‘I am the happiest individual you will meet’
As Children in Crossfire prepares to celebrate 30 years, its founder, Richard Moore, talks to Gail Bell about growing his charity, seeing things differently and walking the Italian Camino with ‘fancy’ new glasses
STILL VERY much a man in the public eye, Richard Moore was just back from having his photo taken at the Guildhall in Derry for Children in Crossfire, happy, as always, to spend time promoting his much-loved charity that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
There will probably be quite a few photocalls in the coming months as events are planned to mark the milestone birthday, but Richard will be ready to smile for them all.
“I am the happiest individual you will meet,” he says chirpily down the phone.
“I look back on the charity and think it’s amazing how well it’s doing. We are continuing to make life better for children and families in Tanzania and Ethiopia and I am just overwhelmed by what has been achieved.
Education and health
“Education and health are the main priorities – there are water programmes, installing wells in villages, nutrition programmes, the building of classrooms, training of teachers… and it’s all thanks to the great team and all the people who continue to support us.”
It is also, of course, down to Richard Moore himself – the face of the charity and the Derry man whose generosity of spirit, forgiveness, positivity and kindness have inspired others to overcome personal challenges.
If generosity is its own reward, Richard, shot in the face and blinded by a British soldier’s rubber bullet while walking home from school aged 10, is a prime example. Whatever he has given, he says it has been returned to him tenfold in ways he could never imagine.
“People look at me and talk about how well I’ve dealt with blindness and all that, but the reason why I’ve dealt with blindness well and have such an active life is because of the support I’ve received and that’s the bottom line,” he says.
“Children In Crossfire is a direct result of the love and compassion that I have experienced in my life – my mammy, my daddy, my brothers and sisters, my friends at school, my teachers, the local clergy….people who came together and showed me what real love and compassion was all about. When I started Children In Crossfire, all I really wanted to do was give back some of what I received.”
Creggan Folk
Blinded by a stray bullet during civil unrest in Derry in 1972, Richard went on to study Business Administration at university, become a businessman, running two pubs in the centre of Derry, marry and have two daughters – Niamh and Enya – with his wife, Rita, whom he met when she was a singer at the Creggan folk group where he played guitar.
He actually took up the instrument shortly after losing his sight and credits music as a therapeutic outlet while learning to navigate his frightening new world. He did learn Braille but never had a guide dog “or white stick”, instead preferring to rely on people as his eyes.
Then, after taking part in a walk across the Mississippi in 1992 organised by Action from Ireland, he decided to start up his own charity, Children in Crossfire, with the aim of improving the lives of children in other parts of the world.
Since then, he has met the met the (14th) Dalai Lama of Tibet, written a memoir – Can I Give Him My Eyes (the heartbreaking words of his father on learning his second youngest child in a family of 12 had lost his sight) – been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Ulster for services to reconciliation and children’s rights, been the recipient of several achievement awards, become a public speaker, met the soldier who shot him and even had a play written about his life (Witness by Damian Gorman).
Community Radio
These days, when he’s not working for the charity, he enjoys running his community radio station, Drive 105, and setting up the next interviewee on his podcast, ‘What About You?’
But, if he has become something of a minor celebrity, Richard Moore is not the sort to let it go to his head. “It’s always nice when someone recognises you,” he concedes, “but I don’t go looking for that. I don’t crave any attention at all, but at the same time, as long as I can use whatever profile I have to support Children in Crossfire, I am happy to do that. I do it in the hope that it helps somebody facing a challenge of their own.”
He goes into the office every day and is currently helping plan a schedule to mark the 30th anniversary which will include a symbolic walk around the walls of Derry with local schoolchildren – a walk around the city walls first marked the charity’s launch in September, 1996.
As well as weekly cycles on a tandem with his friend, Stephen Long, he keeps fit by walking and last year joined a fundraising group for Children in Crossfire on the Italian Camino where he was able to try out his “fancy new glasses”.
“They’re Meta AI glasses and they’re amazing,” he tells me. “They take pictures and describe the scenery and all that. They would tell me I was looking out over a landscape with lots of green foliage and if you ask for more detail, they can even tell you what type of tree.
“We are continuing to make life better for children and families in Tanzania and Ethiopia and I am just overwhelmed by what has been achieved.”
Richard Moore was shot in the face and blinded by a British soldier’s rubber bullet while walking home from school aged 10
“There was a sign in Italian up on a wall and I asked for the sign to be read and translated into English. And if I’m sitting in a restaurant, I can lift a menu and ask it to read the menu to me and I can read a newspaper with them … They are amazing – ground-breaking, really.”
Technology was a useful tool on the trip in which he walked 10 to 15 miles on average each day, but again, Richard turned to people for his main practical and emotional support.
‘Tough going’
“It was tough going,” he recalls. “There were rocks and stones underfoot, so you were very conscious about falling, but Ursula [Moore, no relation] from Children in Crossfire is well used to guiding me and I had complete faith in her.
“I have done three Spanish Caminos in the past and the secret for me is having a good guide and just taking my time and relaxing into it. I am one of these blind people who sees everything in my mind’s eye anyway, so it may not be exactly how it looks, but it doesn’t matter – it’s how I see it. I appreciate the noises, the breeze, the sun on my face and the sound of gravel under my feet. It is not a diminished experience, just a different one.”
This ‘can do’ attitude and stoic acceptance has always been the anchor and foundation blocks for living not just a good life, but an exceptional life for the boy caught up in a random act of terrorism at 10 years old.
