Browse content similar to 01/07/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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This is BBC Newsline on Friday the 1st of July. | :00:14. | :00:18. | |
The centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme | :00:19. | :00:21. | |
Here on the battlefields of France, a special service has been held | :00:22. | :00:27. | |
at the Ulster Tower to remember the 2000 soldiers from the 36th | :00:28. | :00:30. | |
Ulster Division who were killed on that first day. | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
I'll be looking back on that ceremony and will speak | :00:34. | :00:38. | |
Here at home, people gathered to mark the anniversary. | :00:39. | :00:53. | |
Wreaths were laid as a mark of respect for all those | :00:54. | :00:55. | |
100 years ago today, the bloodiest battle | :00:56. | :01:05. | |
In the five months that followed, one million soldiers | :01:06. | :01:11. | |
Thousands of them were from across Ireland. | :01:12. | :01:18. | |
In a moment, we'll hear about the commemorations here | :01:19. | :01:20. | |
But the main focus has been on France. | :01:21. | :01:23. | |
Tara Mills is there for BBC Newsline. | :01:24. | :01:28. | |
Yes, Donna, today's service here at the Ulster Tower reflected | :01:29. | :01:30. | |
the scale of the tragedy that happened in the fields around us | :01:31. | :01:34. | |
but it also captured the individual stories of bravery and sacrifice. | :01:35. | :01:39. | |
A generation wiped out and barely a town or village | :01:40. | :01:41. | |
The battle of de son ceremony for the 36th Ulster Division began with | :01:42. | :01:58. | |
the presentation of regimental colours of the royalist Irish | :01:59. | :02:01. | |
regiment. Several thousand people from Northern Ireland made the trip | :02:02. | :02:08. | |
for this special centenary. The day had begun much earlier in nearby | :02:09. | :02:14. | |
Thiepval Wood rear whistles were blowing just as they were 100 years | :02:15. | :02:17. | |
ago at the precise time the Ulstermen went over the top. Conor | :02:18. | :02:23. | |
McCracken's great uncle was one of them. I just think about what it | :02:24. | :02:26. | |
must have felt like him going over the top and knowing that his brother | :02:27. | :02:31. | |
has been killed in a before. Very poignant. Amongst the VIPs, Prince | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall who were warmly applauded by the | :02:36. | :02:38. | |
crowds as the arrived at the Tower of Ulster. During the service, | :02:39. | :02:43. | |
poignant letters written by soldiers in the trenches were about out. What | :02:44. | :02:49. | |
a waste of life. Glad they all were who died in the water. The 16th iris | :02:50. | :02:54. | |
division as well as the 36th Ulster Division, I still think if we had | :02:55. | :02:58. | |
those men beside us that day, we would have two Thiepval. It was the | :02:59. | :03:05. | |
day of remembrance and reflection. You just get a shiver. Everything is | :03:06. | :03:13. | |
so quiet. I have met people who had great grandfathers and great uncles | :03:14. | :03:17. | |
who have came and told me stories. Some of their bodies were never | :03:18. | :03:21. | |
found and some of them were awarded military crosses. It is very | :03:22. | :03:26. | |
interesting today because 100 years ago, people have started to talk | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
about their own families and what really happened. So plight -- | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
pleased to be here. It's an honour. As been arranged the graveyards and | :03:35. | :03:38. | |
there were lads who were 1516. It brings a tear to your eyes. I've | :03:39. | :03:44. | |
been here are the last number of years because this deal is | :03:45. | :03:47. | |
different. The number of people from Northern Ireland in the UK and the | :03:48. | :03:50. | |
number of people who are prepared 100 years on to give up time to pay | :03:51. | :03:55. | |
their respects. It is very hard to know in terms of common humanity and | :03:56. | :03:59. | |
