21/12/2015

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:00:14. > :00:16.Good evening - the headlines on BBC Newsline:

:00:17. > :00:18.The funeral is held of a West Belfast man beaten

:00:19. > :00:31.A seven-year-old boy dies in a road accident in County Fermanagh.

:00:32. > :00:33.The BBC's Sports Personality of the Year is hosted in Belfast

:00:34. > :00:36.for the first time - with some well known and some not

:00:37. > :00:47.These are people you see on TV all the time and just to be able to

:00:48. > :00:54.share a stage with them, in some believable. Sports personality of

:00:55. > :00:56.the year has now gone, but what will be the lasting impact for Belfast?

:00:57. > :01:00.A quarter of a million passengers are coming through the three local

:01:01. > :01:03.airports as families and friends reunite for the festive season -

:01:04. > :01:23.# Nearly 2000 years ago, under a starlit sky.

:01:24. > :01:25.We have a Christmas Carol from pupils of

:01:26. > :01:30.And only four more sleeps until the big day -

:01:31. > :01:33.I'll be back with the latest on the Christmas forecast.

:01:34. > :01:36.A priest has urged young people in West Belfast not to take the law

:01:37. > :01:42.He was speaking at the funeral of Christopher Meli,

:01:43. > :01:49.who was beaten to death in Twinbrook where he was visiting friends.

:01:50. > :01:49.The young men's family also called for no retaliation for his murder,

:01:50. > :01:55.One of the teenagers accused of Christopher Meli's murder

:01:56. > :02:02.Another had bail refused amid fears that he would re-offend.

:02:03. > :02:11.Family and friends gathered outside the Mealy family home off

:02:12. > :02:15.the Springfield Road this morning. They stood silently as the coffin

:02:16. > :02:16.of 20-year-old Christopher Mealy was carried outside,

:02:17. > :02:23.before being placed in a horse-drawn hearse.

:02:24. > :02:25.A lone piper walked ahead of the cortege playing a lament.

:02:26. > :02:31.At the Church of the Annunciation in nearby New Barnsley,

:02:32. > :02:32.more people joined the mourners filing in for the Requiem Mass.

:02:33. > :02:36.During the service, the parish curate Father Aidan Denny spoke

:02:37. > :02:41.of what he called a stupid group of teenagers who did this horrible

:02:42. > :02:43.deed, and he went on to urge young people in the area not to take

:02:44. > :02:48.the law into their hands, echoing calls for no retaliation

:02:49. > :02:51.from the victim's family. The priest also spoke of the sudden

:02:52. > :02:58.and tragic loss which the family are having to come to terms with.

:02:59. > :03:07.Nothing can prepare us for something like this and naturally we ask why

:03:08. > :03:12.it happened. And there is a tendency to say, it is the will of God. But

:03:13. > :03:16.As the cortege moved away not will this tragedy to happen.

:03:17. > :03:18.As the cortege moved away from the church for the burial,

:03:19. > :03:24.Christopher Mealy's mother Vannessa clutched a photograph

:03:25. > :03:25.of her son in one hand, while placing the other

:03:26. > :03:25.on his coffin as she followed it down the road towards

:03:26. > :03:32.the city cemetery. The police say they have

:03:33. > :03:34.significantly increased patrols in West Belfast since the murder

:03:35. > :03:40.of Christopher Mealy. Local political and community

:03:41. > :03:40.leaders have expressed concern following an attack on another group

:03:41. > :03:50.of teenagers at the weekend, The police were in the Twinbrook

:03:51. > :03:52.area yesterday, close to where Christopher Mealy died.

:03:53. > :03:57.They were appealing for information about his murder.

:03:58. > :03:59.Officers have also been spending more time in the wider West Belfast

:04:00. > :04:04.area in recent days. Over a week after the murder,

:04:05. > :04:09.there are political concerns about about vigilantes.

:04:10. > :04:16.There are people from armed groups going about in cars appear, like

:04:17. > :04:23.vigilantes, all week. This has to stop. They have to stop doing this

:04:24. > :04:23.because they are intimidating people and people in this area are very

:04:24. > :04:30.fearful for their children. On the nearby Stewardstown Road,

:04:31. > :04:31.a teenager was attacked and beaten by a number of people

:04:32. > :04:33.early yesterday morning. He suffered a suspected broken nose.

:04:34. > :04:40.Today the police have appealed to the wider local community in the

:04:41. > :04:46.area to help reduce tensions. In turn, the local community has called

:04:47. > :04:46.These community workers into the area over the coming days.