“I am glad to say I have never felt: ‘Why me?’ he says, “but, of course, I have the odd moment…I would dearly love to see my children’s faces. This year will be a time for reflection, but also one for looking forward…” There is a moment’s hesitation and I sense a joke is coming – he has a wicked sense of humour.
“Time has flown by – where has it gone?” he continues. “I am 64 years old now but I still see myself as a young, attractive 21 year-old. That’s one of the great things about being blind – you don’t have to look at yourself getting older.”
For updates on all events and fundraising opportunities for Children in Crossfire, visit www. childrenincrossfire.org
MPS TO DEBATE REMOVAL OF IMMUNITY PROVISION FROM LEGACY ACT
JONATHAN MCCAMBRIDGE, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, January 21st, 2026
MPs are to debate the removal of the immunity provision from the previous government's legislation to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn will seek support later today in the House of Commons for a Remedial Order to remove some elements of the Legacy Act.
Labour has introduced its Troubles Bill to replace the Act and end the immunity scheme in that legislation, which was ruled unlawful in the courts and has never been commenced. The scheme would have allowed perpetrators of Troubles-related crimes to be given immunity from prosecution in exchange for co-operation with a truth recovery body.
The Government's Remedial Order also seeks to remove the bar on new civil claims over Troubles cases.
Mr Benn said: “ I am asking the House to endorse a Remedial Order to remove indefensible and legally defective provisions contained in the previous government's Legacy Act. This Remedial Order is essential to rebuild the trust of communities across Northern Ireland who are opposed to the idea that the terrorists who murdered their loved ones could be granted immunity from prosecution if they came forward to the commission.
“It also restores the historic right of citizens of this country to seek redress through the courts.”
Concerns have been raised by some armed forces and veterans communities that the Troubles Bill will leave those who served in Northern Ireland open to vexatious litigation.
The Government has said it will introduce new protections for veterans, including protection from repeated investigations, a right to give evidence remotely, protections for health in old age, a right to seek anonymity and a protection from cold calling.
David Crabbe, President of Decorum NI, a victims and survivors group which caters for the welfare and advocacy needs of those who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, said: “The issues of the legacy of the past must be dealt with now and thus not condemn future generations to persistent uncertainty.
“Veterans should not be used as political pawns. Veterans are real people and citizens in our society with the same hopes, fears and aspirations as anyone else. They are also victims and survivors and need to be recognised as such.
“Veterans should not be used as political pawns. Veterans are real people and citizens in our society with the same hopes, fears and aspirations as anyone else. They are also victims and survivors and need to be recognised as such.
“Victims and survivors carry their burden with dignity and should be allowed to obtain the greatest possible resolution to the questions they have and the answers they need.”
Ministerial row at Stormont over ‘redacted’ minutes
Sinn Féin accuse Lyons of ‘a lack of transparency’ over logos
CONOR COYLE, Irish News, January 21st, 2026
THE chair of a Stormont scrutiny committee has accused Gordon Lyons of a lack of transparency over how he reached a decision to remove Irish and Ulster Scots from a number of departmental logos.
The Irish News reported in September that the Department for Communities had dropped a trilingual logo from its branded letter heads on most official correspondence.
Guidelines published by the department last year stated that Irish and Ulster Scots will only be used where the subject matter relates to either, or when issues of culture and identity are addressed.
The DUP communities minister Mr Lyons, who has responsibility for the promotion of minority languages, had previously dismissed concerns raised over the rebranding and hinted that there was a “cost-saving” element to the decision.
However, when his department was asked by the assembly’s Communities Committee to provide meeting minutes around the rationale for the decision and details around potential cost savings, the documents provided were largely redacted.
Colm Gildernew, the Sinn Féin chair of the committee, has accused the minister of a lack of transparency and called on his department to release the full, unredacted minutes.
Blacked out content
The department has said the large amount of blacked out content on the document “relate to topics other than the Departmental logo”.
“The minister’s decision to drop the trilingual logo was a backwards step for inclusion, respect, and equality,” Mr Gildernew said.
“The Communities Committee asked the minister a number of written questions asking him to provide details around the decision to remove Irish and Ulster Scots from his departmental branding.
“The response received was heavily redacted, which begs the question, what is there to hide?
“The minister hides behind excuses like cost savings and redactions. He should release the full information immediately.”
Correspondence received from DfC did reveal that the review of departmental branding had been carried out “at the request of the minister” and that the changes to logos were “cost neutral”.
Of the unredacted meeting minutes, documents show the issue was first raised at a meeting between Mr Lyons and departmental officials in
July 2024, with the only details provided that the minister “will consider options presented” on rebranding. All other minutes of the meeting, including actions to be taken, are redacted.
At another meeting which the minister did not attend in November 2024, officials suggest that “the English only option will be the default for ministerial correspondence and briefing”. No further meeting minutes were recorded by the department after this.
In a statement attached to the correspondence to the Scrutiny Committee, a departmental official said: “A review of Departmental branding, including all current, inuse, corporate logos, was carried out by officials in response to a request by the minister.
“This included a single language logo, an abbreviated single language logo and a trilingual logo.
“The minister approved the review in June 2025. The updated Corporate Identity Guidelines were approved in September 2025 and the Guidelines were subsequently issued to DfC Officials and ALBs.
“All versions of the Departmental logo, including a single language logo, an abbreviated single language logo, and a refreshed trilingual logo, are included in the brand guidelines and remain in use.
“The updated brand guidelines are applied as part of normal replacement cycles.
“The changes are therefore deemed to be cost neutral.”
