We knew the area that it happened in, it had to be loyalists,” he said.

Mr Cunningham added: “They picked up five men. One of them was carrying a gun, and it was the gun that murdered Henry.

“That’s what they told us. Five years down the road, in ‘78, they picked up two boys and questioned them and they opened the files and checked the files.

“That was the first time we knew this, 33 years later. They also told us, as well, they said they didn’t know who was behind it, until the 16th of August, that year in ‘73.

“We now feel that’s not right, they knew that evening. But we didn’t know where we were.”

Unsolved killings

The teenager had been travelling home from work in Glengormley on 9 August 1973 when the van he was in with three of his brothers and his brother-in-law was ambushed.

The shooting happened at Dunwilly Bridge, near Templepatrick, on the M2.

The murder is now one of the cases being looked at by the Historical Enquiries Team, which was set up to examine unsolved killings during Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

Its function is to assist families with any unanswered questions, and to ensure that all remaining investigative opportunities are examined and fully exploited.

Mr Cunnningham told the Irish News newspaper that the Irish government “did not inquire” into the teenager’s murder despite the family’s pleas for help.

“They (Historical Enquiries Team) told us that our government made no effort to look into it,” he said.

Guardian

· Hardliners blamed for attack at Unionist’s home
· Device made safe by army bomb disposal experts

Owen Bowcott, Ireland correspondent
Thursday August 17, 2006

The discovery of a partially detonated 70lb bomb in a house being built for the Ulster Unionist peer Lord Ballyedmond was blamed yesterday on dissident republican groups intent on launching a fresh campaign of terror.

The incident followed the Real IRA’s claim of responsibility last week for fires in retail stores in Newry, County Down, and explosions on the nearby Belfast-Dublin railway line. More than £10m damage was caused.

In this week’s attack on Lord Ballyedmond’s house near Hackballscross, Co Louth, the detonator on the bomb, packed in a natural gas cylinder, exploded but failed to set off the main charge. Irish army bomb disposal experts eventually made it safe.

It is not clear why the peer, better known as the industrialist Edward Haughey, was targeted. He is understood to have told police he had not received any threats recently. Most recent attacks by dissidents have either been intercepted by the security forces or failed through technical incompetence.

But the latest activity suggests those opposed to the Provisional IRA ceasefire and the Good Friday agreement are becoming more organised. Dissatisfaction in republican ranks is alleged to have led to members of the South Derry brigade breaking away from the Provisionals last month, according to dissident sources. Dissident activity declined after the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst atrocity of the Troubles which claimed 29 lives.

But tensions have persisted. Dissident republicans accuse Sinn Féin of making too many compromises and abandoning the armed struggle without securing a united Ireland or the promise of British withdrawal. The families of several hunger strikers who died in the H-blocks in 1981 have sought to distance themselves from the mainstream republican movement. This week the families of Patsy O’Hara and Michael Devine, Irish National Liberation Army (Inla) hunger strikers, protested about Sinn Féin’s involvement in commemorations.

The breakaway Provisionals in South Derry are reported to have been in contact with the Inla which opposes the peace process. A bomb left in Bellaghy, Co Derry, in July supposedly signalled their intent to target the security forces. Police confirmed the device was viable and packed with nails.

Earlier in the summer the security forces scored significant successes against dissidents, arresting suspects in counties Fermanagh and Tyrone, Spain and France. Those detained near Malaga were alleged to have been smuggling tobacco to fund the Real IRA.

The Continuity IRA (Cira) - another dissident group - and the Real IRA remain determined to recruit a new generation to the armed struggle against the British presence in Northern Ireland. The seizure by police of a 250lb fertiliser-based bomb from a scrap yard beside the Kilwilkie estate, Lurgan, Co Armagh, in late April revived fears about the Cira’s ambitions.

But the scale of the threat remains unclear. Ireland’s justice minister, Michael McDowell, has estimated that the Cira and the Real IRA, have as many as 200 active members each.

The threat has led to resentment among mainstream republican supporters. The fact that so many dissident operations have been intercepted or disrupted suggests there may be a greater willingness in the nationalist and mainstream republican communities to provide information to the security forces.

“Join the Cira” slogans appear on the Falls Road in Belfast near the offices of Republican Sinn Féin (RSF), the political wing of the dissident republican faction. The main Sinn Féin movement characterises it as “one of the republican micro-organisations … opposed to the Good Friday agreement [with] little or no support within the community”.

Ruari O’Bradaigh, the party’s spokesman, told the Guardian earlier this summer that his organisation was attracting “younger people who had not been previously involved” in politics. “I know we are called dissident republicans,” he said, “but to be logical it’s the Provisionals who are dissenting from the traditional republican position.”

