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Cash machine thieves leave Ballygawley bereft of bank 
News 20/11/09
Ballygawley’s only bank has been forced to close after a cash machine ram-raid which demolished part of the building. Customers living in the Co Tyrone village must now travel several miles to use another machine. A spokesman for Northern Bank last night said...
Written-off student loans soar by 1,840%
News 20/11/09THE amount of student loans being written off has risen almost twenty-fold over the past
decade. The amount of debt wiped out in Northern Ireland last year totalled £815,000. This is a staggering jump from 10 years ago, when the Student Loans Company cancelled...
Secrets sown in soil
News 20/11/09The hidden history of Belfast has been told through the trees that line the city’s streets and populate forest parks. Ben Simon, author of a lavishly illustrated new book If Trees Could Talk, says the city’s greenery holds many secrets but most people...
Loyalist accused of further sex offences
Politics 20/11/09A high-profile loyalist accused of raping a 13-year-old girl is being investigated for further alleged offences against two other potential victims – one of them a boy aged 12, the High Court has heard. Mark Harbinson, a prominent Orangeman during the Drumcree marching stand-off, faces a number of child sex charges following the...
Still no photo of 4th abductor
News 20/11/09POLICE have again refused to release a picture, or even a description, of the only IRA kidnapper still on the run three-and-a-half years after he and his accomplices jumped bail. Liam Rainey (35), of New Barnsley Crescent, Belfast, was one of four men who abducted dissident republican Bobby Tohill from a bar in February 2004.
IRA man stayed ‘below the radar’
News 20/11/09IRA man Harry Fitzsimmons managed to remain below the radar in Dundalk before his arrest by a specialised Garda unit in a swoop operation last week. Acting on intelligence, Dublin-based detectives from the force’s Extradition Unit travelled to the Co Louth town on Tuesday...
Hand of fate will always dictate who losers are
News 20/11/09SPORTSMEN and women are by their nature a competitive lot but sometimes that will to win can spill over into illegal activity. The Republic of Ireland team – and their devastated fans – feel they were cheated out of a potential World Cup place...
Mortar bomb ‘was meant to kill police’
News 20/11/09A MORTAR bomb found in Armagh was designed to kill police, a senior PSNI officer has said. Bomb-disposal experts were called in to deal with the bomb on the Friary Road after a member of the public told police about the suspicious device on Wednesday night.
Belgian PM named first president of Europe
News 20/11/09Belgian prime minister Herman van Rompuy was last night named as the first president of the European Union. British Labour peer Baroness Ashton was appointed as the union’s first foreign minister. The two low-key candidates were proposed by Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
Meltdown warning if new education body not set up
News 20/11/09Failure to establish a new education body by the turn of year could cause a meltdown in services, it has been claimed. The Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is due to be in place by January 1 but this is looking increasingly unlikely. Executive ministers met yesterday but once again failed to discuss...
Councillor to be MLA
News 20/11/09Coleraine councillor Billy Leonard has been co-opted to become a Sinn Fein assembly member for East Derry. Mr Leonard, a former Orangeman, RUC reservist and member of the SDLP, was selected at a meeting...
Children up to five to get jab
News 20/11/09CHILDREN between the ages of six months and five years are to be vaccinated against swine flu, health officials have confirmed. The health department said it intended to begin rolling out the programme by the middle of next month.
MPs back campaign to stop cuts to Radio Foyle
News 20/11/09Three north-west MPs have joined a campaign to reverse a BBC decision to impose cuts at the Derry-based Radio Foyle station. Last month it was announced that Radio Foyle’s broadcast hours were to be cut substantially and many key presenters dumped.
ATM torn from bank wall as spate of cash raids continues
News 20/11/09POLICE last night admitted that they still have not made a single arrest in connection with the recent spate of cash machine thefts, after thieves struck once again in Co Tyrone. The latest raid in Ballygawley has forced the closure of the village’s only bank with customers now having to...
‘Unionism winning’ claims DUP document
News 20/11/09THE DUP was right to agree to power sharing in 2007 because “for the first time in a generation unionism is winning”, party leader Peter Robinson has claimed. Unionism has not had such control over its future since before 1972, according to a new DUP policy document.
Boundary change could create ‘financial black hole’
News 20/11/09Proposals that would place Belfast’s Forestside shopping centre outside the city’s new boundary would leave a “black hole” in the council’s finances, according to an SDLP representative, writes John Manley. While the Boundaries Commission recommended placing Forestside within the redrawn Belfast city limits, environment...
Publish clerical abuse report demand
News 20/11/09Victims of clerical abuse last night demanded a damning report on child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese be published within the next week. A High Court judge has given the go-ahead for its release but ruled that any reference to a priest who is facing criminal...