Days left for public sector workers to share in £100m compo
SAM MCBRIDE, Belfast Telegraph, January 21st, 2026
DEADLINE IN THE LONG-RUNNING 'INJURY TO FEELINGS' PENSIONS DISPUTE LOOMS AS STORMONT COULD FACE MASSIVE BILL OVER HOW IT ENDED FINAL SALARY SCHEMES MORE THAN A DECADE AGO
Public sector workers could share in up to £100m in compensation — but have just days to apply for potentially getting it, a senior solicitor has said.
Four years ago, solicitor John McShane secured the biggest unfair dismissal compensation payment in Northern Irish history when he acted for Tamara Bronckaers, a vet who lost her job after appalling treatment by Stormont then chief vet, Robert Huey.
After winning £1.25m in that case, the lawyer now has Stormont in his sights again, and if successful, the costs would add to the Executive's massive financial problems.
Individually, the payments in the current case would be vastly smaller, but cumulatively, could add up to a huge sum.
The case involves decisions made by Stormont more than a decade ago, when it decided to largely copy and paste pension changes being made by Westminster.
Copy and Paste legislation
Public sector pension schemes in Northern Ireland were amended in 2014 to calculate benefits on a career average basis rather than on a final salary basis — which had been exceptionally generous, and ultimately unaffordable, as growing life expectancy saw the costs soar.
In a judgment issued last October, an industrial tribunal judge drew attention to the fact that the Government had been warned prior to the move that age discrimination legislation meant it would not be possible to provide protection for older civil servants — yet that's exactly what the Government then did, effectively protecting those who were close to retirement.
That was legally challenged in Great Britain and the Government accepted that the changes had involved discrimination on the grounds of age, but argued that this was justified. The courts disagreed, in what has become known as the McCloud judgment.
Northern Ireland then copied Westminster in remedying the problem, but last year's judgment noted that “compensation for unlawful discrimination up to that point has yet to be addressed”.
NIPSA
In 2022, Nipsa instructed solicitors to begin legal proceedings on behalf of about 45,000 Nipsa members, seeking compensation for “injury to feelings”.
The solicitors said that was done on a “protective basis” because individuals had just three months from the alleged act of discrimination in which to launch a claim.
In order to launch the action quickly before the time limit expired, Nipsa hadn't got explicit permission from its members to do so.
By the time of last year's judgment, 18,500 Nipsa members had agreed to press ahead with the claims, leaving 22,500 claims on behalf of what was described as “the silent group”. Several thousand others of the original claims are understood to have been ruled out as it became clear they were duplicates or otherwise mistakenly included.
The Executive sought to have these claims thrown out. The Sinn Fein-led Department of Finance and DUP-led Department for Communities argued that they were “vexatious and had no real prospect of success”.
The judgment said that there had been “admitted and unlawful discrimination” which still hadn't been fully resolved 11 years after it began and six years after parliament was told it would be fixed. The judge said a final resolution still “seems a distant prospect”.
The judge went on: “It is a matter of concern that a vast amount of public funds and union funds is being expended in relation to this ongoing litigation, with serious disruption to the administrative and judicial resources of this tribunal, where it would seem at least possible that some form of workable solution could and should be agreed between the parties to bring this long running saga to an end”.
The judge said that assessing injury to feelings would likely require every single case to be individually assessed, perhaps with reference to medical and psychiatric evidence, something he said would be “impossible” for the tribunal to do, given the scale of the group action.
The judge added this could impact on the existing lack of medical support for those with serious mental health problems, given how stretched the health system is.
Long past time for lawyers to adopt ‘sensible approach’
In blunt comments, the judge said: “It is now long past the point where the legal representatives should reach a sensible 'broad brush' approach to the question of injury to feelings compensation in this before everyone involved, not least the claimants, retires. At some point reality, and practicality, must intrude into this litigation.”
The judge ultimately declined to decide at this point on the question of whether the union had implied permission to start legal proceedings without explicit permission from each individual, saying that was a matter to be decided at the full hearing.
However, he said he would be striking out the claims of “the silent group” of about 21,500 people who never bothered responding to Nipsa's request for explicit authorisation unless they acted now.
January 30th deadline
He said that those people may have regarded the Nipsa letter as “junk mail” and that throwing out their claims would be “draconian”. For that reason, he said they would have until 5pm on January 30 to respond. That deadline is now just nine days away.
Mr McShane, who is a partner at McCartan Turkington Breen, said Nipsa members who haven't responded should do so with “extreme urgency”.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “The value of these claims of openly accepted discrimination on the grounds of age could be between £50m-£100m, depending on claimant numbers.
“This is a case of accepted discrimination on the grounds of age. Nipsa has steadfastly protected the interests of its thousands of members against discrimination on the grounds of age.
“McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors will continue to robustly progress this case to ensure that its clients' rights are protected and that the Government is held to account for its discriminatory practices which has caused so much unnecessary stress, worry and anxiety to thousands of public sector employees and that compensation is awarded which reflects the aggravated nature of this discrimination.”
Finance Dept Silent
Nipsa said that it “has always and will continue to fight for the interests of its members” and added that it would “strongly encourage each affected member who has yet to complete and return the circular response, to do so as soon as possible to protect their claims and obtain the compensation rightfully due to them”.
The Department of Finance has warned in its annual accounts that the McCloud pensions issue is a major potential problem.
In the department's most recent set of annual accounts, one of the top risks it identified was “failure to implement the McCloud Remedy within the legislative deadlines”, something it said would involve “risk of further legal action, reputational damage and sanctions from the Pensions Regulator”.
It made no reference, however, to potential compensation.
The department's accounts also reveal that during 2024-25, its internal auditors issued four “limited” assurances about various parts of its work — one of which related to “McCloud Implementation”.
We asked the Department of Finance why it was contesting the claim for compensation.
