17/04/2012 BBC Newsline

Good evening, this is BBC Newsline. The headlines...

Good fire which killed a mother and daughter in Dungannon was started

deliberately. The police have appealed for the person responsible

to do the right thing. Why more than half of post-primary

schools in the north-east could close in a radical shake-up.

One million for the Orange Order to help it step towards reconciliation.

Should add Belfast street be named in the memory of one of the worst

atrocities of the Troubles? Tributes are paid to the founder of

the Corrymeela Community here in Ballycastle and around the world.

The spotlight is on medical care at football matches again after an

incident at a cup-tie in Belfast. Not much heat around today as this

cool showery spell of weather continues. I will have the details

later. The fire which killed a mother and

daughter in Dungannon at the weekend was started deliberately.

The police have called on whoever was responsible for the death of

Elizabeth McGirr and her daughter, Deidre, to search their conscience.

A man who was in the flat at Dunlea Vale at the time escaped unhurt.

The police have stressed that he isn't a suspect.

A gesture of grief and respect from the community mourning the loss of

two local women. 71-year-old Elizabeth McGirr, known as Betty,

and her daughter, Deidre, died in the fire at you do's home shortly

before 10 o'clock on Saturday night. -- the advert. The police now

believe the fire was started deliberately. The detective leading

the investigation had this message for whoever was behind it. It may

not have been your intention to hurt anyone. Things may have got

out of control. I would ask you to search a conscience, consider the

feelings of the family. Let them have closure around this and come

forward and tell us what happened. It is not too late to do the right

thing. The fire could easily have claimed a third life, something

detectives are stressing. Another resident of the flat managed to get

out of the building. It was nothing short of miraculous that he was

able to escape the flames and survive. The detective went on to

say that the man was in a long-term relationship with their grip and

was not expected of starting the fire. -- Deidre. Police have

reviewed their appeal for witnesses. 29 schools could be closed because

of financial pressures. A leaked document from the North Eastern

Education Board suggests cutting more than half of its post-

primaries. It covers most of County Antrim, including Larne and

Ballymena. In particular, schools in Ballymena are targeted. A board

spokesman says the document is a draft and final decisions are up to

the minister. Education Board have been told to

suggest changes which would result in a all post-primary is having at

least 500 people are getting results and not in debt. The north-

eastern border area has more than 3,000 empty spaces. Draft documents

leaked to the Ballymena Guardian said there could be only 20 post-

primary schools instead of the current 49. 29 out of 49 sounds

dramatic but considering lots of Catholic schools will amalgamate

and some will join to form bigger campuses, perhaps it is

understandable. Ballymena has been targeted for urgent action and a

group of local schools suggests closing two skills, including

Cambridge House Grammar. There are 10 schools in the Ballymena

partnership and one -- all but one have signed up to a proposal for

the future of schooling in this area. This one has not signed up.

It has 270 pupils and has formal intervention. The board of

governors has submitted its own proposals which could mean this

cabbie's catering for all ages. The North Eastern Board is happy that

suggestions are coming in. We are delighted to have these submissions

and we are aware that it is not necessarily signed up to buy all

schools. Teachers' unions admit skills will close but dramatic

headlines concern them. The biggest concern would be that the jobs

would be at greater risk if parents and pupils went with their feet.

Went sensationalised pet -- headlines:, parents will move the

children in advance of any decision. It has been stressed that no

decisions will be made without consultation.

The most ambitious projects by the Orange Order in a century - that's

how a new EU-funded reconciliation and confidence building scheme has

been described. Nearly a million pounds has been pumped into the

project, along with seven full-time staff.

This is one image people have of the Orange Order, men parading

behind bands, sometimes in areas where they are not welcome. The

Orange Order says it is much more than this and wants to tell people

about it. It wants Protestants to feel more able to come forward at

interface and a cross community levels. This three-year project,

the aims to do just that. Orange institution carries a great

burden of history. We are not seeking to divest ourselves of that

history. We want to remember 1690 and remember the Ulster covenant

and the part that the Orange Institution played in the formation

of this country of Northern Ireland. That does not mean we want to live

in 1690, or 1912. It is the biggest project the Orange Order has

undertaken in the last 100 years and in terms of the significance of

this organisation in Northern Ireland, its strength in terms of

its culture and presence, there is no question that today is a

milestone. Does this mean opening up official lines of communication

with republicans and Sinn Fein? portray it in this way is putting a

political aspect into the scheme which is not there. The idea of

this is to build good relationships and local level with people who are

comfortable to engage with us, but people we are comfortable in

engaging with. Unionist and nationalist politicians were at

today's announcement, where the mood was positive. My answer people

have been asking for this kind of thing. The nationalist community

has benefited from this kind of European money and generally

speaking the Protestant community has been behind the door.