ability to come together in respect. It just brings it home to what our | :04:00. | :04:07. | |
forefathers have done for us. Not just one part of the country but for | :04:08. | :04:14. | |
the other because it was both. Getting emotional. Both sides in the | :04:15. | :04:22. | |
war. They fought for the freedom we have today. There are no longer any | :04:23. | :04:27. | |
Battle of the Salma vengeance left to attend the services. Now it is | :04:28. | :04:32. | |
about honouring the memory of what happened in these fields, filled | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
with poppies at Thiepval. -- Battle of the Somme. | :04:38. | :04:40. | |
The First Minister laid a wreath today. | :04:41. | :04:41. | |
Afterwards, I asked her what the anniversary means to her. | :04:42. | :04:46. | |
It means so much to so many people in Northern Ireland which is why it | :04:47. | :04:52. | |
was so important for me to be here today to lay a wreath not just at | :04:53. | :04:56. | |
Thiepval but also at the Ulster Tower which encompasses the memories | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
for the 36th Ulster Division. I find the service today very moving, very | :05:02. | :05:04. | |
emotional and am very proud to have been a part of it. What was going to | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
your mind when you leave the wreath? What was going through my mind was | :05:10. | :05:12. | |
how people were thinking when their young sons, their young has-beens | :05:13. | :05:18. | |
worst year in such terrible, terrible conditions fighting for | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
freedom and when you look back at the old footage that has been | :05:23. | :05:26. | |
running all day today, it really is very difficult for us today to | :05:27. | :05:28. | |
comprehend the conditions they had to live in. The sacrifice that they | :05:29. | :05:34. | |
made and many of them volunteers and indeed the fullness of war and the | :05:35. | :05:40. | |
determination that surely we must stay away from that and we must make | :05:41. | :05:44. | |
sure that we have peace in our world and for us in Northern Ireland, that | :05:45. | :05:47. | |
is very important having come through the Troubles. | :05:48. | :05:49. | |
Of course, it wasn't just the 36th Ulster Division | :05:50. | :05:51. | |
More than a million men were killed and wounded - | :05:52. | :05:55. | |
British, Commonwealth and German soldiers. | :05:56. | :05:57. | |
Not far from here, another service was held at the Thiepval Memorial, | :05:58. | :05:59. | |
which bears the names of more than 72,000 men whose | :06:00. | :06:02. | |
It was attended by the Irish President Michael D Higgins | :06:03. | :06:07. | |
For guns, British and French marked the end of the overnight vigil at | :06:08. | :06:25. | |
the Thiepval Memorial. They had come to remember the stories of ordinary | :06:26. | :06:30. | |
men and women, including Belfast men Billy McFadden. At 6:45am on the 1st | :06:31. | :06:40. | |
of July 1916 he was at Thiepval Wood any narrow assembly trench. As he | :06:41. | :06:45. | |
was preparing for the attack, and ammunition box turned over. It | :06:46. | :06:48. | |
spilled to live grenades primed to explode. Billy threw himself on top | :06:49. | :06:56. | |
of them. He was killed at once. His actions saved the lives of many of | :06:57. | :07:00. | |
his comrades. This with the Commonwealth commemoration. Others | :07:01. | :07:09. | |
had further to travel. Indian cavalrymen, Australian soldiers who | :07:10. | :07:12. | |
fought fierce battles. New Zealanders who helped capture. The | :07:13. | :07:20. | |
South African Infantry Brigade. Soldiers from across Ireland | :07:21. | :07:23. | |
deserved a British Army in early September, the 16th iris division | :07:24. | :07:31. | |
fought at one of the fewest as part of the battle. -- fiercest parts of | :07:32. | :07:42. | |
the battle. The remit swept over Thiepval and the people of those | :07:43. | :07:46. | |
nations from all sides remembered more than 1 million souls lost but | :07:47. | :07:48. | |
not forgotten. For the first time, | :07:49. | :07:52. | |