:04:47. > :04:48.These community workers are finalising arrangements

:04:49. > :04:53.for a big Christmas community event here tonight.

:04:54. > :04:54.But they've also been shifting their focus to the deal

:04:55. > :05:01.with the fallout from the unforeseen events of recent days.

:05:02. > :05:05.There is increased attention. We had a very large group of volunteers out

:05:06. > :05:06.on Friday night in the area of reassuring people.

:05:07. > :05:12.And the community leaders say they're trying to show people

:05:13. > :05:13.a different way forward to help them get over the dangers on the streets.

:05:14. > :05:19.Maybe they shouldn't be hanging about in their gangs and shouldn't

:05:20. > :05:21.be drinking on the streets and drinking in areas where that happens

:05:22. > :05:27.regularly. Just days from Christmas,

:05:28. > :05:28.this is a community hoping for an end to the tensions of recent

:05:29. > :05:34.days and a return to normality. A community in County Fermanagh

:05:35. > :05:37.is mourning the loss of a seven year old boy who was who was killed

:05:38. > :05:41.in a road accident yesterday. He was hit by a car

:05:42. > :05:43.on Latone Road near Belcoo. Here's our south west

:05:44. > :05:52.reporter Julian Fowler. Seven-year-old Ryan McGovern lived

:05:53. > :05:58.with his parents and two brothers on the road between Garrison

:05:59. > :06:00.and Belcoo, a few miles from where he was killed.

:06:01. > :06:07.Ryan was struck by a car which was travelling along the road yesterday

:06:08. > :06:13.lunchtime. He was brought to hospital, where he later died.

:06:14. > :06:14.This latest tragedy on our roads has left another family,

:06:15. > :06:22.another community, devastated. Here are just heartbroken. I'm

:06:23. > :06:25.talking on my own behalf of the half of the old community, I cannot

:06:26. > :06:31.imagine or believe how they are feeling, because I have a small boy

:06:32. > :06:40.at the same age, they were in the same class and they play together,

:06:41. > :06:41.it's very sad, very, very sad. And for the school beside us as well, my

:06:42. > :06:50.sweet it would've been full of the joy of Christmas. Yes, the school

:06:51. > :06:51.play and the children running about playing, words can't describe it.

:06:52. > :06:56.I'm just devastated. The police in Enniskillen have

:06:57. > :06:58.appealed for anyone who witnessed the accidnet to contact them.

:06:59. > :07:02.Julian Fowler, BBC Newsline, Garrison.

:07:03. > :07:02.Still to come on the programme this evening Stephen Watson's

:07:03. > :07:11.We'll hear from Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill and reflect

:07:12. > :07:17.on Ulster Rugby's European triumph in France.

:07:18. > :07:20.The Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has praised the prominent

:07:21. > :07:25.republican Thomas "Slab" Murphy for, what he called, 'his invaluable

:07:26. > :07:27.The South Armagh man was convicted last week on nine counts of tax

:07:28. > :07:34.evasion by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

:07:35. > :07:41.Here's Our Political Editor Mark Devenport.

:07:42. > :07:41.For decades, Thomas "Slab" Murphy, here wearing a cap, has been

:07:42. > :07:44.regarded as a leading republican on the border between South Armagh

:07:45. > :07:49.Last week, the farmer was convicted of nine charges of tax evasion.

:07:50. > :07:52.But Sinn Fein said he'd been treated unfairly.

:07:53. > :07:57.Gerry Adams criticised the decision to deal with his case at

:07:58. > :07:57.the Dublin Special Criminal Court, which operates with

:07:58. > :08:06.British, Irish and Stormont ministers faced questions

:08:07. > :08:08.today about the handling of Tom Murphy's case.

:08:09. > :08:14.Martin McGuinness said his support had been vital to what he called

:08:15. > :08:23.the amazing progress achieved in the last 20 years.

:08:24. > :08:26.It wouldn't have happened without the support of people like Tom

:08:27. > :08:31.Murphy and we need to understand that. Tom Murphy has found himself

:08:32. > :08:39.before a court on revenue matters. There have been others who have

:08:40. > :08:39.found himself before courts, business people, but none of them

:08:40. > :08:42.are to be described as criminals. However, other ministers didn't

:08:43. > :08:44.share Sinn Fein's concerns Peter Robinson reckoned it

:08:45. > :08:49.would have been sheer madness to have heard the Murphy case

:08:50. > :08:57.in front of a jury. I don't think it would have been any

:08:58. > :09:04.different result had there been a jury, I think a jury would've been

:09:05. > :09:06.much more suspect will to pressures. There are very good reasons and have

:09:07. > :09:13.been for a number of years as to why we have had special criminal courts

:09:14. > :09:19.and we will continue to have them. It's important in the context of

:09:20. > :09:22.bringing people to justice that every effort is made to ensure that

:09:23. > :09:28.we can bring an end to this port is crime within communities.

