24/03/2016 BBC Newsline

The headlines this Thursday evening: Emotional scenes as five members

of the same family are buried following the tragedy in Buncrana.

They went to watch the sunset together on Buncrana Pier. Unbeknown

to them all, an angel would be near. The cyclist who died in a crash

in Lisburn yesterday After years of negotiation,

the Executive agrees to publish Northern Ireland's

guidelines on abortion. Gardai investigate whether

the murder of a man in County Meath is linked to the Dublin

gangland feud. As Dublin gets ready to mark the

centenary of the Easter Rising, I'm inside the GPO, a building that was

at the very heart of the rebellion in 1916.

Northern Ireland take on Wales in a friendly tonight,

as both countries prepare for the Euros.

A cold night to come, but dry and bright for most of Friday.

There were heartbreaking scenes today at the funeral in Londonderry

of the family who died in the Buncrana pier

Five members of the McGrotty family, including three children,

died when their car went into the water.

The sole survivor, a four-month-old baby girl, was rescued

Our north-west reporter Keiron Tourish reports.

A final painful farewell to her youngest son, eight-year-old Evan.

Today, Louise James was comforted by family and friends as she made the

heartbreaking wart to Holy Family Church for the funerals of five

people so close to her heart -- heartbreaking walk. Mourners in

respectful silence, as a city stood united with the family. Parish

priest Father Paddy O'Kane spoke eloquently of the loss of all

involved, but none more so than Louise James. There were, he said,

no words to take away her pain. When the family car entered the water

here on Sunday evening, it claimed the lives of five people. Louise

James lost her partner Sean, and her two sons, Mark, 12, and

eight-year-old Evan. Gone as well her mother, Ruth Daniels, and

sister, Jodie Lee. The sole survivor, four-month-old

Rionaghac-Ann, who was then rescued by a passer-by, Davitt Walsh.

Without fear of his own life and safety, he entered Lough Swilly to

save Rionaghac-Ann, and I will be forever grateful to you. Thank you

so, so much. APPLAUSE

Ruth Daniels' son Joshua, who plays for Derry City, said his mother had

been an inspiration. My mother is a very loving, kind woman, treated

everyone the same, with a warm and infectious character. Growing up

with the traits that she had is in Apsley gift to me and everybody who

knew her. -- an absolute gift. She was a very proud person and love to

see people doing well. Sean's love for his family was proven, if proof

was ever needed, with his selfless actions last Sunday evening. A lot

of people may not know this, but our Sean couldn't swim. The boys of

Saint Josephs have been expressing their feelings about Mark McGrotty

in a special book and will present the memory box to his family. He was

hugely popular and is seen here on the left playing an Indian in the

school show. The choir at St Mary's are rehearsing before today's

funeral. Friends of Jodie Lee Daniels set smile and bubbly

character set her apart. Jodie was an amazing friend to have around.

She would brighten up any room. She said, smile, your face won't crack,

and it would make me laugh. She was a pleasure to have as a friend.

Louise James said her family went to watch the sunset at Buncrana Pier,

but never returned. All but her beautiful baby daughter, who is just

four -month-old. Even in the midst of such sorrow she had such

gratitude that one precious life had been spared.

The cyclist killed on our roads yesterday was a Syrian refugee

who was living and working in Lisburn.

Mahfouz Baleed and his family spoke to BBC Newsline in December

about how they'd settled into life here.