We also asked if the Executive was just trying to delay a payment it knows is inevitable, in order to ease its cash flow problems and whether it accepted that as a decision taken in Stormont, the consequences would have to be borne wholly by the Executive rather than by the Treasury.
At the time of going to press, John O'Dowd's department had not responded to any of the questions.
British Govt urged to reverse 64% cut to employment programme
JOHN MANLEY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, January 21st, 2026
REPRESENTATIVES from dozens of third sector organisations have signed an open letter urging the British government to reverse swingeing cuts to programmes tackling economic inactivity across Northern Ireland.
The 42 community groups and charities claim the introduction of the new Local Growth Fund at the beginning of April will signal a 64% reduction in funding for services that help up to 11,000 people a year gain skills and move into work.
They say the cut from £25m annually to £9.2m will be compounded by a “proposed 70/30 capital-to-revenue split”, which it’s argued “raises serious concerns about fairness, consistency, and the rationale behind decisions about this region”.
The open letter – addressed to Secretary of State Hilary Benn and his cabinet colleague Steve Reed, as well as First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly – coincides with plans by Nicva (Northern Ireland Council For Voluntary Action) and the socalled Economic Inactivity Coalition to take their case to Stormont today.
North has highest economic inactivity in UK
Northern Ireland’s 26.5% economic inactivity rate is the highest in the UK and according to voluntary groups is “driven by disability, ill health, caring responsibilities, and high numbers of young people not in education, employment, or training”.
Their letter says that for years the community-led programmes, which were most recently funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, have helped people gain skills, move into work and reduce pressure on health and other key public services.
“These programmes work. They change lives,” the letter says.
“They support those furthest from the labour market to build confidence, develop skills, and secure sustainable employment. They are a critical part of our public service infrastructure and an economic enabler, supporting local businesses big and small, and strengthening our economy.”
The groups say that when the British government announced the Local Growth Fund, it included a commitment to design a “bespoke programme… that reflected local needs and priorities”.
“There was also a commitment that the funding will be allocated more flexibly to ensure that the full amount of funding can be tailored to our unique circumstances,” the letter says.
Need to prioritise frontline services
“From the outset, our sector, along with the Executive, has been unequivocal: a capital-heavy programme is not what Northern Ireland needs. Investment should prioritise people and frontline services, not bricks and mortar at the expense of human potential.”
The letter says that the emphasis on capital investment “is not what was promised or what our communities should be expected to accept”.
“Whether it’s a young person seeking their first opportunity or someone re-entering the workforce after illness or caring responsibilities, people deserve support and our economy requires it.
“A cut of this scale is untenable. It will dismantle programme capacity, create operational instability, trigger staff losses, and leave those already at the margins with no viable alternatives.”
The groups, which include Disability Action NI, Stepping Stones NI and Action Mental Health, call on the British government and Stormont Executive to reverse the “unjust” allocation model, protect existing services through the forthcoming financial year and “commit to genuinely co-designed and sustainable funding”.
A British government spokesperson said it planned to spend £45.5m a year on initiatives such as economic inactivity and local business support as part of the new Local Growth Fund.
The spokesperson acknowledged that the end of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund “will be challenging for some” but that the north’s “record £19.3bn settlement” plus £370m announced at the budget meant the Executive had the “means to provide additional funding to support the voluntary and community sector through resource funding should it wish to do so”.
Bloody Sunday expert challenges ‘no collusion’ findings of Dublin and Monaghan bomb review
CONNLA YOUNG, CRIME AND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, January 21st, 2026
A CAMPAIGNER whose research was important in establishing the Bloody Sunday Inquiry has challenged the findings of a recent Kenova report that there is no evidence of collusion in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings.
Don Mullan, author of the groundbreaking book Eyewitness Bloody Sunday, has now claimed the conclusions are at odds with the wider findings reached by the Operation Denton review, which has been carried out by Kenova investigators.
The deadly attacks claimed the lives of 33 people, including a ninemonth pregnant woman.
The coordinated bomb attacks, three in Dublin and one in Monaghan, were carried out by the UVF in May 1974 and resulted in the highest number of casualties in a single day during the Troubles.
Fresh Details
Fresh details about the attacks were revealed at a meeting between relatives of those killed and Kenova investigators in Dublin last year.
As part of the Operation Denton, Kenova detectives have carried out a review of the Mid Ulster UVF, which included members of the RUC, UDR and Territorial Army.
The Operation Denton report was due to be published before Christmas, but was put on hold after the family of a loyalist killed by the IRA, William Marchant, believed to have been involved in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, launched legal action.
A separate report published by the Kenova investigation team before Christmas concluded there was no evidence of security force involvement in the Dublin and Monaghan attacks.
Writing for campaign group Relatives for Justice, Don Mullan has challenged the claim that there was no collusion.
“It is not a finding that collusion did not occur; it is a statement that no evidence was identified within the constrained evidential universe Den-ton was able to access and assess,” he said.
“The danger lies not in what Den-ton explicitly claims, but in how its conclusions may be received and used, as a closing of the book, rather than as confirmation that the book was never properly opened.”
Mr Mullan argues that Kenova’s conclusions in relation to Dublin and Monaghan jar with its wider conclusions.
“This narrow conclusion sits uneasily alongside Kenova’s broader findings,” he wrote.
“Across multiple investigations, Kenova has established that elements of the British security apparatus colluded with loyalist paramilitaries; that intelligence assets were protected at the expense of civilian lives; and that violence was allowed to proceed where intervention was possible but deemed inconvenient.”
