SAOIRSE32

By Noel McAdam
Belfast Telegraph
Friday 20, June 2008

Sinn Fein today dismissed reports that Education Minister Caitriona Ruane is facing the axe as “total nonsense”.

Reports today speculated that Ms Ruane could be moved and replaced by her party colleague Martina Anderson. But a senior party spokesman said: ” This is total nonsense from the paper.”

While the DUP recently revamped its Executive Ministerial team, following the election of Peter Robinson as new party leader, Sinn Fein has signalled it was not planning a reshuffle.

Ms Anderson said: “The job is not on my radar. I have only recently been made an MLA and I’m working hard on policing although I do have a great interest in education.”

By Maureen Coleman
Belfast Telegraph
Friday 20, June 2008

Belfast’s Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Tom Hartley is to lay a wreath in memory of Battle of the Somme victims at the City Hall next month.

Mr Hartley, who has visited the Somme in northern France where around 50,000 Irish soldiers from both sides of the border died during World War One, said the wreath laying was “appropriate” for him as the mayor of Belfast.

And he said the council must lead the way in creating an act of remembrance to honour all those who had died as a result of war and conflict.

Mr Hartley also said the wreath laying at the Cenotaph on July 1 would consolidate and build upon initiatives taken by Alex Maskey when he was Mayor and Joe O’Donnell as Deputy Mayor, whom he said had reached out to the unionist and Protestant people of Belfast.

“I believe this level of direct participation to mark the Somme anniversary is appropriate for me as mayor of Belfast,” he said. ” It clearly shows that republicans are committed to engaging with the unionist and Protestant people and that we are prepared to meet them on common ground no matter how difficult it is for us as republicans to do so.

“This is what making peace is all about. I am keen to show the continued commitment that republicans in this city have to building bridges into the unionist and Protestant community.”

BBC
20 June 2008

One of the most contentious parades of the marching season has passed off without incident.

There was a large police presence at the Tour of the North parade, which has seen violent clashes in the past.

A deal between residents and organisers meant the parade’s return leg did not pass the Ardoyne shops flashpoint.

Police seized more than 500 bottles and cans of alcohol from bystanders as part of a wider operation aimed at tackling street drinking at public events.

Chief Superintendent Gary White said it had been a very peaceful parade.

“This was the result of communities coming together, engaging in dialogue and finding local accommodation to local issues,” he said.

BBC

The month-long trial of three men in connection with the murder of Robert McCartney has come to an end.

Mr McCartney was killed outside Magennis’s bar

The trial judge at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Gillen, said he will announce his ruling “in the not too distant future.”

Terence Davison, 51, of Stanfield Place, Belfast, denies murder.

Mr Davison is also accused of affray, as are James McCormick, 39, and Joseph Gerard Emmanuel Fitzpatrick, 47. They deny the charges.

Mr McCartney, 33, was beaten and stabbed to death outside a bar on 30 January 2005. Brendan Devine, a close friend of Mr McCartney, was also stabbed.

After hearing closing arguments made by the prosecution and the defence, the judge said he would “have to spend some time reflecting on it before I reach my final conclusion”.

Prosecutor Ciaran Murphy QC told Mr Justice Gillen the evidence before the court was sufficient to prove the charges “beyond reasonable doubt”.

He also said the case was one where “inferences could properly be drawn” by the refusal of all three defendants to give evidence at the hearing.

Defence barrister Orlando Pownall said the “extraordinarily diverse” evidence of the three main Crown witnesses “exposed the shortcomings” in the prosecution case.

Speaking on the final day of the trial, Mr McCartney’s sister, Paula, said listening to the evidence of her brother’s murder has been “horrendous.”

“It has been very very difficult for us, especially listening to the brutality that Robert suffered,” she said.

“It’s been very draining and very distressing as anyone who has lost a loved one in this way will know.

“It was horrendous. When they were talking about the injuries he sustained it was hard to listen to.

“What we want now is justice for Robert.”

By Edel Kennedy
Independent.ie
Friday June 20 2008

**See New Ballymun - Regeneration and Demolition
and Ballymun Regeneration Ltd.

________________________________________________

LIKE Irish Rail they’re getting there, but aren’t quite there yet.