Orange Order says the cross- community work and the end of this

work will reach out to about 8,000 people during a period of the

project. Whether or not they reach back will be key to the success.

Now an update on the wedding which was stopped in Larne registry

office. BBC Newsline was there yesterday when officers from the UK

Border Agency arrested five people suspected of being involved in a

sham marriage. Today, the would-be bride and two female witnesses were

in court in Antrim. 26 year-old Naydyne Botelho, who is originally

from Portugal but with an address in London, faces four charges. The

court was told she'd been paid �3,000 to take part and had already

married two other men from Nigeria. One of them has now gained

residency in the UK. The accused's solicitor said she co-operated

fully with the investigators. Ms Botelho wept as bail was refused.

Staff at the Belfast Telegraph say they are not convinced by

management assurances that there will be no job losses in the switch

to morning-only publication. The change at the end of the week will

leave Northern Ireland with no evening newspaper.

Their late Telegraph were once familiar cries from vendors. The

Evening Telegraph has been on sale in the streets of Belfast for

generations. In its heyday it has several editions throughout the day.

A country are Derry edition, the 4th, the early, the late and the

final, but the era of the evening newspaper is drawn to a close. The

Belfast Telegraph has decided it will no longer print during the day,

it will print one edition in the morning. Effectively ending the

traditional role as an evening newspaper. This will bring it head-

to-head against existing morning titles on the news stands. The term

evening newspaper has become irrelevant. There is not really

such a role any more in terms of Updating what has been available in

print earlier. By the time you do that, we have all caught up online

or on TV and elsewhere. That process has changed and the

Telegraph would say to you that they are responding to be changed.

While the latest figures show it remains Northern Ireland's biggest

selling regional newspaper with a circulation of almost 54,000, sales

have been falling, down 8% in May last six months of last year. No

one was available for interview but in a statement it said its focus

remains on the quality of its editorial content. A spokesman said

no jobs would be affected. According to one former trade union

has to work there, staff were worried about the future.

future, when you drop additions like this and become a morning

newspaper, jobs will be lost. -- E editions. The Belfast Telegraph is

now published in Newry. This important page turn in its history

begins on Friday. All the best, cheerier.

You're watching BBC Newsline. Still to come...

Remembering the life of a peacemaker - Ray Davey, founder of

the Corrymeela Community, dies at the age of 97.

And the story of the Limerick farmer who took the owners of the

Titanic to court, and won. Unionists are opposing a second

attempt to name a street in north Belfast in memory of the victims of

the loyalist bombing of McGurk's Bar in 1971. It looks like the

renaming will happen, but a DUP councillor says it's not

appropriate and would set a dangerous precedent.

This is a nationalist part of north Belfast and the residents of this

new development want to reject the street name chosen by the council

18 months ago. Officially this is freshers caught her. The name below,

is what the community wants in memory of 15 Catholics killed just

across the road in what was McGurk's Bar. What is the problem?

How does it offend anyone? They are innocent people and we are not

allowed to remember them? We are remembering the Titanic, let's get

real! Belfast council is divided on party lines. Unionists have found

themselves out voted in committee and are dismayed at the prospect of

losing again. It is right that we remember the terrible suffering and

the loss of life and the injuries and damage caused by bombings and

shootings. But by renaming streets, I do not think that is the right

way to do it, and I don't accept that some people do have -- I don't

doubt some people have an agenda. We could get into a competition, a

tit-for-tat situation. The bombing of McGurk's Bar was one of the

worst acts of the Troubles. The families of those killed say the

name change could act as an important reminder. Future

generations hopefully, whenever they ask for a query the etymology

of the police name, hopefully they will be able to attend to the

lessons of the past to ensure we do not do the same again. Belfast

councillors will be split once more when this issue comes before a

meeting of the full council on 1st May. Then, the name change could

well become official. What this demonstrates is that the past still

has the capacity to cause political division.

