Belfast united: kids from clubs across divide team up for cross-community trip to football tournament in Holland

Gabrielle Swan, Belfast Telegraph, April 4th, 2025

UNITE HELPS LENADOON AND SHANKILL CLUBS BUILDING BRIDGES AND FRIENDSHIPS

Two young football teams from opposite sides of the community are using sport to break down barriers as they prepare to travel to a tournament in Amsterdam.

Belfast sides St Oliver Plunkett FC and Shankill Junior FC are travelling together to take part in the Holland Cup in the Dutch capital.

It is the brainchild of coaches Barry Lowe and Craig Fleck, who said it was a rare opportunity to bring together children from divided communities.

St Oliver Plunkett coach Barry explained: “We are bringing away two sets of kids who normally under any other circumstance wouldn't get the opportunity to mix together.

“But, through sport and through this initiative, our aim is to make sure they create friendships that hopefully last for the rest of their lives.

“The perception of 'us and them' seems to be broken down through this. Sport has always done that.

“We hope that when they go away together, spend more time in living quarters, it will develop further.”

Union funding

The tournament, from April 19-20, brings together around 300 teams from across of Europe. Unite the Union donated £5,000 to help fund the trip, with parents and retailers also contributing to make the kids' dreams come true.

Barry added: “The cost is very expensive — we have 32 kids and six coaches travelling over.

“Through organisations like Unite the Union, many local businesses, donations from parents, shopping centres and public collections, we have managed to raise the full amount.

“But this donation (by Unite) was massive, it came in at a time when we were really struggling.”

Shankill Junior FC coach Craig said: “Barry and I bring together kids aged 12, 13, 14 from Lenadoon and the Shankill. They (usually) go into anti-social behaviour, they go into hating each other.

“We are trying to build bridges to cross that divide.

“When the kids come back from Holland, they could be best friends. Then they are not going in and getting into all of the anti-social behaviour.”

Past experience

The pair drew on their own experience to show how bonds can be formed.

Craig explained: “Barry and I first met when the kids were about seven. I always beat Barry on the pitch, so he got a bit annoyed.

“He wanted to link up with me, when the kids were seven or eight. We have known each other from then, we became good friends. This was an initiative that we really thought could change lives on the pitch and most definitely off. Before we got together, the clubs were rivals.

“They saw each other as someone they potentially wanted to beat on the pitch. Since coming together with Barry, with Shankill, with Plunkett, we've been to places like Nando's for a bite to eat, and to Laser Quest.

“The bonds that are coming out of it are absolutely fantastic.”

Barry's son Bobby (12) said he was “excited” to be going to Holland.

“I hope that we're making more friendships, some friendships that will last for life. I feel like it's important,” he said.

Football friendships

“We're going to Amsterdam, and I am most looking forward to playing football.

“I think my dad brought me to a football training session and I really liked it, that's how I got into football.

“I don't think I would make friends from other communities without football, there isn't really other stuff that would give you that opportunity.”

Fellow St Oliver Plunkett player Tom Quinn (12) added: “I am most looking forward to the football, but also making new friendships. I am really excited for it — it is a good chance to meet up with good opponents.

“Cross-community means that two communities who wouldn't normally meet, come together to do something, and I have made loads of friends as a result.”

Craig's son Cole (12) said: “I feel really excited to make new bonds and friendships with people from St Oliver Plunkett.

“I am really excited to see how the tournament goes.

“I have made five new friendships already, it's really good.”

Man arrested in UK in Martin O'Hagan murder investigation

RTE News, Conor McAuley, Northern Correspondent, Updated / Friday, 4 Apr 2025 08:45

Martin O'Hagan was shot dead as he walked home in Lurgan, Co Armagh, in 2001

A 42-year-old man has been arrested in the UK as part of the investigation into the 2001 murder of journalist Martin O'Hagan.

Mr O'Hagan was working for the Sunday World when he was shot dead by the Loyalist Volunteer Force in Co Armagh.

The PSNI said detectives from the Legacy Investigation Branch arrested a man in the Sheffield area yesterday morning, with support from counter terrorism police and South Yorkshire Police.