Backstory

Lord Ballyedmond, the Ulster Unionist peer better known as the industrialist Edward Haughey, is the first person to have sat in both the Lords and Irish Senate.

With an estimated wealth of £350m, the 62-year-old is one of the richest business people in Northern Ireland. His pharmaceuticals firm, Norbrook Laboratories, in Newry, employs 1,000 people. As well as owning Ballyedmond Castle, in Co Down, he also has Corby Castle, in Cumbria. He runs a helicopter charter firm and controls Carlisle airport.

Unusual in being a southern-educated Catholic and backing the unionists, he was appointed honorary chair of the Ulster Unionist party. He has worked for north/south cooperation, and is a member of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation. He participates in the British-Irish interparliamentary body. In 2001 he gave the Tories £1m.

BBC

How the Maze site could look under the new proposals

A £10m conflict resolution centre and museum should be built on the site of the former Maze prison in County Antrim, Sinn Fein has said.

Launching its proposals for the project, the party insisted it would not be a shrine to republicans.

The government’s proposals for the 360 acre site near Lisburn include a multi-sports stadium and “centre for conflict transformation”.

A competition has been launched to build the 42,000-seater stadium.

Sinn Fein said it wanted some prison walls, watchtowers and H-block prison wings retained.

It also urged the prison hospital, where 10 IRA and INLA hunger strikers died in 1981, to be preserved.

‘Loyalist inmates’

Speaking on Wednesday, Sinn Fein’s Paul Butler said: “We repeatedly are on record as saying it should not be a shrine to any of the hunger strikers or any individual.

“The history of republicanism has to be told, their history, the history of imprisonment.

“But nowhere in this document is it proposed that it’s going to be a shrine to anyone.”

One of the notorious H-blocks would be retained if the plan goes ahead

Mr Butler, a member of the Maze/Long Kesh Monitoring Group, said it was important that the experiences of loyalist inmates and prison officers should be also be preserved.

The sports stadium is the main element of the government’s plan, but part of the prison will be retained for the conflict transformation centre.

However, a final decision on the plans could still be more than a year away.

As well as an outdoor stadium the plan also features an indoor stadium, a hotel, equestrian arena and land for housing and industry.

The minister responsible for the regeneration of the Maze site, David Hanson, said the monitoring group had endorsed the appointment of Deloitte Touche to undertake the preparation of a business plan for the international centre for conflict transformation.

Mr Hanson, said he would not rule out the possibility of the new stadium being used for events like the weekend hunger strike commemoration at Casement Park.

His comments followed the Sports Council’s call for an urgent meeting with GAA officials over the controversial rally, because the west Belfast ground received significant lottery funding.

PricewaterhouseCoopers are to conclude a business plan for the multi-sports stadium, and RPS is to advise on site preparation, planning application preparation, transport assessment and design and environmental studies, he said.

Mr Hanson also confirmed that a separate announcement would be made shortly regarding the stadium design competition.

Irelandclick

By Francesca Ryan

A GAA investigation into why last Sunday’s hunger strike commemoration rally was held at Casement Park has been slammed by a former blanketman.

Over 30,000 people from across the country and beyond flocked to West Belfast for the event organised by the National Hunger Strike Commemoration Committee (NHSCC).

The GAA Central Council, based at Croke Park, had prohibited the use of the grounds , however the Antrim County Board which runs the stadium decided to allow the organiers the use of the ground.

West Belfast man Jake Mac Siacais, who spent four years on the blanket protest in the late 1970s, said the GAA should have made their reservations clear when the NHSCC made its application to hold the rally some six months ago.

“We applied for permission to hold the event six months ago and if they had a problem with it, the matter should have been addressed when they received the application, not two weeks before the event.

“The only reason they had a problem with it was because of comments made in other newspapers.”

Mr Mac Siacais also questioned whether the GAA would be considering changing any other seemingly political links with their organisation, starting with the Andersonstown GAA park’s name.

“What will the next move be by the GAA Central Council?

“Are they going to allow unreconstructed unionists and right-wing nationalist politicians to push for a campaign to rename Casement Park because they find it unrepresentative of their opinion or because he was a political figure?
“I’m sure Roger Casement would have had no problem with Sunday’s hunger strike rally.

“This was a national event, non-party political and a reflection of the cultural identity of people on this island.”

John McSparran, head of the County Antrim Board of the GAA, said the final decision from Central Council came too close to the date of the rally.
“The decision was taken within two weeks of the rally going to happen,” said John McSparran.

“We raised this issue with Central Council as far back as February and we are upset that it took so long for the decision to come out.”