a Catholic Archbishop attended I asked Archbishop Eamon Martin why | :07:53. | :07:54. | |
he had decided to come to This year was very special for many | :07:55. | :08:09. | |
people as they were commemorating the centenary year of the Battle of | :08:10. | :08:14. | |
the Somme. Along with Archbishop Richard Clarke, the Church of | :08:15. | :08:19. | |
Ireland, I've been thinking what can I do in a symbolic way, any way of | :08:20. | :08:25. | |
saying to people we are very conscious of the tremendous | :08:26. | :08:29. | |
sacrifice and bravery of those who went to war and also we are very | :08:30. | :08:34. | |
anxious to promote a message of peace, healing and reconciliation. | :08:35. | :08:38. | |
My presence here today as part of that wish. It is so much a part of | :08:39. | :08:44. | |
our history. It is part of our shared history. It is sad that down | :08:45. | :08:48. | |
to the decades, our histories have moved apart and we've begun to feel | :08:49. | :08:54. | |
separate about what it plays here and yet the stories here show that | :08:55. | :09:02. | |
Protestants and Catholics stood and fought side-by-side for freedom. And | :09:03. | :09:09. | |
trapeze. I really hope that we've taken a small step forward to | :09:10. | :09:12. | |
recovering the complexity of the narrative and the fact that we do | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
have something very much in common than we think back to the bravery of | :09:17. | :09:20. | |
those men. We sometimes forget that on the very first day of July, there | :09:21. | :09:26. | |
were many members of the, for example, Royal Dublin 's and other | :09:27. | :09:30. | |
regiments who fought and died here who were decimated during this full | :09:31. | :09:35. | |
horrific battle. Do you think we can they remember it together and move | :09:36. | :09:41. | |
on? We still have some way to go because of more recent conflicts but | :09:42. | :09:45. | |
I think we are taking a step forward where there is a more generous | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
narrative going on now. As our younger people begin to uncover | :09:51. | :09:54. | |
history and ask questions for themselves, I think we are seeing a | :09:55. | :09:58. | |
way forward and today, I must say, I have been welcomed by so many people | :09:59. | :10:03. | |
who coming up to me and saying, we are glad you are here. It is | :10:04. | :10:07. | |
important for me but also for those who traditionally come here to open | :10:08. | :10:13. | |
up a little bit and have much more in common as we remember the | :10:14. | :10:16. | |
sacrifice that took place 100 years ago. | :10:17. | :10:18. | |
The next generation of soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment | :10:19. | :10:20. | |
were central to today's music and readings. | :10:21. | :10:23. | |
One of them Leuitenant Conor McCracken, who we saw in Mervyn's | :10:24. | :10:25. | |
report, also has a family connection to the Somme. | :10:26. | :10:37. | |
My great grandfather from Thiepval Wood advanced to the first German | :10:38. | :10:47. | |
line to the third German lines, about 500 metres that way where he | :10:48. | :10:51. | |
was shot in the soldier and sustained further wins and he then | :10:52. | :10:55. | |
crawled back to the road where I marched on the colours which was | :10:56. | :10:58. | |
then a sunken road Ricky took cover and got injured again. He was | :10:59. | :11:08. | |
brought back to the dressing station. He did survive but was | :11:09. | :11:15. | |
badly injured. His brother was also killed the night before moving into | :11:16. | :11:18. | |
the line so it actually occurred there was a two men from his company | :11:19. | :11:24. | |
that survived to move into line at 6am and having wrote a letter back | :11:25. | :11:28. | |
to family, he says they could think about was his brother being killed | :11:29. | :11:32. | |
before. It was a very poignant day for each carrying the Queen's colour | :11:33. | :11:36. | |
in and although the focus was on the service that was here, I was | :11:37. | :11:41. | |