:09:29. > :09:32.The ministers have confirmed that a new joint task force intended to

:09:33. > :09:37.tackle met paramilitary crime will have its next meeting next month.

:09:38. > :09:43.Some stories in brief next and a man who confessed to a number

:09:44. > :09:43.of IRA-related offences in the 1990s has been given

:09:44. > :09:45.42-year-old Christopher Paul O'Kane from Woodland Avenue

:09:46. > :09:50.in Londonderry admitted playing a role in several attacks

:09:51. > :09:51.against the security forces, including assisting offenders

:09:52. > :09:54.in the aftermath of a police officer's murder.

:09:55. > :09:58.A van driver was injured during a hijacking in Carrickfergus.

:09:59. > :10:00.He was threatened with a handgun on Belfast Road, told to drive

:10:01. > :10:05.to the Glencairn Road in North Belfast where the contents

:10:06. > :10:21.It was a big night for local sport at the BBC Sports Personality

:10:22. > :10:24.of the Year ceremony in Belfast last night.

:10:25. > :10:28.A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to the recently retired

:10:29. > :10:36.Lisa McAlister was there for BBC Newsline.

:10:37. > :10:44.Among the big winners on the night Northern Ireland Manager Michael

:10:45. > :10:46.O'Neill who was named Coach of the Year after qualifying

:10:47. > :10:53.for next summer's European Championships in France.

:10:54. > :10:53.To bring an event like this to Belfast is something special.

:10:54. > :11:00.To be here on the stage as the manager of my country

:11:01. > :11:00.and to be going to France is very special for me as well,

:11:01. > :11:09.And the local triumphs didn't stop there.

:11:10. > :11:09.Holywood golfer Rory McIlroy presented champion jockey AP McCoy

:11:10. > :11:17.To any young people watching tonight's show or that are here this

:11:18. > :11:18.evening, all that I can say is make the sacrifices

:11:19. > :11:33.The Unsung Hero Award went to West Belfast man Damien Lindsay

:11:34. > :11:34.who set up a football club to try and get young people

:11:35. > :11:43.These are people you see on TV all the time.

:11:44. > :11:47.Just to be able to go and share a stage with a lot of them

:11:48. > :11:53.I sort of choked because I had things I wanted to say and thank

:11:54. > :11:59.a lot of people and things like that there and I couldn't wait

:12:00. > :12:01.I probably would have burst out crying or something.

:12:02. > :12:06.Outside the arena Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness joined

:12:07. > :12:07.around 30 people protesting over the nomination of Tyson Fury

:12:08. > :12:13.after the heavyweight champion made controversial comments

:12:14. > :12:21.On the red carpet though there was a sense that holding it

:12:22. > :12:28.We all grew up with the Sports Personality of the Year

:12:29. > :12:32.awards and the timing, it coincides with Northern Ireland

:12:33. > :12:34.qualifying and Michael O'Neill's achievement.

:12:35. > :12:45.Although Andy Murray was named Sports Personality of the Year,

:12:46. > :12:54.Northern Ireland's sporting success was definitely on display.

:12:55. > :12:54.Belfast City Council and Tourism NI paid almost ?250,000 to help pay

:12:55. > :13:07.BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson asks if it was worth the spend.

:13:08. > :13:14.More than 7,000 people were there. Seven million watched it on TV.

:13:15. > :13:16.And for the star guests having brekfast in Belfast the day

:13:17. > :13:20.after the night before, there was high praise

:13:21. > :13:30.for the host city. It was huge. I think it puts Belfast

:13:31. > :13:36.into a good light. I've gone the last four or five of these things

:13:37. > :13:37.and Belfast was easily the best atmosphere. Thank you!

:13:38. > :13:41.One of the biggest cheers of the night was for eight-year-old

:13:42. > :13:45.Bailey Matthews, who, despite having cerebral palsy,

:13:46. > :13:45.recently completed a triathlon. His family have been

:13:46. > :13:46.here for four days. The question is would

:13:47. > :14:01.they come back. Over to you. Would you like to come

:14:02. > :14:02.to Belfast again? It's been an absolutely brilliant time that we've

:14:03. > :14:04.been here. We came on Friday. Absolutely fabulous time. The old

:14:05. > :14:10.Getting the stars here is one thing, stereotype of Belfast is long gone.