Journalist:: Francesca Ryan

Irelandclick

By Francesca Ryan

Woodbourne barracks underwent something of a facelift yesterday as workmen set about removing the iron grids and stone bollards that have fortified the barracks since its erection in early 1970s.

In recent months work to demilitarise the barracks has continued including the dismantling of the spy post that cast an intrusive eye over West Belfast for several decades.

However, the PSNI claimed yesterday’s that fencing was being removed to deter youths from attacking the barracks.

“Some fencing is being removed from Woodbourne,” said a PSNI spokesperson.

“In the past, youths have scaled this fencing in order to erect flags or attack the station with stones.

“Fencing is being dismantled in order to stop this highly dangerous practice.”
However, the work was welcomed by a local Sinn Féin councillor who said any demilitarisation at the barracks was welcome.

“Woodbourne barracks is an installation that belongs in the past,” said Councillor Gerard O’Neill.

“It is a heavily fortified RUC barracks that has no place in modern day West Belfast.

“The barracks has more of a token presence than anything else.

“In recent months much of the military trappings have been removed from the barracks and we will continue to press for the removal of the barracks in its entirety in the near future.

“The PSNI can call it what they like but as far as we are concerned, the dismantling of the barracks in any way, shape or form is something that has to be welcomed.”

Journalist:: Francesca Ryan

Belfast Telegraph

By Lisa Smyth
17 August 2006

The parents of murdered Megan McAlorum last night pledged their support to the desperate campaign to locate the remains of missing Lisa Dorrian.

Following an emotionally charged meeting between the families of Lisa and Megan on Tuesday, Margaret McAlorum called for information which could lead to the retrieval of the Bangor woman’s body to be passed to police - allowing her devastated family to finally lay her to rest.

It is now 18 months since the 25-year-old shop worker disappeared after a party at a caravan site in Ballyhalbert, Co Down.

Mrs McAlorum, whose 16-year-old daughter Megan was raped and battered to death by Thomas Purcell, said having a grave to visit is a crucial part of the grieving process.

“It’s nice to have somewhere to visit and put flowers but to be honest, we would go to the place where Megan was murdered more often because I really feel a connection with her when I’m there.

“I just hope that the Dorrians get Lisa back. They are such lovely people and we’re all Christians and all we want to do is be able to bury our children with a bit of dignity.”

Adding her support to the McAlorum’s campaign for Purcell to be kept behind bars for life, Lisa’s sister, Joanne, said both families had found the meeting extremely beneficial.

“Megan has sisters who are about the same age as we are and it is brilliant for mum to know that she’s not alone. It was brilliant and we can’t wait to meet up again,” she said.

“After initially speaking about what we had been through, we were able to talk about the real people, the real Lisa and the real Megan and we gave each other framed photographs and we now have the picture of Megan on the wall beside Lisa.

“We’re completely shocked at the sentence Megan’s killer was given and we will do anything we can to help their campaign to get justice.”

Belfast Telegraph

By Chris Thornton
17 August 2006

The warm-up act for the return of devolution tackled policing yesterday - but the DUP and Sinn Fein remained at odds over when local politicians would be ready to take charge of the issue.

In spite of a claim that there was “considerable progress” in yesterday’s meeting of the Preparation for Government committee, the leading parties accused each other of obstructing a settlement.

The Assembly committee, which was set up to deal with issues that might be part of a settlement, has met three days a week over the summer recess.

Yesterday the committee talked about the circumstances in which policing and justice would be devolved to a local Executive - a key Sinn Fein demand.

Sinn Fein policing spokesman Gerry Kelly said the DUP was standing in the way the power transfer.

“We have reached agreement on the vast majority of issues that should be transferred,” Mr Kelly said.

“The key outstanding matter is the timeframe for the transfer of these powers and, crucially, the restoration of the political

institutions to allow this to happen. The only obstacle to achieving this is the DUP.”

But DUP Policing Board member Arlene Foster said: “The DUP has consistently argued that it is the total acceptance of the rule of law that is necessary rather than any cosmetic gesture or the mere taking of seats on any specific body.

“Furthermore, there must be a willingness to encourage all members and supporters to report all crime and the police.”

She criticised Secretary of State Peter Hain for refusing to appear before the committee to discuss his views on policing.

Last month, Mr Hain suggested Sinn Fein could provide practical support for policing without accepting the constitutional basis for it.

“It is regrettable that as the parties meet over the summer to elucidate issues, the Secretary of State cannot find the time to attend once, despite being given flexibility over dates,” she said.

Mr Hain has agreed in principle to allow Ministers to appear before the committee. But officials say he made it clear that the committee exists to sort out problems between the parties - not to question the Government about policy.