Eleven years after the beginning of the regeneration of Ballymun, work is continuing on the rehousing of more than 2,200 families in the north Dublin area.

Photo from ballymun-nc.ie

At the launch of the Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) completion report yesterday, contracts manager Eamon Farrelly admitted that things have taken longer and been more expensive than envisaged.

Much of this overrun was due to moving services to the new homes.

But he said the long-term benefits to the community and the Exchequer will mean it is time and money well spent. In 1999 the estimated cost of the project was €442m, but this has now soared to €942m. Of this, €290m is due to inflation.

“In the end there will be a reduced cost to the Exchequer because there will be reduced costs in such areas as health and maintenance of the housing,” he said.

To date, 14 of the original 36 towers and blocks of apartments have been demolished, with a further eight due to be demolished by the end of the year. Just under 1,400 new homes are now occupied with another 800 families still living in the flats and waiting to be rehoused.

Lead architect Derry Solon said they have created five distinct neighbourhoods and will be building a town centre.

“We wanted to create streets rather than just open anonymous spaces,” he said.

“We will end up with streets with names rather than places with no names.”

Linda Brogan (37), the most recent resident to take possession of a three-bed home, said she never thought this day would come. She had lived in Ballymun flats for 16 years with her sons Lee (18) and Joe (17).

“I never thought when they were talking about the regeneration programme that I would actually be living in a house some day,” she said.

Although the programme was due to finish in 2006, work will continue until 2012.

BBC

A new mural featuring the Nobel laureate John Hume has been unveiled in the Bogside area of Derry.

The finishing touches are added to the Bogside’s newest mural

The painting by the Bogside Artists also includes images of Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa.

The mural, on Rossville Street, was unveiled on Friday by the retired Bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly.

It is to be the last in the ‘People’s Gallery’, which also includes murals of Bloody Sunday and the hunger strikes.

John Hume said he was “honoured”.

“I am especially honoured to be present along with Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela.

“The Bogside is where my roots are - my mother was born in the old streets along here - and it’s an area I know very well.

“I didn’t ever expect to be here, but I’m very honoured,” he said.

The retired Bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly, said Mr Hume was a worthy inclusion in the People’s Gallery.

“These are four Nobel peace prize winners, and they’re all very distinguished in their own particular situation.

“They always championed the little people,” he said.

Positive influence

Unveiling the mural, Dr Daly said Mr Hume had significantly influenced life in the city.

“He was a positive, constructive influence on almost everything that happened in Derry in the last 50 years,” he said.

“The credit union in Derry, the Derry Housing Action Committee, the Northern Ireland Civil Righs Movement, down to his work on the Sunningdale Agreement and the Good Friday Agreement - his fingerprints are there for all to see.

“His contribution to political and social life here cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Between 15 and 20 people in Derry have been told by police over the past six months their lives are under threat from paramilitaries.

Chief Inspector Chris Yates said up to 20 death threats have been issued

The city’s most senior policeman, Chief Inspector Chris Yates, said there had been a recent increase in the number of threats.

Last weekend four men in Derry received death threats which are believed to have come from dissident republicans.

Chief Inspector Yates said such threats “were taken extremely seriously”.

“Obviously we can’t discuss the personal safety of an individual, and we can’t discuss individual cases, but the decision to issue a personal threat notice is taken by a very senior officer,” he said.

Meanwhile, the grandmother of one of the men who was issued with a death threat at the weekend has said her grandson is willing to face his accusers.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, said he wanted the opportunity to clear his name.

“My grandson has been accused of attacking someone,” she said.

“He got a letter from the police to say that his life was under threat and that he had 48 hours to get out or they’d shoot him on the spot.

“In the meantime, my grandson is trying to check out who is saying this about him.

“He’s willing to come and face whoever he has to face because he can say where he was, he was out of town, and he has witnesses to say he was out of town,” she said.

The threat was made through Father Joe Gormley from St Brigid’s Church in Carnhill, who passed it on to the police.