03/04/2016 BBC Newsline

A woman from County Tyrone arrested and jailed for drugs smuggling

in Peru says she is a good person who made a bad decision.

Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, was freed on parole last week

after serving more than two years in prison in South America.

Relaxed and relieved - Michaella McCollum is pictured

here just days after her release from prison in Peru.

She'd tried to smuggle cocaine worth ?1.5 million out of the country,

an action she now describes as a moment of madness.

I simply made a decision in a moment of madness. I'm not a bad person, I

want to demonstrate that I'm a good person, and to do something good. I

regret the harm I've done and so much suffering I have caused to my

family and myself. In the time here I've thought it the drugs cost, what

would have happened? I would have had a lot of blood on my hands.

Along with Melissa Reid from Scotland, Michaella

was sentenced to six years and eight months in jail.

But last week, she was released on parole after serving

Now she's out of jail, and speaking out.

It feels like a dream, like its not real, like I'm going to wake up any

moment and be back in the nightmare. In an interview for a documentary

due to be broadcast on RTE tonight, the 23-year-old talks

about her regret of what happened... I was very naive, I was so young and

very insecure, a lot of times I didn't know how to say no to

somebody. I just followed along with that and part of me wanted to be

something I'm not. While she may be out of jail,

it's still not clear if Michaella will be allowed to return

to Northern Ireland, or if she'll have to stay

in Peru for even longer. The Alliance Party leader David Ford

has taken part in an interfaith service for all victims

of the Easter Rising The event saw the unveiling

of a memorial inscribed with the names of all those

who lost their lives during the Rising -

volunteers, soldiers, A gathering at Glasnevin for those

of many faiths and none, The Remembrance Wall,

with the names of all those known to have died

during the Easter Rising Volunteers, policemen,

119 British soldiers and, by far the biggest

group, 268 civilians. Among those present,

the Alliance leader and outgoing Stormont Justice

Minister David Ford. As we gather in this historic place,

we remember all those men, women and children who died during 1916.

Those from the main Christian denominations were joined by

Jewish and Islamic representatives and the Humanist Association

of Ireland, praying and commemorating

All lives are of equal value and 2016 must be the year in which the

narratives of all the people on this island are included and heard.

Behind each and every one of these last lives lies a story of

heartbreak. No matter what side the person served on or for those

innocently caught up in the conflict.

The Taoiseach laid a wreath at the event, which attracted some

controversy because of the inclusion of the names of

Four people have been arrested after a gun was found

Two men and two women were detained after the firearm was found

Gaelic games, and in today's final round of the Allianz National

Football League, Armagh have been relegated from Division 2

Fermanagh's draw against Tyrone was enough to avoid

Monaghan retained their place in the top tier after

Elsewhere, Antrim drew with Louth, Down lost to Mayo and

Northern Ireland sailors Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton have

won gold at the Princess Sofia Regatta in Majorca.

The 49-skiff event is one of the biggest

It was a really good Regatta for us, as always if you win, but at this

time of the year it means a lot, the start of the European season leading

up to the Olympics and we have been working hard, especially the last

six months, to try and improve and it is finally paying off so we are

really happy, things have come together, we have been working with

our twinning partners and to be top ten in the race was a solid result.

Coming up this week on BBC Newslin, we begin our build-up to

We'll be looking at a new generation of voters - those born in 1998,

the year the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

And we'll have the first of our constituency profiles

That's this week on BBC Newsline here on BBC One.

Now here's Angie Philips with the weather forecast.

I'm afraid or unsettled spell of weather will spill into the new

week. We have rain followed by showers, it becomes windy by the

middle of the week and will turn colder. This evening we have rain

showers scattered around with dry gaps in between and between those

showers it will become misty and murky and then later in the night

more persistent rain returns from the south-east. At least it is a

mild and frost free night. Tomorrow has an overcast start to the week,

also wet, a lot of surface water and spray on the roads, that rain works

its way inland through the morning and some heavy bursts are likely.

This prolonged band of rain extends from Scotland down into Ireland,

some heavy and potentially thundery showers moving into central England

but away from that dry and bright weather, still fairly reasonable

temperatures in the south-east that not as warm as today. For Northern

Brabant in the afternoon, the rain is still hanging about. Highest

rainfall totals are likely to be in eastern counties so bear that in

mind because there could be surface flooding. The best chance of drier

gaps towards the west later in the day. On Tuesday things are quieter,

we get brighter skies returning but on Wednesday Strong winds picking

up, colder air coming in and some rain mixed with hail -- hail and

thunder, which could be wintry on the hills.

Our next BBC Newsline bulletin is at 10:15pm.

Until then you can keep up to date with local news on BBC Radio Ulster