He has been taken to Northern Ireland for questioning at Musgrave Police Station in Belfast.

Police also searched a property in the Sheffield area as part of the operation.

A truck removes the remains of a burnt-out getaway car used in the shooting of Martin O'Hagan in 2001

The Loyalist Volunteer Force was a breakaway faction of the Ulster Volunteer Force based in the mid-Ulster area.

Mr O'Hagan had written extensively about the activities of the organisation and its personalities.

He was the first journalist believed to have been murdered in the line of work in the history of the Troubles.

No-one has been held accountable for his murder.

Kimmins ‘stands firm’ in row over Irish signs at Grand Central

Jonathan McCambridge and David Young, Irish News, April 4th, 2025

INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Liz Kimmins has said she “stands firm” following a political row over her decision that Irish language signs should be installed at Belfast’s Grand Central station.

It came as deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the move by her ministerial colleague about the new transport hub looked and felt “utterly shambolic”.

The Sinn Féin minister gave the go-ahead for the signage last week, but it has led to a row among executive ministers.

The DUP has insisted she has a “legal duty” to bring the decision to the executive.

Ms Kimmins was at the Grand Central Station yesterday showing the new facility to members of the British Irish Council.

She said it was “unfortunate” that a row had arisen over “something that should be very positive”.

“This is a good news story and enhancing that to ensure that it is a shared space for everybody that uses it is something I see as really positive.”

Asked if she stood by the decision not being taken to the wider executive, she said: “This is a very positive move forward, I think it is important to recognise everyone in our community and that is what I have been setting out to do.

“We have, as ministers, a role to Liz Kimmins made the announcement over the Irish signage last week deliver equality.”

When asked if she would now bring the decision to the executive, she said she would “see what happens”.

Passing the ball

Ms Kimmins added: “Executive colleagues have had a discussion this morning, it is up to them where they think this should go next.

“I stand firm in my decision, we followed the process.”

The DUP raised the controversy during Thursday’s meeting of powersharing ministers.

Speaking at a press conference afterwards, Ms Little-Pengelly said: “I was deeply disappointed by the way this decision was made and the announcement of it.

“The detail of how this came about is still very unclear and questions still need to be answered.”

She said there had been a “detailed discussion” about the issue at the executive meeting.

VAR may be required

Ms Little-Pengelly added: “I reaffirmed our clear view that this issue is controversial.

“Therefore it should have been brought to the Executive Committee for agreement.

“We will be seeking additional information and considering the way forward.

“In the meantime the minister ought to bring that decision to the executive in the proper way, in the legal way, for consideration and agreement.”

She added: “All controversial, significant or cross-cutting matters do have that legal responsibility in terms of ministers bringing that to the executive.

“That hasn’t happened in this case. I think any argument that this isn’t a controversial issue is bizarre because I think it’s very clear out there in terms of the reaction to this that it is controversial.

“I wasn’t satisfied with the answers we got today from the minister nor in the correspondence she has sent. Therefore we will be seeking further information and, of course, considering the way forward.”

Ms O’Neill said it was important to keep the matter in perspective and said there would always be political disagreements in the four-party executive.

'Do the right thing': widow of murdered GAA official Brown pleads for inquiry into killing

COURT OF APPEAL RULES GOVERNMENT 'UNLAWFULLY' FAILED TO ESTABLISH PROBE

Alan Erwin, Belfast Telegraph, April 4th, 2025

The family of a murdered GAA official have urged the Northern Ireland Secretary to “do the right thing” and grant a public inquiry.

It comes after the Court of Appeal said a statutory probe should be established without further delay.

Senior judges upheld a previous determination that Secretary of State Hilary Benn had unlawfully failed to set up an inquiry and gave him four weeks to confirm a process for complying with their ruling.

Speaking outside the High Court, Bridie Brown, the elderly widow of Sean Brown, said: “Mr Benn, five judges have told you what to do. Do the right thing and please don't have me going to London.”

Her daughter Clare Loughran — standing alongside her mother and other family and friends — said the family felt very positive about the judgment and added that she feels the Government has “tried to draw this out for 28 years”.