Denton criticised
Mr Mullan believes that Denton claims that the Dublin and Monaghan attacks were carried out by loyalists acting alone and with capabilities available to them at the time “does not withstand technical scrutiny”.
“Former US military ordnance expert Ed Komac examined the Dublin bombings and concluded that the three devices detonated in the city were synchronised and deployed with a level of precision consistent with professional military expertise,” he wrote.
“They were timed to deliver a political message and achieve maximum lethality in crowded urban locations, detonated within minutes of each other, and executed with a degree of coordination that loyalist paramilitary groups in 1974 were not known to possess.”
Mr Mullan also contends that “any analysis that excludes the Irish Industrial Explosives Factory at Clonagh, County Meath, is incomplete”.
The Clonagh site has been manufacturing explosives since the late 1960s.
The Derry native explores whether explosives from the facility were used in Dublin and Monaghan, if their origin could have been traced and if Irish authorities knew where the bomb material came from.
The author suggests the “hypothesis that loyalist paramilitaries were assisted – directly or indirectly – through the provision of explosives originating in the Irish Republic, and with British security force expertise, cannot be dismissed as mere conjecture”.
Mr Mullan said the “implications of the atrocity must also be evaluated”.
“The possibility that agents of a democratic state may have enabled the deliberate killing of civilians, including foreign nationals, on the territory of a neighbouring sovereign state demands the highest level of scrutiny, not the narrowing of inquiry,” he wrote.
Slow progress as selection of jury in Noah inquest goes on
ALLAN PRESTON AT CORONER’S COURT, Irish News, January 26th, 2026
THE slow and meticulous process to select a jury continued on the second day of the Noah Donohoe inquest in Belfast yesterday.
Inside the main courtroom set aside for the high-profile case over the next three months, lawyers and journalists again waited in limbo for the occasional update from the coroner – Mr Justice Rooney.
This took the form of quickly crowding in the doorway of the adjoining court which was still packed with jury candidates waiting to be whittled down to the final 11.
All had filled in comprehensive questionnaires to assess their suitability, with the coroner stating he hoped to conclude the process by the end of the day.
After 3pm, Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe joined the crowd as Mr Rooney announced a further 24 excusals of jurors for “legitimate reasons” and informed them they were free to go.
Another 30 had submitted extra responses, which he said would require more detailed consideration.
Assuring them “it’s not an interrogation or interview”, the coroner said he would question them in private to consider any reasons for excusal.
While it is now expected the jury selection will conclude by today, the stop-start nature of the legal process means nothing is guaranteed.
Despite a purely administrative start to the week, public demand for a credible explanation about how Noah Donohoe died has only increased over the last five years.
The 14-year-old St Malachy’s College student was found dead in a storm drain in north Belfast, six days after going missing in June 2020.
His mother has campaigned tirelessly ever since, with public marches and posters for ‘Noah’s Army’ making sure his case is not forgotten.
As the jury selection continues, the candidates have been advised they must make their decision based only on the evidence to be presented in court and should only discuss the case with fellow jurors.
The wider public have also been repeatedly warned against making speculative posts on social media which could potentially prejudice the inquest.
Long claims SDLP MLA attempted to ‘impugn’ her character
JONATHAN McCAMBRIDGE, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, January 21st, 2026
JUSTICE Minister Naomi Long has accused SDLP Stormont leader Matthew O’Toole of attempting to “impugn” her character and integrity as she answered questions over an ongoing strike by criminal barristers.
The exchange in the assembly occurred after Mr O’Toole drew attention to an error made by the minister during a live broadcast interview, accusing her of attempting to “win an argument rather than solve a problem”.
Criminal barristers started the strike action this month in a long-running dispute over the fees paid for le-gal aid work.
The escalated action has effectively halted Crown Court cases involving people who required legal aid.
The barristers have argued it is a “last resort”, and that legal aid fees are worth less than half what they were worth in 2005 when they were set.
Legal bill exaggerated
But Ms Long has said a recent 16% uplift will amount to an annual increase of £11.5 million in legal aid fees.
The Department of Justice issued a clarification last week after Ms Long said on air that a barrister earned more than £3 million in legal aid in a single year.
The department clarified that one barrister did earn £3.98 million, but it was over a three-and-a-half year period which ended in September.
Raising the issue at ministerial question time, Mr O’Toole said the error would have “set back relations that have already been frayed between you and the Criminal Bar”.
He added: “The people who are suffering are victims and witnesses of crime awaiting the criminal justice process.
“It speaks to a deeper tendency people have observed in you, which is a desire to win an argument rather than solve a problem.
“Will you commit now to entering into a process of mediation with the Criminal Bar, as suggested by the Lady Chief Justice?”
Ms Long responded: “I note that every time the member asks a question, he always tries to in some way impugn my character or my integrity as part of his questioning.
‘Always digging at me’
“It can never simply be a case that there is a disagreement and that I am actually trying to resolve that disagreement, he always has to have a dig at me personally when he asks this question.
“I have already put on the record my error in that quote.
“Let’s be absolutely clear then for the avoidance of doubt, one barrister received £3.98 million over a three-and-a-half year period, which ended in September 2025.
“That was just over the cumulative total paid to 53% of their colleagues involved in criminal legal aid work. That is the fact of the matter and people can make of those facts what they wish.”
She added: “I’m happy to correct the record where I have been wrong, despite what some people say.
“And I am not about winning an argument here, but I am about protecting public money, and I have to be.
“Were I to come to this chamber in the context of the budgetary constraints that we face, and be profligate in my spending of public money, I’m sure the leader of the opposition would be the first to his feet to suggest it’s a character trait of mine.”