:14:11. > :14:13.Getting the stars here is one thing, getting them back is another.

:14:14. > :14:19.We are a normal city, we have great things to offer so many people. I

:14:20. > :14:29.can't wait to have some of these guys back to stay with us.

:14:30. > :14:36.# Oh, Danny boy. They put almost one quarter of ?1

:14:37. > :14:38.million into the cost of hosting busway's event. But was it worth it?

:14:39. > :14:42.Think it was incredible value for money. I think if we'd have to look

:14:43. > :14:47.at what we've have to spend in terms of advertising to reach an audience

:14:48. > :14:51.of that skill, we would be spending millions, if not tens of millions of

:14:52. > :14:56.pounds. The show was now over, and while some are clearing up, others

:14:57. > :15:02.are adding up what the benefit might be. The reality is, there is no way

:15:03. > :15:08.of connectivity exactly how much money is going to be made for the

:15:09. > :15:12.Northern Ireland economy, but one thing is clear. Lastly's event will

:15:13. > :15:13.have enhanced the reputation of Belfast as a place for a great night

:15:14. > :15:20.out. With less than a week

:15:21. > :15:20.to go before Christmas, it's the busiest day of the year

:15:21. > :15:21.at our local airports, as people travel home

:15:22. > :15:23.for the holidays. Maggie Taggart joins us now

:15:24. > :15:30.from Belfast International Airport. Yes, and as you can hear, there are

:15:31. > :15:35.some seasonal songs going on from a charity in the background. This is

:15:36. > :15:38.said to be the busiest day of the season. Monday has more planes than

:15:39. > :15:43.any other day, more flights, but a slight stutter here are full to the

:15:44. > :15:50.brim and I have been speaking to some people and the reunions.

:15:51. > :15:51.Christmas jumpers were very involved today. Even novelty hats were

:15:52. > :16:01.popular. What are we celebrating here? I'm coming home from

:16:02. > :16:07.university. There you go! Some newer passengers were eagerly anticipated

:16:08. > :16:08.in this season of family get-togethers. That was quite a

:16:09. > :16:16.welcome! Where are you all coming from? Liverpool and Australia. She's

:16:17. > :16:25.from Belfast. And you were in Australia? Yes, it's my sister 's

:16:26. > :16:32.wedding. That arrived from Manchester. This is with Eliza. This

:16:33. > :16:35.is my mother. She's here to welcome us home for Christmas. We are about

:16:36. > :16:41.70% up previous year, so not a significant increase, and we are

:16:42. > :16:48.seeing passengers coming from everywhere, domestic as people come

:16:49. > :16:49.from London to Northern Ireland, regional airports. Very busy

:16:50. > :16:53.overall. But what about the age-old question, if you're not at home, how

:16:54. > :17:00.will Santa know where to come? He left a note for Santa to come to

:17:01. > :17:07.Northern Ireland instead of Liverpool. Hopefully he gets! That

:17:08. > :17:08.was a smart daddy. Belfast International Airport in 45,000

:17:09. > :17:13.passengers over the weekend alone. Over the three airports, the Belfast

:17:14. > :17:21.international, Derry city and George Best airport, they will carry

:17:22. > :17:24.250,000 passengers, lots of turkey, but the Christmas food and champagne

:17:25. > :17:29.needed. Well, let's go back to the BBC sports awards.

:17:30. > :17:31.Among the biggest cheers of the evening, were those reserved

:17:32. > :17:35.for Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill.

:17:36. > :17:38.He won the Coach of the Year award for getting his side to the finals

:17:39. > :17:44.of Euro 2016 next summer - and he said afterwards

:17:45. > :17:44.that the recognition had come as a complete surprise.