She said: “We have had numerous Secretary of States come through the North since my father was murdered, and very little of them to date have given us any sort of hope or very little trust in them. At this stage now, we really feel that if they can do the right thing by our side, we would be delighted with that.”

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan stressed how the Government has remained in continuous breach of an Article 2 human rights obligation to effectively investigate the full extent of state collusion in the May 1997 murder.

She stated: “This is a shocking state of affairs in that a quarter of a century has passed since Sean Brown was murdered and yet there has been no lawful inquiry into the circumstances of his death.”

Abducted and shot

The victim, a 61-year-old father-of-six, was abducted by an LVF gang as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAC in Co Londonderry.

Mr Brown was bundled into the boot of his car, taken to Randalstown, Co Antrim, and shot dead. No one has ever been convicted of his murder.

It emerged last year at an inquest that state agents were among more than 25 people linked by intelligence to the killing.

At that stage the coroner halted proceedings, due to the extent of confidential material excluded or withheld on national security grounds, and wrote to the previous Conservative Government requesting the establishment of a public inquiry.

In September, Mr Benn confirmed that those calls had been rejected.

He instead recommended that the bereaved family should engage with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), a new body set up under the controversial Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Act.

Even though the Labour Government has pledged to repeal the Act, it intends to retain the ICRIR and is currently seeking to appeal the findings made against it at the Supreme Court.

Bridie Brown mounted a successful judicial review challenge against the decision not to set up a public inquiry into her husband's death.

Article 2 compliance

In December, a High Court judge ordered Mr Benn to establish a public inquiry after finding that the Government remains in breach of its Article 2 duty.

Lawyers for the Government appealed the ruling, arguing that it was legally and constitutionally wrong to make a mandatory order while there is still legal uncertainty over the status of the Legacy Act and the ICRIR.

They further contended that the financial bill for a Commission-led process would be just a fraction of any public inquiry while achieving the same outcome.

Counsel representing Mrs Brown responded that the decision to compel the Secretary of State to set up a public inquiry in a bid to finally uncover the full truth about state involvement in her husband's murder was unimpeachable.

Ruling on the case, Dame Siobhan said the Commission currently has insufficient powers and is not equipped to deal with sensitive material.

Justice delayed

“Mrs Brown is 87 years old. She has been pursuing her remedy for 28 of those years,” the Lady Chief Justice pointed out.

“So, in this case, the ICRIR is not fit for the purpose of delivering the remedy she needs now.”

With a statutory investigation under the 2005 Inquiries Act identified as the only resolution currently available on the statute book, she said there is nothing to prevent it incorporating all material already collected via the inquest process.

Rejecting further submissions about costs and administrative burdens as “mere assumptions”, the Court of Appeal found that it was a flawed basis to deny Mrs Brown access to the available remedy.

“The decision of the Secretary of State to refuse the Brown family a public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown therefore cannot stand,” she stated.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "We have enormous sympathy for Mrs Brown and her family who have suffered so much. The Secretary of State has been clear that he wants to see a full investigation into the murder of Sean Brown. We acknowledge today's judgment and will carefully consider it.”

Keyboard warrior convicted for naming and shaming alleged teenage criminals

Irish News, April 4th, 2025

The 27-year-old was the first convicted following an amendment to the Terrorism Act 2000 to include comments made online.

A social media account linked to a west Belfast man who was the first in the north convicted of a new terrorism offence named and pictured alleged drug dealers and criminals - some as young as 15.

Ciaran Barry Kilifin, originally from west Belfast but with an address at Exchange Court in Newtownards, was handed a 12-month suspended sentence on Thursday after pleading guilty to a charge of expressing support for a proscribed organisation.

The 27-year-old was the first convicted following an amendment to the Terrorism Act 2000 to include comments made online.

It followed the creation of a Facebook page and posts between August 2021 and January 2022 showing support for dissident republican groups, and included making threats of violence to people they perceived to be offenders.

In court, Mr Kilifin was linked to the Republican Activist Coalition page on social media, with no activity on either his personal social media or the Republican account since his arrest on March 31 2022.