The work of people like the Reverend Ray Davey stopped our

society falling apart. That's one of the tributes paid to the founder

of the Corrymeela Community, who died yesterday. Ray Davey started

Corrymeela in 1965, before the Troubles, but as the conflict

worsened it became a centre for reconciliation and peace building.

Our district journalist has been spending the day at the Corrymeela

Community Centre near Ballycastle. There's certainly a very sombre

atmosphere today among those who knew Ray Davey. He started this

place in the 1960s as a place for reconciliation. He retired in the

1980s but was still very much involved. The building that we are

using at the moment bear his name. Five decades on, the work that he

started is still going on. Corrymeela Community came together

before the Troubles but its finer had already seen division and

violence close-up. Ray Davey was born in Dunmurry in 1915 as the

First World War raged. After university he trained as a

Presbyterian minister but on his first Sunday in the job, war broke

out. He served as a chaplain in Africa and was a prisoner of war in

Germany during the allied bombing. This experience shaped his thinking

and he came home with a determination to build bridges

between people and communities. was on a lovely part of the closed.

It already had accommodation for 60 or 70 people and it also had the

advantage of being a marvellously quiet place, a healing place, where

people could relax. That isolation became a valuable asset when

violence broke out in the late 60s. It was a time when the work of Ray

Davey and his volunteers took on a new urgency. What happened here was

not always universally welcomed. There were people coming to the

centre to talk and to use this open space, or do save space, and many

people would say we should not be talking to them at all in those

days. Obviously, paramilitaries, for example. Thousands of others

from all walks of life have -- of life have come here to help and

heal. The Corrymeela name and its founder are known around the world

and what Ray Davey started is still going on. The people who met him

were touched. They didn't have just made a great man, but he encouraged

them to find their own voice. have got a lot to learn from each

other, no matter what a point of view. We need each other and I feel

that is a tremendously important area for us to work together in for

the future. Tributes been paid to here, across Northern Ireland and

the world. Ray Davey touched a lot of lives and his legacy and the

legacy of Corrymeela lives on through them.

After a week at sea, the Balmoral, which has been tracing the route of

the Titanic, has reached Halifax in Nova Scotia. Many of the victims

are buried there and the families have been visiting the graves.

This is a city which is remembered for recovering the dead. A century

ago, the remains were brought to Halifax in Nova Scotia. One ship

was sent into the Atlantic to search for the bodies of those who

died on board the Titanic and to do with the sheer numbers, public

buildings had to be used as makeshift morgues. In these

cemeteries, scores of the victims still live. After visiting the

wreck site it was another important port of call for the passengers

paying tribute. It was clearly one of the most emotional of the

journey. Yesterday, this couple had their wedding blessed on board the

Balmoral. Today be took large from the service and placed them at the

graves. Very sad. Some people are looking for the names of those who

died but what strikes you is the sheer number of graves with just no

names at all on them. They are just known by numbers. For the

passengers to trace the route of the Titanic to the spot of the

sinking, one headstone in particular stood out, the grave of

the unknown child. In recent years, thanks to DNA testing, the boy was

identified but many still feel at personal connection with the story.

37 years ago I lost a baby. I did not know for six weeks but it had

been a little girl. We didn't find out until last year where she was

buried. Can you imagine what it would be like for a parent to know

that there is a child buried here and not know whether it is hers are

not? That's the one that really strikes home with me. A lost child.

One final part of this journey remains, to go to New York, the

city which held so many hopes and dreams for those who died.

Later tonight, BBC Newsline will broadcast a special programme

telling the story of a father who took the owners of the Titanic to

court and won. His family only found out about this David and

Goliath battle 100 years after the ship went down.

All this family ever knew about the Titanic was that they had a

relative who died on it. They knew nothing about the court case their

great-grandfather took a year after it sank. We were shocked when we

heard about it and amazed that Thomas Ryan, he had wanted to

pursue a case like this, taking on a huge company and that he actually

won. The great uncle Patrick had been on his way to a new life in

America when the ship went down. In 1913, his father, already in his

seventies, travelled from his home in County Limerick to the High

Court in London to suit White Star Line. The jury found in his favour,

that the owners of the Titanic had been negligent by not slowing down

after receiving several warnings of eyes. We are gobsmacked that this

has happened and it has come to light 100 years after. It is

amazing stuff. Tonight, in a special BBC Newsline programme, you

can follow the Ryan family on their journey of discovery.