Happier times for Mahfouz Baleed and his family. The 47-year-old was a

dentist in Syria. The family lived in Aleppo, one of the cities worst

hit by the war. He came to Northern Ireland as a refugee last year,

joining his wife and children. Speaking to us in December he said

he had come here for a better life. I discovered that we must find a

safe place. I told my wife, because she has a foreign passport, to go

there and find anything to survive my children. Anything. I told her,

I'm ready to pay everything I have just to survive our family, because

no future in Syria within this war. He worked in a window blind factory

in Lisburn and died yesterday, when his bike collided with a lorry. He

was a great man, a very quiet man, very helpful, very generous. He was

a family man. He was working hard to try to provide for his family. He

leaves behind his wife and four children, including a 12-year-old

and six-year-old. I find it a gift from the heaven, we find any

different passport to put our children in a safe place. He got his

wish to protect his children from the war in Syria, but tragically

lost his own life in the country that was supposed to give them a

fresh start. The BBC has learned

that the Executive has agreed to publish Northern Ireland's

guidelines on abortion. It follows years of negotiation

between the Departments of Health and Justice, with an input

from senior clinicians. I'm joined by our health

correspondent, Marie-Louise How significant is this, and is it

finally resolved? The very fact they have been published is very

significant. Earlier, the Executive met in Londonderry and it was around

the table that the ministers agreed to finally published the much

anticipated guidelines on abortion. It's my understanding that the

minister was due to announce this tomorrow, but the detail can't come

soon enough. Politicians, clinicians and other interested groups will

want to know the finer detail. They will want to see if they address the

issue around fatal fatal abnormality. That's unlikely,

because all the guidelines can at this stage is offer clarity on the

existing law. However, if they are eventually accepted in full, they

could offer some clarity for health workers. We have also learned the

working group which salmon -- Simon Hamilton was asked to set up in

February will go ahead and it will include input from the Department of

Justice. Another significant development in the health service

today? Simon Hamilton has decided to abolish the health and social care

board. All commissioning powers are now to be transferred to the

Department of Health, which will also hold the five health trusts

here to account. The health and social care services a massive

machine that never stops working. So far, it's been the role of the

health board to ensure that machine runs smoothly,

including managing the five health trusts and negotiating how budgets

are spent. But now, that's all about to change. Following a consultation,

Simon Hamilton has decided to scrap the board, transferring power

instead to the Department of Health. So how will it work, and how much of

it affects the public? Instead of dealing with the board, the health

trusts will work directly with civil servants in the health Department.

It will be the department who will write the check for things like

operations, staff wages, buying equipment and community care. So who

will monitor performance? Well, a new group will be established within

the Department to scrutinise how trusts perform, if they balance the

books, all of which should mean a better service for patients. The

minister insists that cutting out a layer of bureaucracy will make for a

much more efficient service, while, he says, it's not about cutting

jobs, there's this morning. I think there will be an impact at senior

level within the organisation and I want to restructure it so we can

ensure that we get management of performance by our trusts and others

within the health and social care system accountable to the

Department. The board however insists that it is committed to

redeploying the 600 workers. For some, it's all been badly handled.

We are also very concerned at the shabby way the board's staff have

been treated. Many of them have contacted our office, expressing

concern about the way they have been treated. While this shake-up appears

radical, some critics argue that the announcement must go further. It

would be a measure of how successful it might be if the Minister has

defined we will slim down the number of senior posts we have one way or

another. In other words, we should be talking about needing fewer

people to make decisions at the top. Many senior people within the board

have told me they are furious about the timing of the Minister's

announcement and how staff weren't informed sooner. They argue that

while it may sound good, in practice it probably will deliver very

little. Still to come on the programme:

Another boost for the Northern Ireland television industry here,

with two new series filmed Gardai are investigating

whether the murder of a 55-year-old man in County Meath last night

was linked to the ongoing Noel Duggan was shot dead as he sat

in his car outside his home. Shot dead outside his own home. A

gunman was waiting for Noel Duggan as he drove his black Mercedes into

his driveway last night. He didn't stand a chance. He was shot at least

five times. The latest victim of Irish gun crime. Every time a man is

shot down in his own driveway in front of where his family were

inside in the house, that is a barbaric act. Any information that

the public can give is that will assist us in this investigation

would be greatly appreciated. It is in complete confidence. Any witness,

anybody giving us information, is treated in complete confidence. Noel

Duggan lived in the county Meath town 20 minutes outside Dublin. He

was regarded as a major gangland figure, but he did have a long track

record of cigarette smuggling. So much so that his nickname was King

Size. The recent gun attack at a boxing event inside a Dublin hotel

marked the explanation of a deadly feud between rival drug gangs. --

expansion of a deadly feud. Noel Duggan had connections in the past

with Jerry the Monk Hutch, so was this why he was shot dead last

night? On the face it looks like it but detectives say their

investigation is still in its early stages.

Over the next week there will be a whole series of events marking

the anniversary of the Easter Rising.

For this evening's BBC Newsline, Donna has been to a building that

will be forever linked to the events of 100 years ago.

I am inside the General Post Office, the GPO, on O'Connell Street in

Dublin. It was a building at the centre of the Easter Rising, 100

years ago, because this is where the rebels had their headquarters. A new

exhibition will open here next week, which will give first-hand accounts

of what went on. Family knowledge is also important as we remember the

centenary. With me as Helen Litton, a relative of Thomas Clark from

Dungannon. First signatory of the Cup proclamation and Ned Daly, the

youngest to be executed in the aftermath. What's it mean to be a

relative of the rebels? For many years it didn't mean very much, it

wasn't spoken about much in my home or anything like that. When I went

to visit Limerick I would hear a little bit about it. By and large

people didn't talk about it a great deal. 1966 was one time when there

was a big celebration. That was the first time there had ever been a

proper celebration of it. So it's only now it's coming home to me

really. I did research on a daily and have written biographies of him

and Tom Clarke, but it's only when I see the banners in the streets and

the flags and the way people come together, I have visited schools and

talked to grips about it and the ugly of the other around the country

has been extraordinary. -- talked to groups. I remember seeing a daily on

a banner and thinking, that's my great uncle, but it is an family. He

belongs to the country. I had never really quite felt that before. But

it is true. Helen, thank you. There is no doubt what happened in this

building and elsewhere during the Easter Rising was a huge milestone

in Anglo-Irish relations. Shane Morrison looks at how that

relationship has fared in the years since 1916.