thinking about what would have happened at this time 100 years ago | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
and we're in the battle he might have been. | :11:47. | :11:52. | |
I also spoke to father and son George and William Sayer | :11:53. | :11:55. | |
from Donermana, County Tyrone, who have been coming to the Somme | :11:56. | :11:57. | |
for more than ten years, who told me about their experiences. | :11:58. | :12:02. | |
There were a lot of young people who had no way out. They joined the | :12:03. | :12:22. | |
Army. It was better than nothing. Why is it important for you to come | :12:23. | :12:26. | |
along, has your dad passed the history down? I am intrigued to. I'm | :12:27. | :12:34. | |
interested in the tracing his steps back to this very spot not to fire | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
from here where he lies. Ten years ago, we went out as the couple and | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
Lady Poppy on his grave for the first time. For me to take my father | :12:43. | :12:49. | |
here today, we look back on fullness of the trips we have made here and a | :12:50. | :12:52. | |
poignant remembrance of him that gave so much for my freedom and for | :12:53. | :12:59. | |
the peace and the place that I have today as a young man. Do you | :13:00. | :13:04. | |
appreciate that? You think the rest of us appreciate it? I appreciate it | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
sincerely and I would like to think that hopefully this would be a case | :13:09. | :13:12. | |
where we can put this across to others to remember the sacrifice | :13:13. | :13:15. | |
that was given on their behalf with a piece that we all enjoy today as | :13:16. | :13:16. | |
individuals. Families and friends looking back | :13:17. | :13:18. | |
and remembering a generation lost And events have also been | :13:19. | :13:21. | |
taking place back at home Yes, Belfast and Dublin were just | :13:22. | :13:24. | |
two of the cities where wreaths were laid to remember | :13:25. | :13:30. | |
all of the Irish men It was an emotional day | :13:31. | :13:33. | |
for the relatives of those who from all walks of life didn't | :13:34. | :13:37. | |
make it home from the war. At Belfast City Hall, | :13:38. | :13:42. | |
people gathered for a wreath laying ceremony remembering the men | :13:43. | :13:49. | |
from both the 36th Ulster Division and the 16th Irish Division | :13:50. | :13:53. | |
who lost their lives at the Somme. Among those paying tribute | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
was the Lord Mayor Brian Kingston and the Irish government | :13:59. | :14:02. | |
minister Leo Varadkar. Elsewhere in Belfast, | :14:03. | :14:13. | |
people in Tower Street organised a cross community | :14:14. | :14:15. | |
and Somme street festival. Local residents me surged six | :14:16. | :14:28. | |
soldiers that are on the wall and done their homework. One of which is | :14:29. | :14:35. | |
the local lads. I think is good for this committee. During times of the | :14:36. | :14:42. | |
committee, the bigger heart and soul into it. | :14:43. | :14:44. | |
At Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, soldiers from the 38th Irish Brigade | :14:45. | :14:47. | |
mustered at the Thiepval Memorial for an ecumenical | :14:48. | :14:49. | |
In the Republic, a commemoration was held at Irish National War | :14:50. | :14:54. | |
Memorial Gardens in Island Bridge, involving the Irish Defence Forces | :14:55. | :14:57. | |
It's almost impossible to imagine what it would have been | :14:58. | :15:08. | |
like as the men left their trenches to advance | :15:09. | :15:10. | |
At a commemoration in Enniskillen Castle, | :15:11. | :15:17. | |
a bugle used at the Somme was played once again, recreating the evocative | :15:18. | :15:20. | |
Here's our south-west reporter, Julian Fowler. | :15:21. | :15:33. | |
At 7.30am, bugles signalled the 'advance' - the moment | :15:34. | :15:37. | |
when 100,000 men went over the top into No Man's Land. | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
One of those bugles belonged to Drummer Jack Downs | :15:44. | :15:45. | |