Porter who had tens of thousands of child porn images jailed
News 20/11/09A CO Antrim hotel porter who admitted having tens of thousands of images of child pornography was jailed for 18 months yesterday. Christopher Duncan Gerard O’Neill, from Ballycastle, was also banned from using the internet, from ever owning a...
Party calls for PPS oversight by Policing Board-style body
News 20/11/09THE SDLP has proposed political oversight of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) as part of “deep reform” of the organisation. It called for a Policing Board-style body to oversee the work of the PPS, which makes decisions on all criminal prosecutions in Northern Ireland.
Thug’s bike robbery ‘an ad for CCTV’
News 20/11/09AROBBER who punched a man in the face before stealing his bicycle in what was described as an advert for CCTV systems was yesterday jailed for 18 months. Shaven-headed and heavily built Ryan Douglas was walking along Clifton Street at the bridge over the...
Irish army called out to assist flood-hit region
News 20/11/09THE Irish army was called out to distribute sandbags last night after many areas in the south and west of the Republic were hit by flooding. Soldiers were called out to fight floodwaters in Ennis in Co Clare, Bantry and Clonakilty in Co Cork, Clonmel in Co...
Classic renditions make for memorable concert
News 20/11/09GEORGE Frideric Handel was born in1685 in Halle, Germany, and grew into one of the great composers of all times. He wrote his Water Music, always a favourite, in 1717, after he had spent time in different countries and was living in London. Many folk would listen to this music at home, enjoying it in the background but then going...
Abuse report bill may hit E130m
News 20/11/09THE final bill for the inquiry that exposed the widespread abuse and neglect suffered by children in state-funded institutions in the Republic is expected to run to around E130 million. The Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee heard yesterday that the final cost...
Police believe sea eagle found in Lough Neagh was shot
News 20/11/09A SEA eagle found floating in Lough Neagh was shot, police suspect. The PSNI has confirmed it is investigating the death of the white-tailed eagle last month. Dozens of sea eagles were released into Killarney National Park in Co Kerry two years ago as part of a reintroduction programme and several of...
Derry civil rights campaigner to be laid to rest today
News 20/11/09THE funeral takes place today of veteran civil rights’ campaigner Willie Breslin. Mr Breslin (69), from Derry, was a key figure in the civil rights movement in the city in the 1960s. He died at his home at Troy Park in the city on Tuesday night following a long illness.
Free city parking scheme
News 20/11/09SHOPPERS can take advantage of free on-street parking in some areas of Belfast city centre in the run up to Christmas. Free parking is available between Monday November 23 and Saturday December 26 after 4.30pm in around 330...
Hospital official recalls office row
News 20/11/09A SENIOR hospital official has told of the row that flared in his office between a doctor and woman suing over her husband’s subsequent death. Dr Ian Carson, former medical director at the Royal Group of Hospitals, spoke of a “very tense and heated 15 minutes” during which Bernie Magill alleged that Dr John Collins went to strike her.
Deep sleep may improve memory scientists claim
News 20/11/09Sleeping on it may be good advice for anyone trying to remember a new skill, research suggests. Scientists conducted an experiment in which sleeping volunteers were played sounds associated with a memorised task. When they awoke, they performed better...
Schools obliged to teach evolution
Politics 20/11/09Primary-school pupils will receive compulsory lessons in evolution and British history, Britain’s children’s secretary Ed Balls said yesterday. Schools in England and Wales will be legally required to teach Darwin’s theory about the origins of species in science lessons...
Review planned after mum convicted
News 20/11/09A council is to review social workers’ involvement with a woman convicted of cruelty and neglect.
Cambridgeshire County Council said a senior manager would review the case to see if lessons could be learned.
BNP chief in election walkabout
News 20/11/09BNP leader Nick Griffin kicked off his campaign to become an MP yesterday with a walkabout in east London. Mr Griffin, who is challenging government minister Margaret Hodge in Barking at the next general election, handed out flyers and chatted to locals out shopping.
Oil firm’s turnover up but profits fall
News 20/11/09Home heating oil and commercial fuel distribution firm Maxol Direct made a smaller profit on increased turnover last year. Margins in the business remain extremely thin.
Acting masterclass uses Hindsight
News 20/11/09ONE of Belfast’s finest actors, Ciaran Hinds, returns to his home city next week to pass on his acting experience to the next generation of film stars as part of this year’s Cinemagic Festival. Brought up in the Cavehill area of the city, he is best known for his film roles including Munich, In Bruges...