A stronger UUP may be what Sinn Fein is hoping for
MARK BAIN, Belfast Telegraph, January 21st, 2026
I grew up in Lagan Valley, an area that was pretty much devoid of any real political ferocity in the 1980s. But, of course, all that has changed recently.
For four general elections in succession, James Molyneaux polled over 60% of the vote in the South Antrim constituency — from 1970 through to 1983 — and in 1979 his majority of 38,868 votes was the largest anywhere in the UK.
In 1979, he played a significant role, alongside then party leader Harry West, in increasing Northern Ireland's representation in the House of Commons from 12 to 17 seats, a change somewhat negated almost half a century later with Sinn Fein, who had seven MPs elected in 2024, not taking their seats.
It was, at that time, a very different political landscape from the one Northern Ireland resides in today. But even 50 years ago, the path for the nationalist surge was being laid.
Molyneaux did go on to win the newly-created Lagan Valley seat in 1983, by which time he had succeeded West as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. He held that seat until 1997 with some comfort.
It's a struggle to remember any significant rousing speech in his political career at a time when those of my age should have been the ones targeted to get out and vote.
Decisive interventions - Armstrong and Trimble
I was struck recently when Diana Armstrong, daughter of Mr West, who Molyneaux succeeded, stood on the steps at Stormont to announce she was backing Jon Burrows as the latest leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, and running alongside him for the deputy leader role.
The Fermanagh and South Tyrone representative, the party's sole female MLA, brought a hefty slice of UUP members with her, behind Burrows' bid, along with the words: “I'm seeing an energy and a vigour that we rarely see in Ulster Unionism.”
Whether she meant that as a nod to past failings or an excitement for what the future for Ulster Unionism may hold, only Mrs Armstrong can say. But as an outsider looking in, and charting the history of leadership over the last few decades, the point is a valid one.
Sir Reg Empey, then Tom Elliott, Mike Nesbitt, Robin Swann, Steve Aiken, Doug Beattie and, with alternatives running thin on the ground, Mike Nesbitt again, have all struggled to make a telling impact, borne out in a series of electoral frustrations.
Of all the party leaders since the end of the Molyneaux era, only David Trimble stands out, and that in a Northern Ireland context, not a unionist one, as he stepped away from that comfort zone, helped to deliver the Good Friday Agreement and then succumbed to the inner rankling within his own party. In Ulster Unionism, history tells us, it didn't pay to show the 'energy and vigour' needed to make things happen.
Perhaps that's why they never really did.
Even the heir apparent to Molyneaux in Lagan Valley, Jeffrey Donaldson, when he provided some of that initial dynamism that had been missing for so long, quickly jumped ship to the DUP. Shaken from its comfort zone, Ulster Unionism has been floundering ever since.
Falling in the polls, swamped in elections by the surge of the Alliance Party and the dominance of the unionist vote by the DUP and, more recently, the TUV, where once the UUP stood in splendid isolation, as the main force of political unionism, it's been a slow and consistent decline to its current position.
By the end of this month, Jon Burrows' coronation as the party leader will be complete. He may well bring a 'energy and vigour' that some fellow MLAs will struggle to keep up with.
That 'vigour' may have come 30 years too late, but it's a chance the party has to take lest it fades to a memory.
As the history of Lagan Valley proves, after years of taking votes for granted, you can't take those votes for granted forever.
But having a leader who can turn heads comes with a proviso — you need to be careful which direction those heads turn in.
Can Burrows broaden Unionism’s appeal?
If Burrows is successful in boosting support for the UUP at the polls, where those votes come from will be crucial. Eating into the Alliance vote will have obvious benefits. Simply shifting them across from the DUP or TUV will only further divide the unionist vote. And the biggest winners there will, thanks to unionism's own issues with itself, be the Alliance and nationalist parties.
Once again, Sinn Fein will be the beneficiaries of an inbred inability for unionism to show anything close to unity. A stronger Ulster Unionist Party may, indeed, be exactly what Sinn Fein is hoping for.
Though Sinn Fein may itself be inconsistent in its views between north and south, there is a unity of belief with everyone being on the same path. Demographics are on their side as the party marches on together with a united purpose that unionists can only dream about.
A few weeks ago, speaking to the BelTel podcast, new Ulster Scots Commissioner Lee Reynolds said of the neglect of the language in previous decades: “If you controlled the political institutions, that was it, nothing to worry about.
“And within a decade, they had lost that control. So there was no legacy there. No means of maintaining things once that power had gone.
“There is a job of reclamation to be done.”
He could easily have been speaking of Ulster Unionism, though how much damage has been done to the artefact, if it can be reclaimed, may show any salvage is beyond repair. And, in trying to fix it, it could make unionism as a whole crumble even more.
Redevelopment work set to resume at Casement Park
PAUL AINSWORTH, Irish News, January 21st, 2026
Residents close to the stadium have been informed by letter that site preparation and clearance will begin next week
WORK is set to restart on the redevelopment of Casement Park almost two years on from initial preparation work ahead of the failed bid to host Euro 2028 games.
Residents living close to the derelict site have been advised in a letter from Ulster GAA that “enabling works for the stadium redevelopment” will begin from next Monday, January 26.
The work is set to last for 12 weeks.
“Initial works will involve site preparations, followed by site clearance and the demolition of existing structures within the stadium’s boundary, including the old stand,” the letter states.
The confirmation follows Ulster GAA secretary Brian McAvoy stating earlier this month in his annual re-port that “we will finally be entering the delivery phase” of the long-delayed stadium project in the coming months.
The home of Antrim GAA, Casement Park, in the Andersonstown area of west Belfast, has been closed since 2013.