from Londonderry and it, again, sounded the advance | :15:46. | :15:48. | |
Today, his bugle was played by Stephen Humphreys, | :15:49. | :15:54. | |
I'm only 17 at the moment and it doesn't even seem normal. I don't | :15:55. | :16:08. | |
know how schoolboys could just go off to war. It doesn't seem normal. | :16:09. | :16:14. | |
Jack Downs survived the Somme but was killed later | :16:15. | :16:16. | |
The bugle is now part of the collection of | :16:17. | :16:21. | |
It is the one article in a collection that can speak. | :16:22. | :16:31. | |
Photographs and medals are very poignant but these are the exact | :16:32. | :16:34. | |
science and relatives would have heard 100 years ago. | :16:35. | :16:36. | |
By the end of the first day, more than 600 Inniskillings would be | :16:37. | :16:39. | |
In the regimental chapel at St Macartin's Cathedral, | :16:40. | :16:42. | |
there's a new stained glass window to remember their sacrifice. | :16:43. | :16:53. | |
We will return to the battle of the Somme commemoration is later in the | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
programme. In other news, paint has been thrown | :16:58. | :16:59. | |
over two Orange halls in Banbridge in what the poilce say | :17:00. | :17:02. | |
is a sectarian attack. Republican graffiti was also daubed | :17:03. | :17:04. | |
on the walls of Tanvally and Corbet The Orange Order says 12 | :17:05. | :17:07. | |
of its properties have The Equality Commission has | :17:08. | :17:10. | |
rescinded its approval of the process used | :17:11. | :17:17. | |
by Newry and Mourne Council to review the naming | :17:18. | :17:19. | |
of McCreesh Park in Newry. Local people's decision to name | :17:20. | :17:22. | |
the play park after the hunger striker Raymond McCreesh | :17:23. | :17:25. | |
has been controversial. The chief equality commissioner | :17:26. | :17:29. | |
Dr Michael Wardlow says, following a legal challenge, | :17:30. | :17:32. | |
the council now needs to look The Fire and Rescue Service | :17:33. | :17:35. | |
is investigating the cause of a fire which destroyed a bungalow | :17:36. | :17:42. | |
near Crumlin in County Antrim. A man was treated for shock | :17:43. | :17:46. | |
at the scene and neighbouring properties on Manse Road | :17:47. | :17:49. | |
were evacuated. Four fire appliances | :17:50. | :17:51. | |
were used to tackle the blaze Inspectors have said more must be | :17:52. | :17:54. | |
done to tackle mental health problems of vulnerable men | :17:55. | :18:01. | |
in Maghaberry Prison. Criminal Justice Inspection has | :18:02. | :18:06. | |
published its full report of an inspection in January | :18:07. | :18:10. | |
confirming that the situation in the prison has stabilised | :18:11. | :18:12. | |
and improved since last year, when they branded it one of the most | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
dangerous in Europe. But its says more needs to be done, | :18:18. | :18:20. | |
and has recommended a review of a decision to close an in-patient | :18:21. | :18:23. | |
health facility at Maghaberry which provided care to men | :18:24. | :18:26. | |
with significant physical In Gaelic games, both the Ulster | :18:27. | :18:29. | |
senior football semi-final Tomorrow evening, the defending | :18:30. | :18:38. | |
champions Monaghan meet Donegal and then, on Sunday, | :18:39. | :18:43. | |
Tyrone take on Cavan. Tyrone are in search of a first | :18:44. | :18:46. | |
provincial crown since 2010. Earlier today, BBC Newsline's Mark | :18:47. | :18:52. | |
Sidebottom caught up with Tyrone manager Mickey Harte at the county's | :18:53. | :18:55. | |
centre of excellence. You join as in the Tyrone trophy | :18:56. | :19:10. | |
room with me Mickey Harte. All you've got to do is beat them to get | :19:11. | :19:16. | |
back to a final. We are in it to win it. Caven posed a big challenge to | :19:17. | :19:22. | |
us. We expected to win the first game but it didn't happen. The goals | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
hurt you. You have opted to change a keeper. What's the thinking? Two | :19:28. | :19:32. | |
keepers Eric excellent keepers and it was neck and neck for them all | :19:33. | :19:37. | |