It was a long time coming. The first state visit by a reigning monarch to

independent Ireland. The Queen and President honouring those who fought

against British rule. And such a long way from Easter 1916, what we

will call year zero in Anglo Irish relations. When Irish rebels took

over the GPO and claim -- proclaimed a Republican. The execution of the

leaders, the arrests of so many by the British afterwards and the

threat of subscript -- conscription to fight in the First World War all

helped to change opinion about the uprising. The conscription crisis

had an enduring an impact on Anglo-Irish relations as did the

1916 Rising. In the general election in 1918, most of southern island

voted for Sinn Fein and its goal of a Republican, while unionists

dominated in the North. The War of Independence broke out after the

newly elected Irish MPs refused to go to Westminster and set up a Dail.

In the resulting Anglo-Irish Treaty Northern Ireland stayed British, but

the remaining 26 counties were given self-government under the Crown. The

treaty led to a brief civil war. Michael Collins on one side, Eamon

De Valero on the other. In the late 1930s, why he was in power, Ayman

della Vero ended the role of the Crown, took control of the ports

from the British and declared Irish neutrality in the Second World War.

Eamon della Varo Osman neutrality allows German agents to establish

themselves in a an easy position. From the end of the warrant all the

Civil Rights campaign and the later outbreak of the Troubles, British

Irish relations remained largely on an even keel, but even in the midst

of disagreement about Northern Ireland the T states joined what

would become the European Union, resulting in much more contact

between leaders, ministers and civil servants -- two states. We saw one

another in a different light. It was no longer big Brother and smaller

brother, we were all together in a union which contained many other big

countries and smaller countries, and we were able to cooperate much more

normally and that has completely changed the type of relationship we

have had. Many believe that more normal changed relationship was

evidenced in 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement that gave the Republic a

say in Northern Ireland's internal affairs. And then later, with the

Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Both governments once again at one, but

this time with most of the political parties in Northern Ireland. So now,

100 years after the Rising, there is another potential landmark in

relations between the two states. The British referendum on the EU. A

Brexit could become another year zero with major implications for the

two Irelands. Anglo-Irish relations. Well, with me

in the GPO is the minister overseeing the commemorations of the

Easter Rising full stop given the nuances and complexities of the

rising, what was in your mind as you tried to get the tone right for

events? Well, I wanted these commemorations to be inclusive and

to be respectful and to be appropriate and I'm very conscious

that there are many different stories to be told around 1916, and

I wanted to hear all of the stories and it's in that spirit of things is

that a body that we went and started a year and a half ago and have had

great collaboration right across the country in terms of people wanting

to get involved -- a spirit of inclusivity. We have plans for every

single county and they all have their own plans for 1916, so this is

a citizens' commemoration and the input has been from the people of

Ireland. With all involved, does this then assign the rising to the

past, or what role could it have in the future? What we are doing is

commemorating the seminal events that happened in 1916, that

ultimately led to the independence of the state. But what we are also

doing, we are using the opportunity to look back on the last 100 years

of life in Ireland and to celebrate our achievements, because we have

many achievements, but also to look forward to the future and to

reimagine our future and also to look at our future together in the

spirit of reconciliation. Thank you, Minister. Preparations are still

continuing, to organise the commemorative events this weekend

and the week ahead with the GPO, the General Post Office, at the heart of

it all. And on Easter Sunday,

when the biggest commemoration will be taking place,

we'll be live with a special That's here on BBC One at 11:25am

on Sunday morning. The local television industry has

been boosted by the success But it's far from the only TV series

being filmed in Northern Ireland. Our arts correspondent

Robbie Meredith has news of two more high-profile productions,

one of which is on Action. Music. The heart of County

Down, Disney Channel style. They are filming their new musical drama The

Lodge here. The Lodge was about a girl I play, a city girl and her

mother sadly passes away at her at her and her dad move from the city

to her family's country Lodge. She finds out that her dad was planning

to sell the Lodge, so she convinces the servant to save the Lodge. It

will be filmed in autumn -- it will be shown in autumn. We are investing

quite a bit in production, postproduction, builders, sets,

filming in multiple locations in Northern Ireland. We will be

shooting kayaking scenes, mountain climbing. It's a busy time for the

local TV industry. This isn't the only high-profile production on our

screens this year. And they off. She is down. BBC One's new Saturday

night game show called You Can't Touch This starts this weekend. The

Titanic warehouse was transferred into a huge assault course. The fact

they created it here and made it here, the employment it creates and

this is an idea that it can become a returning series hopefully it can be

sold to other territories. Many TV productions here get public money.