:17:45. > :17:52.I didn't expect this award, to be honest. There are a lot of fantastic

:17:53. > :17:58.coaches in the room and we have had a magnificent campaign, it never --

:17:59. > :17:59.magnificent achievement by the players, but it reinforces how much

:18:00. > :18:05.it means to the people of Northern Ireland that we are now going back

:18:06. > :18:11.to the big stage and friends and it gets more focus. We do everything we

:18:12. > :18:13.can to make them proud again once we get there. People in Northern

:18:14. > :18:18.Ireland show their support, we saw that may, in the world saw as we saw

:18:19. > :18:19.in the audience say, it is appreciated by people that they are

:18:20. > :18:25.huge and thought thought it was fantastic. Standing with the trophy

:18:26. > :18:31.in your hands, does it really make you reflect on what an incredible

:18:32. > :18:38.year it has been? Yes, and possibly even longer. And for years I've been

:18:39. > :18:39.in charge, the difficult times we had at the start, how we overcame

:18:40. > :18:46.them and how we grew as a team. Seeing players grow from a pure

:18:47. > :18:53.being on the periphery of the squad to become established players, as

:18:54. > :18:54.the established players towing into top international players. It has

:18:55. > :19:01.taken three or four years to do this, but we have shown over this

:19:02. > :19:07.campaign and we won our group, a difficult group, we now have a team

:19:08. > :19:08.that everyone in Northern Ireland can be proud of, it represents

:19:09. > :19:15.everyone in Northern Ireland and come June we will be ready to play

:19:16. > :19:21.again. A deserted victory. And in other one now. -- deserved victory.

:19:22. > :19:22.Ulster recorded a famous win in France yesterday

:19:23. > :19:23.as they completed back to back victories against Toulouse

:19:24. > :19:29.The 25-23 triumph puts them right back in the mix for the knockout

:19:30. > :19:31.stages of the competition with three games still to play.

:19:32. > :19:42.In the first half, wave upon wave of Ulster pressure paid off. This

:19:43. > :19:48.player dived in for the opening score. And in the second half,

:19:49. > :19:55.Ulster appeared to take control of the game. A break by the impressive

:19:56. > :20:05.Stuart McCluskey eventually set up another superb tries. And that is an

:20:06. > :20:12.outstanding finish from a world-class winger. But the

:20:13. > :20:13.four-time world European champions came back strongly and with a try in

:20:14. > :20:20.a penalty, they took a 1-point lead in the contest. The revival was

:20:21. > :20:27.short-lived, however. He is straight through! That is surely it! Ulster

:20:28. > :20:29.scored the decisive try of the game. And the wind, just a third ever in

:20:30. > :20:35.France, mean that Ulster now have a quarterfinal spot very much in their

:20:36. > :20:35.sites once more. A great performance.

:20:36. > :20:36.Champions Crusaders have opened up an eight-point gap at the top

:20:37. > :20:39.of the Danskebank Irish Premiership table after closest rivals

:20:40. > :20:40.Cliftonville dropped three points on Saturday.

:20:41. > :20:44.Ballymena also emerged pointless from their game at home to Linfield,

:20:45. > :20:46.but with the consolation of a strong contender for Goal of the Season.

:20:47. > :20:54.The opening goal at the Showgrounds on Saturday was worth the price

:20:55. > :21:03.of admission alone. That's a good effort, that's a very

:21:04. > :21:11.good effort! That's a marvelous goal! United's tops marksmen, his

:21:12. > :21:14.11th of the season! What a goal. To go one nil of, is that everything

:21:15. > :21:20.you take from David, we know he can do it. All my time knowing him,

:21:21. > :21:27.that's the best I've seen yet. He gave us a good start, into half time

:21:28. > :21:27.we were one up. But in the second half we did not have the intensity

:21:28. > :21:34.we had in the first paid the price. Visitors Linfield

:21:35. > :21:39.finished up 3-1 winners - as David Healy's side were the only

:21:40. > :21:46.team to go up in the table, rising to third.

:21:47. > :21:46.But Cliftonville had a game to forget at the Oval,

:21:47. > :21:48.losing 2-0 to Glentoran, Fra McCaffrey with the decisive

:21:49. > :21:50.second strike for the home side. Which meant Crusaders,

:21:51. > :21:54.1-0 winners on Friday night against Coleraine, could now

:21:55. > :21:55.extend their lead to 11 points with a win on Boxing Day

:21:56. > :21:56.against their North Belfast rivals. Nial Foster, BBC Newsline.

:21:57. > :22:02.Finally, the Belfast Giants had a good weekend away from the SSE

:22:03. > :22:02.Arena - they won back-to-back games in Edinburgh to get

:22:03. > :22:13.their Elite League title challenge back on track.

:22:14. > :22:20.Sorry, they were not in the SSD arena, there was a big event!

:22:21. > :22:24.As well as the glamour at the sports awards yesterday,

:22:25. > :22:26.we had the very glamourous wedding of a sports star and the former BBC

:22:27. > :22:27.Northern Ireland presenter Christine Bleakley.