the way. It was because of a coin between the of them. We don't always | :19:38. | :19:49. | |
listen to the criticism that comes our way. If an opportunity presents | :19:50. | :19:55. | |
itself, then if it's right for him, we'll let him have it. Tomorrow's | :19:56. | :20:02. | |
nights game, who do you feel has the edge? Student got to stay. It's not | :20:03. | :20:06. | |
an issue for us at the moment. Looking at the last game, both teams | :20:07. | :20:11. | |
had a chance to seal victory and its two Morrisons credit that he clawed | :20:12. | :20:16. | |
their way back. These two teams I neck and neck and you would be | :20:17. | :20:20. | |
filled are just who could win the outcome. You never give too much | :20:21. | :20:26. | |
away. Tyrone Caven replay will be an at 6:30pm. Both live on BBC radio | :20:27. | :20:30. | |
Ulster. The dismantling will begin | :20:31. | :20:39. | |
here shortly but it will be a long time before those who attended | :20:40. | :20:42. | |
forget today's ceremony. Historian Phillip Orr has | :20:43. | :20:44. | |
been with me all day. It must have been difficult to | :20:45. | :20:52. | |
balance the courage and bravery with the tragedy of war. It is a | :20:53. | :20:56. | |
difficult one but I think the balance was struck well. The wreaths | :20:57. | :21:00. | |
are still up there and they are a reminder of the homage, the lying | :21:01. | :21:06. | |
there upside the tower, the homage that so many people from families to | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
county councils and various groups right through to royalty, they want | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
to show a sense of honour and on the other hand we heard stories from | :21:16. | :21:23. | |
letters that were written by people who clearly had lost their lives | :21:24. | :21:27. | |
eventually in the conflict. We became very aware of the personal | :21:28. | :21:31. | |
note. I think the balance was struck fairly well. It's difficult. You | :21:32. | :21:36. | |
have spoke to many veterans before the died. What would be have made of | :21:37. | :21:43. | |
today? That is a hard one. Who knows exactly what they would think. I | :21:44. | :21:47. | |
would suggest that the media would warn us to be careful. One man in | :21:48. | :21:52. | |
particular that I spoke to looked out on a world as it was at the time | :21:53. | :21:58. | |
when interviewed him of the Cold War and he said it seems to me we | :21:59. | :22:03. | |
haven't learned anything at all. I would say whilst there is water in | :22:04. | :22:06. | |
the Middle East, while refugees are tumbling out of those conflicts | :22:07. | :22:10. | |
owns, while there is still threat of conflict around the globe, some of | :22:11. | :22:14. | |
the wise old men that I would have met would see, learn the lesson of | :22:15. | :22:20. | |
what we went through, learn the lesson. It was very difficult for | :22:21. | :22:23. | |
many of them because they came back, the ones that did survive, and | :22:24. | :22:27. | |
thought it would be the war that ended all worries and it wasn't. Hot | :22:28. | :22:32. | |
on the heels, World War II. We have to remember that. Many men came back | :22:33. | :22:39. | |
to poverty and disability. Most of all, I would have said, the came | :22:40. | :22:42. | |
back to hunting memories. The memories didn't go our way. Once | :22:43. | :22:46. | |
you've been any word like World War I, if you been in the front line or | :22:47. | :22:52. | |
on the field we are standing here on today, your war goes on to the rest | :22:53. | :22:56. | |
of your life. Very often, towards the end of, when you are frail at | :22:57. | :23:00. | |
all is, that is when some of those memories start to bother you and | :23:01. | :23:03. | |
service because you are facing your own mortality as well. A sombre note | :23:04. | :23:08. | |
is appropriate at the end of the today as much as we have relished | :23:09. | :23:11. | |
the whole experience and even as it begins to clear and we just if you | :23:12. | :23:17. | |