Tohill’s kidnapper faces being extradited
News 19/11/09AN IRA man who went on the run in the Republic while on bail awaiting sentencing for the kidnap of leading dissident Bobby Tohill is facing extradition to the north. Harry Fitzsimmons (40) was arrested in Dundalk, Co Louth, earlier this week.
Brave Republic robbed in World Cup qualifier
News 19/11/09IRELAND were robbed of a World Cup place last night after a blatant handball by Thierry Henry deep in extra time led to the goal that finally ended the hopes of Giovanni Trapattoni’s team. Former Republic international Mark Lawrenson claimed that Henry’s handball, which allowed...
Holy artifact returned to parish after 200 years
News 19/11/09FATHER Feargal McGrady had been praying for a sign at St Patrick’s Church in Derriaghy when he stumbled across the tale of one of Ireland’s most precious relics. “At Lent, with the parish mission, I asked for a sign whether to go ahead with renovations of this church which...
The tradition of venerating saint’s relics in churches
News 19/11/09The practice of venerating the ‘relics’ of saints in churches has a long tradition with evidence of this custom dating to as early as the second century. Such relics are either the physical body parts, clothing and instruments connected with a saint or...
Parents urge killer son to give himself up to police
News 19/11/09THE mother of on-the-run killer Jonathan Neill says she wants him back behind bars for his own safety and appealed for him to hand himself in to police. Josephine Neill’s son was 16 years old when he used a serrated knife to stab his parents’ lodger to death...
Fugitive’s brother key witness in McDaid killing case
News 19/11/09THE older brother of missing murderer Jonathan Neill is a key witness in the sectarian killing of Catholic father-of-four Kevin McDaid. Peter Neill was pictured shortly after the murder last May with blood streaming from a head wound...
Real ghostbuster gives hardline haunting her spirited response
News 19/11/09ALMOST as soon as she begins exploring the old Victorian house, Lorraine Warren senses a “powerful male figure” with a “horrible negative energy”. She feels his presence in the hallway, on the landing, in the attic and claims to see his imposing outline...
Staff told to disengage from new education body set-up
News 19/11/09A LEADING Catholic schools’ organisation has urged its staff to “disengage” from assisting in the creation of a new body designed to take over its main duties. The Education and Skills Authority (ESA), which is designed to streamline bureaucracy, is due to be in...
Pupils must be allowed to study the subjects that interest them: minister
News 19/11/09ALL schoolchildren must be allowed to study subjects that genuinely interest them, education minister Caitriona Ruane has said. Ms Ruane was speaking yesterday as she addressed principals at a seminar highlighting the Together...
Odds fall as phone firm gains access to X Factor
News 19/11/09THE betting odds for Irish twins John and Edward Grimes to win The X Factor have been slashed after a phone company claimed it has developed a number to allow fans in the Republic to cast their votes. Viewers in the Republic have not been able to vote for their favourite acts because...
Vaccine programme may be extended to all north’s pupils
News 19/11/09A MAJOR announcement is expected today on the swine flu vaccination programme. There was speculation that the vaccine might be extended to include the mass inoculation of the north’s 330,000 schoolchildren.
Executive to discuss shake-up
News 19/11/09PLANS for a shake-up of the north’s councils are due to be discussed by the executive today. The number of councils is to be reduced from 26 to 11 as part of plans to save £400 million over the next 25 years.
Mother with flu out of coma
News 19/11/09A CO TYRONE woman who was airlifted to a London hospital after giving birth and becoming seriously ill with swine flu has come out of a coma, her family said yesterday. Shirley Hamilton (36), from Omagh, was transferred to the Royal Brompton in London for specialist...
University in shock after deaths of four students
News 19/11/09Galway’s university community was said to be in “deep shock” last night after four of its students were killed in a car crash. Students at NUI Galway were plunged into mourning after learning that four young women had died and a fifth...
Father criticises junction layout
News 19/11/09THE father of two young girls knocked down by a car in a Co Fermanagh town have appealed for safety to be improved at a mini roundabout. Natasha Reihill (10) and her older sister, Nicole (14), were crossing a busy junction at Main Street...
Poor weather blamed for tragedy
News 19/11/09Poor weather conditions are being blamed for the crash that left four young college students dead and a fifth fighting for her life, writes Valerie Robinson. The N17 between Milltown and Ballandine in Co Galway remained closed for most of yesterday as Garda...
Man killed and 2 people injured
News 19/11/09TWO people were being treated in hospital last night for injuries sustained in an early morning collision in which a man died. The victim, whose name had not been released last night, was killed in the crash on the Shore Road in...