You can see more on that story on BBC Newsline's special tonight on

BBC One at 10:35pm, after our late news.

An exciting night of football in the Setanta Cup, but not without

controversy. Crusaders have taken a big step

towards booking a place in the Setanta Cup final. They beat

Airtricity leaders Sligo Rovers 2-0 in the first leg of their semi at

Seaview last night. However, the visiting team were unhappy with the

speed of the medical care of the ground after one of the Sligo

players experienced breathing difficulties.

Knockout competition brings out the best in Crusaders. Two goals

brought an end to Sligo Rovers's unbeaten run. The club was forced

on the defensive following this injury to Rovers, Jason McGuinness.

He has had problems breathing and I am shocked there was no doctor on

hand. We had to wait for 10 minutes for oxygen. I find it appalling.

The issue is whether the host club should have had a doctor and

ambulance crew on site? Crusaders insist they met their obligations

by providing paramedic care. Maybe he was looking for a doctor as well

but we have a full ambulance crew and even our own Visio with a

defibrillator and everything. We are equipped for anything. On the

pitch, medical provision is a hot topic given the death of an Italian

footballer during a match at a weekend. Also, Fabrice Mumbai

suffering a cardiac arrest last month. It takes up a sizable but

vital part of the Budget. The it does cost clubs -- it costs clubs a

lot to have recovered. It is essential to have it and it is

absolutely no problem, we have to find the finance. As for the club's

fortunes in terms of silverware, having won the League Cup and

needed three to the Irish Cup final, Crusaders are now aiming for a hat-

trick. The injured Sligo player Jason

McGuinness is fine. If Crusaders get through to the final, their

probable opponents are Derry City, who beat Shamrock Rovers 3-0 in

Dublin. The key moment in the game came just 15 minutes in, went

Rovers' goalkeeper, Reyaard Pieterse, was set off for a

professional foul. His replacement, Oscar Jonsson, saved the ensuing

penalty but he couldn't stop Kevin Deery's following from the rebound.

The visitors doubled their lead in spectacular fashion early in the

second half through Patrick McEleny. It was 3-0 before the end, when

Ryan McBride headed home. The second legs in both semi-finals are

next Monday night. Ulster scrum half Paul Marshall has

been ruled out a Friday's Pro12 game against Leinster at Ravenhill

because of an elbow injury. There is still a question over his

availability for the Heineken Cup semi-final against Edinburgh on

Saturday week. Paul Marshall has had a scan and he

has a tear in the ligament in his elbow. It will take a bit of time.

We will know more next Tuesday and we can see if any healing has taken

place. We have to wait until next Tuesday. He will not play this

weekend but fingers crossed, the semi-final is not out of the

equation yet. Paddy Barnes has won his first

fight at the only pre-qualifying boxing event in Turkey. He stopped

his Hungarian upon it in the second round and he needs one more win in

the quarter-final against Romania tomorrow night to qualify for

London 2012. In Gaelic games, Terry Hyland is

the new Cavan senior football manager. His first match in charge

will be the opening round of Ulster Championship against holders

Donegal next month. Earlier today, Cecilia Daly said

she wanted weather photos of showers. She can now tell us what

There were plenty of choices. I've got a reply from someone called

Paul Donnelly with a shower cubicle! Other people obeyed the

rules and said in a proper pictures. We are going to keep this weather

for the rest of the week. Not everybody gets a share with all of

the time or in the same intensity. The most frequent heavy showers

were in the West. There were a lot of hailstones in Fermanagh and

Tyrone, towards Londonderry. Eventually, some showers hit the

east as well. There is an area getting going over the Antrim hills,

quite intense. Belfast is on the tail end of that. One of our father

was sent in a picture just before the Sharon arrived on the Cregagh

Road. -- the shower. No pressure to the rest of us at the moment,

gradually moving showers. -- moving south. By Thursday, it is quite far

away. Showers should be fewer but we will still have a cool northerly

wind. Not an awful lot of heat around the next few days. The worst

showers will ease the way this evening. Sa Ameobi East Coast and

particularly in the set East. -- some showers in the east coast and

the South East. For Western Counties, some sunshine tomorrow.

The East will be cloudier with showers compared to today. The show

was develop fairly randomly as the days go on. They will ease off in

the afternoon across Northern Counties. The win moves into the

North tomorrow afternoon and many parts of the North will become