have is left here in the thousands that have been here and have gone, | :23:18. | :23:21. | |
perhaps a quieter note is in not inappropriate note to finish on as | :23:22. | :23:28. | |
we think about the horrendous battle of the Somme campaign. When it comes | :23:29. | :23:31. | |
down to where we are now and looking forward to the future, there was a | :23:32. | :23:36. | |
run-up to the centenary. How you will be remember any future? Will | :23:37. | :23:41. | |
they be people here next year or ten or 20 years? I think people will | :23:42. | :23:45. | |
still continue to come here because they've established a pattern of | :23:46. | :23:49. | |
doing so every year and I think many of the men and women that I know who | :23:50. | :23:52. | |
relish coming year and love the whole experience, they are not want | :23:53. | :23:58. | |
to miss that. The years are going to pass by and other things to think | :23:59. | :24:02. | |
about another battle to think about. Perhaps that will be the focus of | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
attention as much as the Battle of the Somme. Thank you for your | :24:07. | :24:07. | |
thoughts today. There's a special BBC | :24:08. | :24:10. | |
Newsline on Sunday to mark William Crawley will be looking | :24:11. | :24:12. | |
back on her many visits to Northern Ireland over | :24:13. | :24:16. | |
the last six decades. That's at 5.15pm this Sunday | :24:17. | :24:18. | |
on BBC One. Here's Geoff Maskell | :24:19. | :24:20. | |
with the weather. I thought I picked up a nice | :24:21. | :24:38. | |
cheerful summer picture this evening. Not because it reflected | :24:39. | :24:41. | |
what the weather was doing but I think we could do with the remainder | :24:42. | :24:44. | |
of what summer is meant to look like. Those showers continuing. They | :24:45. | :24:50. | |
were bringing us hailstones through the day-to-day and rumbles of | :24:51. | :24:53. | |
thunder. Overnight, the showers continue. Things do improve as we go | :24:54. | :25:02. | |
through the weekend a bet, it will become drier and brighter as we get | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
through the weekend but always the risk of a shower around and that is | :25:07. | :25:10. | |
certainly going to be the case on Saturday morning. Those showers | :25:11. | :25:13. | |
continue to be driven in from the west on that breeze. But there is | :25:14. | :25:18. | |
some good news because as we head into words the afternoon of those | :25:19. | :25:23. | |
showers will start to finish out, the breaks will start to open up | :25:24. | :25:28. | |
just a little bit, the sunny spells will get longer, temperatures still | :25:29. | :25:33. | |
on the cool side. Certainly, the day ends better than it began. | :25:34. | :25:37. | |
Overnight, the odd shower will continue to work its way in and | :25:38. | :25:41. | |
those night-time temperatures are quite low. At this time of the year, | :25:42. | :25:49. | |
we would normally expect a big area of high pressure to be setting | :25:50. | :25:52. | |
higher up in the Atlantic giving us a shield to our weather. That is not | :25:53. | :25:58. | |
the case this year. That being said, Sunday is not looking too bad a day. | :25:59. | :26:03. | |
It will be a drier day although there will be some rain towards the | :26:04. | :26:07. | |
night-time. The odd shower but much more in the way of drier, brighter | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
conditions and that will help with the temperatures on Sunday. | :26:12. | :26:16. | |
Overnight though, the rain comes back and by Monday for the start of | :26:17. | :26:21. | |
the new working week, that rain it could be pretty persistent and a | :26:22. | :26:25. | |
soggy start. This is the picture for the next few days. | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
We leave you with some of the pictures from the commemoration | :26:31. | :26:32. | |
at the Ulster Tower in France this afternoon as they remembered | :26:33. | :26:35. | |
the soldiers from the 36th Ulster Division who lost their lives | :26:36. | :26:37. | |
in the Battle of the Somme which began 100 years ago today. | :26:38. | :26:48. |