Plans were first unveiled for a new a stadium in 2011, while Stormont funding for the site was agreed – along with funding for Ravenhill rugby stadium and soccer’s Windsor Park – five years later.
Beset by problems, including own goals
However, the Casement project has been beset with delays, including a legal challenge by nearby residents.
The planned seating for the proposed stadium was reduced to 34,500, with planning permission granted in 2021.
However, soaring estimated costs have led to uncertainties over funding, and the delay led to the axing of Casement Park as a stadium for the European Championships in 2028 when the tournament is hosted by associations from the UK and Ireland.
A redeveloped Casement Park was announced as a Euro 2028 host in 2023, but excitement turned to disappointment the following year when the British government confirmed it would not fund the project over fears it would not be ready in time for the matches.
Clearing work had started at the site in March 2024 ahead of the planned redevelopment.
Planning permission for the project is set to expire in July of this year, so work is required to begin before that under a “phased delivery” that would prevent it lapsing, which Mr McEvoy said in his report was accepted by the Planning Service.
The letter to residents, signed by Ulster GAA operations director Stephen McGeehan, adds: “As the project progresses, we move closer to delivering our provincial stadium that will provide lasting sporting, social and economic benefits for the local area and wider region.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill welcomed the confirmation of work restarting, and said in a statement posted to social media yesterday: “I am a firm believer in the power of sport and the lasting impact it brings to people’s lives, our communities, and local economy.
“Building a new Casement Park stadium is a key executive priority.
“We must work together to deliver on a transformative vision for sports.”
Her party colleague and West Belfast MP Paul Maskey said the news “represents a positive milestone in that journey to see Casement Park restored as a top-class sporting and community facility”.
“Now is the time for everyone to come together and play their part, so that a new generation of young Gaels can once again experience Casement Park with pride, excitement and optimism for the future,” he said.
Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, SDLP councillor Paul Doherty, said: “A completed Casement Park has the potential to transform this area. It would provide a permanent home for the GAA in Ulster and deliver much-needed investment into a community that has waited years for progress.”
Meanwhile, DUP MLA and party sports spokesperson Stephen Dunne said a “huge funding gap still remains for Casement Park”.
“It is now for the GAA to decide what extra contribution they will make or how they will scale their project to match the funding available,” he added.
An Ulster GAA spokesperson said the upcoming work “is an important next step in the project”.
“We have written to local residents and updated the local voluntary, business and community organisations on our plans,” they said.
“As the project progresses, we move closer to delivering our provincial stadium that will provide lasting sporting, social, and economic benefits for West Belfast and all of Ulster.”
Anti-social behaviour at Broadway ‘must stop’
CILLIAN SHERLOCK, Irish News, January 21st, 2026
POLICE have urged young people not to throw debris at vehicles around a major Belfast junction. The PSNI said it was addressing ongoing concerns about recent anti-social behaviour at the Broadway Roundabout, which encircles the Rise sculpture over the Westlink dual carriageway and also links to Donegall Road.
Neighbourhood policing Inspector Sean Dalton said: “We have received a number of reports over the last few days of anti-social behaviour involving young people at Broadway Roundabout.
“On occasions, a number of passing vehicles have also been struck by flying debris.
“We have responded to the area and will continue to do so in an effort to keep people safe
“Unfortunately, this is a recurring issue in this area – that significantly impacts the quality of life of residents, and presents a serious risk to road users.”
Inspector Dalton said those involved could end up with a criminal record which may ultimately affect travel, education and employment opportunities.
“We are asking young people intent on anti-social behaviour to stay away from this area, and consider the impact their irresponsible actions could have on future possibilities.
“We will continue to work alongside partner agencies, local representatives and the community to find collaborative and proactive solutions to address the problem.
“Our officers continue to provide a visible policing presence throughout this area, and will be actively patrolling the area.
“We all have a responsibility to help make our community safer for everyone.
“Reporting crimes or incidents that impact on your quality of life helps focus our patrols where they are needed and take positive action.
“Ring us on 101, report online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport or speak directly to your Neighbourhood Team.”
Doug Beattie: Govt plan to deal with legacy of the Troubles amounts to amnesty by proxy
The so-called protections for veterans of the Troubles in Labour’s Legacy Commission Bill are in fact equally available to terrorists.
By Doug Beattie, Belfast News Letter, January 20th, 2026
Furthermore, the UK government’s approach lacks honesty - the interaction between the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval and the Legacy Commission risks creating an amnesty by proxy.
At a recent meeting with the Northern Ireland Office, it was made clear that the six protections, offered as a fig leaf to the veterans lobby as part of the Labour Government’s Legacy Commission Bill, are in fact generic protections that are as applicable to terrorists as they are to veterans and former RUC officers.
The fact that the NIO aren’t even hiding this, while the highly decorated and respected minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns, continues to promote them as veterans’ protections, is shameful.
Whether you support these measures contained in the Legacy Commission Bill or not, the veterans community deserves honesty.
To tell veterans that they will have the right to stay at home, not be forced to go to court to give evidence, without telling them that a terrorist will have the same right creates an equivalence between the terrorist and lawful state forces.
The same can be said for no cold calling, protection in old age, and the right to seek anonymity.
Even the so-called protection against repeated investigations is weak as it does not specify new compelling evidence before a new investigation can be initiated. This will also apply to the terrorist.
What the government is hanging its hat on is that veterans will be represented on the victims and survivors advisory group.
On the wider front, the government is in trouble in regards to the definition of a victim.
Definition of Victim
If they go down the route of the Victims and Survivors Order 2006, or make no reference to the definition of a victim, then those who perpetrated some of the most heinous crimes in the UK, including mass murder, will be viewed as victims.