The local industry body says the investment is worth it. Production

equals work, jobs, we have to have a scale and a continuity of work to

have a sector here. For every pound we put out we get ?6 back. Their aim

is for the number of shows filmed here to rise, even if that means

more people taking a fall. A big programme of international

football is upon us over Easter. Northern Ireland face Wales

tonight in a friendly The match, a 7:45pm kick-off,

is live on BBC Two and Radio Ulster One player in the form of his life

right now is defender Craig Cathcart, who's dreaming

of big things this summer In the best form of his career.

Giroud, brilliant defending and thereby Cathcart again, just next

away by the Northern Ireland international. Craig Cathcart is

living the footballers' dream. Already heading to the European

finals this summer with his country and now just one win away from an FA

Cup final with his club, Watford. Any other time I have played I have

never got past the third round, so this season has been a good run and

needed a bit of luck along the way and probably got that and hopefully

there's a bit more luck to come our way and we can get to the final and

once you get there, you never know what can happen. Craig Cathcart's

performances were so impressive is the manager changed the shape of his

team and it's something he may do again tonight. We have a small

resource of players that we have. It's very important to get your best

players on the pitch. Having him at the back was something I had toyed

with anyway. For me, he has been one of the outstanding centre backs of

the Premier League this year. Out by Cathcart, unruffled, calm as you

like. I try to keep a level head and get on with my job. If you keep

doing that it will come your way. You wouldn't bet against him

enjoying more memorable moments for both club and country in the coming

months. And it's been confirmed this evening

that Northern Ireland Striker Kyle Lafferty has joined Birmingham City

on loan from Norwich until the end Martin O'Neill's Republic of Ireland

face Switzerland tomorrow night in a friendly international

at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin - an important preparation

for this summer's finals. I want to experiment with a few

players. I also want to be competitive and I'd like to just

keep momentum going, because we don't have that many games left to

the start of the euros but effectively I want to play with a

bit of cohesion, just go and enjoy it.

Rory McIlroy is underway in his second group game in golf's

World Matchplay Championship in Texas.

The defending champion is looking to make it two wins out of two,

Despite a good start, McIlroy is one down against the American after four

holes. Coleraine's Alan Campbell remains

on course for a place at a fourth Olympic Games after winning

the men's single sculls at the GB It was his ninth win in 12 years

and now he's aiming to secure his It's going to be tough, it's going

to be very, very hard. There is a lot of talent out there in all

classes. I'm in there at the head of the pack today. Hopefully we can do

something really special together. A reminder we've live coverage

of the Wales-Northern Ireland friendly on BBC Two

and Radio Ulster - kick-off 7:45pm. Night-time -- no time for Easter

eggs for you this weekend! Now let's get the weather.

You might want to reach for the hot water bottle tonight because it will

be chillier than last night. The reason? Quite a bright evening, the

skies clearing a bit and that process continues overnight tonight.

As the cloud clears the way it helps the temperatures to drop down quite

markedly. It could be cool enough for a bit of frost in some rural

areas overnight tonight. We get off to a reasonably chilly start on Good

Friday morning. It's going to turn into quite a decent day. Certainly a

decent morning. We will get plenty of dry, bright conditions through

the morning, some decent spells of sunshine to go

with that. But get out and make the most of the early part of the day

because it won't take long for that cloud to start moving later on. We

have a weather front approaching from the West. Temperatures holding

up quite well, it 11-12. Ahead of the front the breeze will pick up

through the day. It won't take long before the rain pushes into Western

counties. It's not until the late evening and overnight period that

the band of rain moves across the whole of Northern Ireland.

Temperatures overnight will be more miles. As we head into Saturday

itself we keep the cloudy, windy feel. Always the rain could pop up

at any time. A pretty miserable picture if I'm honest. It's going

feel cooler than it has of late, with temperatures around 8-9dC. This

weekend, plenty of attention focused on Dublin with events to mark the

Easter Rising. If you are heading into Dublin, a pretty similar

weather pattern with Friday the warmest, driest day, the heaviest

rain coming through on Saturday. By the time we get to Sunday, always

the chance of quite a sharp shower popping up through the day. That's

going to be the case across Northern Ireland. Some of those showers could

be really quite heavy at times. It's going to have an April showers feel

to it. It's a cooler day. Casting an eye across the whole of the Easter

weekend, Good Friday stands out as the best, driest day. It gets wet

and windy after that. Our late summary is at 10:30pm.You

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