:22:28. > :22:31.She married the footballer Frank Lampard in front of family

:22:32. > :22:32.and friends at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge in London.

:22:33. > :22:34.The couple recently moved to the USA where he has signed

:22:35. > :22:41.And we have yet more star-studded pictures

:22:42. > :22:42.There was a fantastic spectacle last night with weather conditions

:22:43. > :22:43.perfect for spotting the Northern Lights.

:22:44. > :22:50.This video - taken by one of our viewers -

:22:51. > :22:51.shows the aurora dancing in the sky above Derry.

:22:52. > :22:59.The weather forecast is next with Cecilia Daly.

:23:00. > :23:05.Thank you, the aurora borealis is nature's own Christmas lights. A

:23:06. > :23:09.wonderful time to sea. Look fantastic. Judging by the number of

:23:10. > :23:12.photographs we have received today, a lot of you got to see them as

:23:13. > :23:17.well. The north coast is always a really good spot to see the aurora

:23:18. > :23:24.borealis when conditions are just right, but last night the dishes

:23:25. > :23:25.were so strong that even as far inland as new free, they were seen

:23:26. > :23:32.as well. Conditions may not be as good tonight, unfortunately things

:23:33. > :23:35.are going to get wet and windy. The rain moves in, some parts can expect

:23:36. > :23:42.a good inch of rain. The ground is still saturated here, after the big

:23:43. > :23:45.storm Desmond. It is still running in a number of places to more money,

:23:46. > :23:51.wet and windy weather to come tomorrow night. It does not hang

:23:52. > :23:53.around too long, but first thing in the morning it will be reigning in a

:23:54. > :23:59.lot of places and likely to be a lot of service water and spray on the

:24:00. > :24:01.roads, possibly some flooding. First thing we will have our highest

:24:02. > :24:07.temperatures, the air gets drier and brighter, it will turn colder. Still

:24:08. > :24:11.decent if you're out and about, eight or nine Celsius in many

:24:12. > :24:17.places, blustery winds, lots of dry weather through the afternoon, some

:24:18. > :24:19.sunshine. Some showers moving into the northwest as the afternoon goes

:24:20. > :24:25.on. A lot of places may well get lucky tomorrow, especially across

:24:26. > :24:26.Belfast on the South East. Not seen too many showers out all through the

:24:27. > :24:33.day. But a combo quite heavy showers to come in tomorrow evening. Last

:24:34. > :24:38.three wins, temperatures will fall and they will turn increasingly

:24:39. > :24:42.wintry. Temperatures will be low on Wednesday morning to have a touch of

:24:43. > :24:46.eyes. Colder as we head towards Christmas, a few flakes of snow

:24:47. > :24:51.around on Christmas Eve, but at the moment, that looks like Christmas

:24:52. > :24:58.table and a pretty soggy. Once bright and breezy, cold winds, some

:24:59. > :24:59.sunshine as well. Christmas Eve, a lot of dry and crisp weather, though

:25:00. > :25:05.showers starting to turn a bit wintry and snow on the hills.

:25:06. > :25:09.We leave you this evening with the first of our annual

:25:10. > :25:13.Here you have pupils from Downpatrick Primary School.

:25:14. > :25:27.# Nearly 2000 years ago, under a starlit sky.

:25:28. > :25:35.# Many events were taking place as the angels had prophesied.

:25:36. > :25:38.# And a gift was given from heaven to earth,

:25:39. > :25:53.# So let us adore the Saviour born, Immanuel, here tonight.

:25:54. > :25:59.# Heavenly ghost of angels, praising God on high.

:26:00. > :26:06.# Sang of the promised child to come, the saviour Jesus Christ.

:26:07. > :26:11.# And a gift was given from heaven to earth,

:26:12. > :26:23.# So let us adore the Saviour born, Immanuel, here tonight.

:26:24. > :26:35.# Darkness was over Bethlehem, brightly the star did shine.

:26:36. > :26:39.# Showing the way to where he lay, in a manger for all to find.

:26:40. > :26:44.# And a gift was given from heaven to earth,

:26:45. > :26:57.# So let us adore the Saviour born, Immanuel, here tonight.

:26:58. > :27:04.# Never before in history had there been such a sign.

:27:05. > :27:21.# For God was born in human form for the sake of all mankind.

:27:22. > :27:30.# And a gift was given from heaven to earth,

:27:31. > :27:43.# So let us adore him, Christ the Lord, Immanuel, here tonight.