The Republican Activist Coalition page shared the names and images of young people it suspected to be involved in drug dealing, burglaries and joyriding.

On one occasion, the page shared a conversation with a 15-year-old boy it had accused of a crime where the teenager raised concerns about the use of his image on the platform.

‘Cry all you want’

“Cry all you want the video is staying up,” an admin for the page responds.

“Make no mistake about it, young or old; if you’re a hood in this community you’re name will end up everywhere. Age does not detract from the seriousness of your actions,” a post from the page later said.

Many posts from the page and shared on Mr Kilifin’s account expressing support for ‘violent Republican activity’ have since been deleted.

One of the posts named two people it accused of being informants, as well as including a quote from Dolours Price which called for informants’ bodies to be thrown onto the street.

A number of posts expressing support for dissident republican groups remain on show however, as well as a purported statement from the New IRA posted in January 2022.

A week later, an image of a man wearing camouflage and a balaclava and holding a machine gun was shared with the quote: “So long as our island remains divided - there will be men and women ready to lay down their lives to achieve what politicians cannot.”

The post was shared on Mr Kilifin’s own personal account.

‘Disconnect’ with reality

Citing a “disconnect” between the 27-year-old and “actual paramilitaries”, a defence barrister for Mr Kilifin said his client’s family were “deeply ashamed and angry with him that he had jeopardised his bright future by engaging in this type of behaviour.”

Following the west Belfast man’s sentencing, a spokesperson for the PSNI said “often those sitting behind keyboards believe that their actions will have no consequences”.

“However, words and articles supporting proscribed organisations can lead to others believing that engaging in the criminal acts of these groupings is acceptable.”

It’s remarkable North has any force at all, says Boutcher

Jonathan McCambridge, Irish News, January 4th, 2025

THE north’s police chief has said budget pressures on his force are so severe that it is “remarkable” the region has any police force left at all.

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the first job of government is to keep people safe, and that principle is not being applied in the same way to Northern Ireland as other areas.

Mr Boutcher was addressing the monthly public meeting of the Policing Board, the oversight body of the PSNI, where he said without additional investment and an uplift in officer numbers, his ability to protect the public would continue to “erode”.

He was responding to a report published this week by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) which found that continued financial pressures facing the force are likely to continue to affect the service it provides if left unresolved.

HMICFRS said officers covering non-neighbourhood duties mean they cannot spend enough time carrying out visible patrols, working with local communities or doing preventative and problem-solving work.

Child internet protection unit one of many understaffed

The inspectorate also found that the child internet protection team does not have enough personnel to effectively manage its high workloads.

Mr Boutcher said: “Let me be clear. Having failed to secure the prioritisation of the PSNI recovery in the programme for government, without urgent investment, our ability to protect the public will continue to erode.

“Now more than ever we need decisive action and investment.

“Our ability to respond to this report and to implement the policing plan relies not just on our officers and staff, but far more at this moment in time on the support of this board, government, partners and communities to secure necessary funding and resources that we require.

“When I arrived as chief constable, seeing the position the organisation had been allowed to deteriorate to, as regards its numbers, I commissioned an independent group to assess what the police officer numbers should be.

Force 2,500 under strength

“Had policing kept pace with the uplifts in policing in England and Wales, we would have expected the PSNI to have been 8,005 and 8,500 police officers. We barely have 6,300.

“A simple Google search asking the question, what is the first responsibility of government, will elicit the answer.

“The first judge of government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure.

“It is time that principle was applied here as it is everywhere else.”

Mr Boutcher said he understood the “wickedly challenging” financial issues faced by Stormont ministers, but pointed out they existed elsewhere in the UK.

He said since responsibility for policing was devolved to Stormont in 2010, the PSNI budget had reduced by 6%.

Comment

Surely you know by now that in this social group few want positive stories!  Journalists often say that positive stories get fewer hits.

Peter Shirlow

You are right,

I was a journalist for 30  years (yes, I know it doesn't show) but that's always been the way. 

It's why wars, pandemics and general elections always sell the most papers.

Maybe there is an extinction gene built into us. In which case there might be a God after all!