As the Ulster Unionist Party justice spokesperson, I made it clear to the NIO, and I know Robin Swann MP and Lord Elliott have done the same in Westminster, that if this is not addressed, then we cannot support the legacy bill.
The question of amnesties has long been a contentious one and something the Labour government had considered in 2001 at the behest of Sinn Féin.
We are clear that there should be no direct or indirect amnesties. However, our concerns about how the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) and the Legacy Commission interact have not been addressed.
Within the grey area of these two bodies, an individual can find himself free to express his guilt of a crime without facing any charges.
The NIO says this is not an amnesty - that may be right in the strictest of terms, but it is an amnesty by proxy and they know it.
The question is now a very clear one. Will the government allow the numerous amendments to the bill to run their course, to create a legacy mechanism that can be supported, or will it roll over once again to the demands of the Irish government and block the amendments?
Subtle but important difference
An Irish government that has promised to create a Garda legacy unit that won’t actually do any legacy investigations and a unit that will have no oversight mechanisms. A state that will redact information before investigation as opposed to the UK government that will redact information after investigation. A subtle but important difference.
Everyone wants legacy to be dealt with fairly. It needs victims and survivors to be at the heart of the process, with justice and reconciliation its guiding principles. Yet without honesty and transparency, the bill is in trouble and it will not receive the support it requires.
As it stands, the bill has no overt political support in Northern Ireland, a key government criticism of the last Conservative legacy bill.
Orange Order facilitates regular meetings between unionist leaders on co-operation
By David Thompson, Belfast News Letter, January 21st, 2026
Orange Order Grand Secretary Mervyn Gibson has confirmed talks between unionist leaders on a range of issues.
The Orange Order has confirmed that it has hosted meetings between the leaders of the three main unionist parties on “various matters” – and that co-operation has been discussed.
Mervyn Gibson, Grand Secretary of the Orange Lodge of Ireland, says that the meetings have been “going on for a couple of years” – and are chaired by the Order’s Grand Master.
He said leaders have had “difficult discussions” at the meetings, and issues such as “unionist co-operation and talk about elections” have been raised – but that is not the focus of the meetings.
His comments to the News Letter come amid a disagreement between the leaders of the DUP and TUV over whether talks have been held between the pair on unionist unity.
At the weekend, Gavin Robinson said he was open to talks about “pro-Union co-operation” – adding that he had “previously met with Jim Allister and he knows we stand ready to co-operate to maximise unionist representation”.
However, the TUV denied any “one-to-one” meetings with the DUP leader on unionist unity – accusing their rivals of walking away from it when they returned to Stormont without the removal of the Irish Sea border.
Recent meeting of DUP and TUV
Speaking to the News Letter, Mervyn Gibson said the most recent meeting was between Gavin Robinson and Jim Allister, with outgoing UUP leader Mike Nesbitt absent due to diary issues. He said unionist co-operation wasn’t the focus of the meeting, but “it comes up at them all”.
Asked if there was any detailed discussion at the most recent meeting about the next election, and who would stand in which seats, Mr Gibson said “no”.
“Somebody might have said something, but it wasn't ‘let's get down to nitty gritty’ – that’s between the parties directly.
“If they want us to get involved in doing that, we will, but I can see sometimes that's more a party issue as opposed to these general meetings.
“We’ve got down to nitty gritty before about Westminster (elections). It's much easier to do Westminster than it would be to do the Assembly elections. It’s never got down to ‘are you going to agree to this?’.
“We don’t broker the final agreement, we just set the mood music”, he said.
Sinn Fein objects to plans for St Patrick's Day shamrock presentation to RIR
By Donal McMahon, Belfast News Letter, January 21st, 2026
Plans for the first ever public presentation of shamrock to the Royal Irish Regiment on St, Patrick’s Day have brought objections from Sinn Fein.
The presentation of shamrock to the RIR has previously taken place annually behind closed doors due to security risks.
A Northern Ireland “first of its kind” public shamrock presentation to the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) has raised “governance concerns”.
But Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has heard how this year’s event will be held at Royal Hillsborough event on March 14 in public.
And the council’s recent corporate committee meeting agreed through majority vote (13-2) to provide £10k funding for the presentation ceremony.
However, there was division in the chamber over connection to a perceived lack of scrutiny on the funding for the St Patrick’s Day linked occasion.
Concerns about Governance
Sinn Féin councillor Gary McCleave said: “Just for the record we will not be supporting this recommendation.
“I have concerns around governance especially with this. There are groups within our council who have to go through the rigorous process of funding application and scrutiny a way back to the days of groups coming into council asking for money or putting in letters. So this request should be refused.”
A council officer said: “It is anticipated that the band of the RIR, cadets and veterans will parade through Royal Hillsborough for an official presentation of shamrocks to soldiers and officers in front of family and guests by a high ranking official.
“With this event being the first of its kind in public in Northern Ireland, it is likely to receive significant attention in the press and media.
"It is proposed that the council provides funding support from an in year underspend of £10k to meet infrastructure costs.”
The proposal was provided support from all other parties in the chamber.
Committee chairperson, Brian Higginson said: “This is a fantastic opportunity and I am proud that my parent regiment will be there, it is a proud day for us as veterans that this event is taking place in Royal Hillsborough.”
Lisburn’s Thiepval Barracks is home to the 2nd Battalion RIR with Royal Hillsborough considered the Northern Ireland residence of King Charles III.
The wearing of a sprig of shamrock by the RIR hails back to an order by Queen Victoria to recognise the involvement of Irish soldiers in the Boer War.