Students’ union reverses Easter lily decision
News 19/11/09A STUDENTS’ union has reversed its decision to sell the Easter lily on its premises in addition to the poppy. The union at the Coleraine campus of the University of Ulster had been warned it could face...
Burglars threaten woman with knife
News 19/11/09INTRUDERS threatened a woman with a knife during a burglary at her home in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, yesterday. The woman, who is in her forties, went into a garage beside her home in Garron Heights at 6am.
Texts urge loyalists to confront republicans
News 19/11/09NATIONALIST politicians have voiced concerns about text messages being circulated in Portadown urging loyalists to confront republicans. In a series of texts loyalists are being urged to gather at a bar in the Co Armagh town “to show...
Group ‘forced to turn down £1m’ in diocese lease row
News 19/11/09A COMMUNITY group said it had been forced to turn down £1 million worth of funding after the Catholic diocese of Down and Connor allegedly reneged on an agreement to lease a parish hall. Drumaroad Community Regeneration thought its seven-year dispute with...
Civil servant settles claim
News 19/11/09A civil servant who lifted the lid on alleged mismanagement has said he feels “vindicated” after he settled a High Court action brought over his treatment. Brian McTeggart (54), from Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh, sued Waterways Ireland and...
Paedophile serving 14-year term given further sentence
News 19/11/09A PAEDOPHILE already serving 14 years for sexually abusing two female primary school pupils was jailed yesterday for a further two and a half years for offences against two teenage schoolgirls.
Man who abused boy 30 years ago freed by judge on medical grounds
News 19/11/09A MAN who sexually abused a schoolboy 30 years ago has walked free from court after he was put on probation for three years. Imposing the order on Paul Burns (45) at Belfast Crown Court, Judge Tom Burgess said while...
Charges date to 1970s
News 19/11/09A MAN appeared in court yesterday accused of indecently assaulting children in Belfast more than 30 years ago. James Doyle (60) from Gardiner Street in Dublin faces 35 counts of alleged offences against two different girls.
Prostate cancer drug hope
News 19/11/09A PIONEERING drug that could dramatically improve and extend the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer is being trialled in a Belfast hospital. Prostate cancer is the most common form of male cancer in Northern Ireland, with 750 new...
In-love priest dodges media
News 19/11/09A DERRY priest who resigned from the priesthood after confirming he was in a relationship with a mother-of-two has gone to ground in the face of huge media interest. Fr Sean McKenna (51), pictured, parish priest of...
Price freed pending report to PPS
News 19/11/09MARIAN Price was yesterday released from police custody pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service. The 55-year-old republican, pictured, had been arrested at her home in Andersonstown, west...
Interface community workers say attacks despicable
News 19/11/09NATIONALIST and loyalist leaders at a Belfast interface have united to condemn an ongoing campaign of intimidation against a community worker. Over the past eight months there have been three attacks on the...
Powers transfer would ‘hit dissident support’
News 19/11/09Devolution of policing and justice powers should take place now as it would do much to draw support away from dissident republicans, Maurice Hayes said yesterday. The former Patten commissioner was speaking at a conference...
MEP pledges support for Ballymurphy 11 families
News 19/11/09A SENIOR MEP has pledged his support to a west Belfast group campaigning for an independent international in- vestigation into the deaths of their loved ones at the hands of the British army in 1971.
Inmates to take action over jail searches
News 19/11/09SEVERAL republican prisoners held in Magha-berry’s segregated wing say they are taking legal action over alleged human rights breaches during last week’s mass search of the jail. Sections of the high-security prison were locked down from last Wednesday until Saturday after governor...
‘Accused had £30k worth of cocaine hidden in body’
News 19/11/09A MAN stopped at Belfast International Airport had up to £30,000 worth of suspected cocaine hidden in his body, the High Court heard yesterday. Prosecutors said seven packages of powder with an estimated purity of more than 70 per cent were...
High Court judge throws out Eta extradition case
News 19/11/09AJUDGE in Belfast has thrown out attempts to have a Basque man extradited to face terrorism charges in Spain. Arturo Villanueva Arteaga was being sought over claims he belonged to a youth group allegedly linked to the Eta organisation.
Teenager ‘grabbed mother by throat’
News 19/11/09ADRUNKEN teenager grabbed his mother by the throat after climbing in through her kitchen window, the High Court in Belfast has heard. Prosecutors said Stephen McAleese (19) carried out the assault when she ordered him to leave her home in Toomebridge, Co Antrim.
Nairac killing suspect appears before court
News 19/11/09A man suspected of killing a British undercover soldier more than 30 years ago appeared in court yesterday. Kevin Crilly (59) fled to the US in the weeks after Captain Robert Nairac was executed by an IRA interrogation gang in May 1977.
