:00:13. > :00:18.The headlines this Thursday evening: Police, politicians and universities
:00:19. > :00:20.condemn last night's trouble in the Holyland
:00:21. > :00:33.You have thousands of junk people highly in toxic heated, drinking for
:00:34. > :00:35.three days, writing that place, making people's lives impossible --
:00:36. > :00:38.young people. And this afternoon, even larger
:00:39. > :00:40.groups of young people were out drinking on the streets
:00:41. > :00:42.in south Belfast. One of the Syrian refugee families
:00:43. > :00:45.who came here in December speak publicly for the first
:00:46. > :00:54.time about life here. We are so happy and pleased here in
:00:55. > :00:56.Belfast and we love our new home in Belfast.
:00:57. > :00:58.Murdered prison officer Adrian Ismay is described by a family friend
:00:59. > :01:00.as a "gentle giant" who helped others.
:01:01. > :01:03.Also tonight: Thousands turn out for colourful St Patrick's Day
:01:04. > :01:10.parades and celebrations in towns and cities across Northern Ireland.
:01:11. > :01:12.We've all the St Patrick's Day sport, including celebrations
:01:13. > :01:15.at Cheltenham, disappointment for Cushendall's hurlers
:01:16. > :01:19.and a round-up of the schools finals.
:01:20. > :01:21.And we couldn't have asked for better weather
:01:22. > :01:26.I'll be taking a look at the weekend's forecast
:01:27. > :01:37.Images no-one wanted to see on St Patrick's Day.
:01:38. > :01:40.Disturbances in the Holyland area of South Belfast lasted well
:01:41. > :01:43.into the early hours of this morning.
:01:44. > :01:45.Three men have been charged after the police were called
:01:46. > :01:48.to a party that spilled onto the street.
:01:49. > :01:51.Missiles were thrown and one police officer was injured.
:01:52. > :01:54.In a moment, we'll be looking at the response of the universities
:01:55. > :01:57.to the violence and hearing from the residents.
:01:58. > :01:59.But first, BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson reports
:02:00. > :02:09.It started as a street party, loud but largely good-natured,
:02:10. > :02:21.The police spent more than two hours trying to clear the streets.
:02:22. > :02:36.This morning, the clear-up, and questions asked
:02:37. > :02:43.Although it was the early hours of the morning, the crowd got bigger as
:02:44. > :02:49.the night went on as news spread on social media. The more people
:02:50. > :02:54.publicised it, the more people came out and it turned into a big
:02:55. > :03:06.shindig. It escalated a lot. There was a lot of damage to vehicles. My
:03:07. > :03:07.car got damaged, you can see that. It was after 3am when order was
:03:08. > :03:10.restored. This morning,
:03:11. > :03:12.the clear-up, and questions asked about the behaviour of many
:03:13. > :03:14.students who live here. I just feel like it's ruined
:03:15. > :03:18.the fun for everybody else. It got took too far,
:03:19. > :03:20.bottles were being thrown You were all young
:03:21. > :03:25.once, weren't you? I was enjoying the festivities
:03:26. > :03:41.until it got nasty but I fell asleep in a friend's
:03:42. > :03:45.front room and woke up like this. Many residents say they didn't sleep
:03:46. > :03:58.at all because of the noise. Every St Patrick's Day we have had
:03:59. > :04:03.something along these lines. Seven years ago was dreadful. I don't know
:04:04. > :04:08.what the answer will be. I see what you mean about the noise, we cannot
:04:09. > :04:14.even do the interview then please. You cannot get a nights sleep every
:04:15. > :04:22.week of the year, this goes on except for holidays. There has been
:04:23. > :04:26.a police presence. We are making arrests but that is a sign of defeat
:04:27. > :04:32.for us because we would rather we didn't have to make them. As St
:04:33. > :04:33.Patrick's day turns tonight, all eyes are on this corner of South
:04:34. > :04:36.Belfast. Crowds of young people
:04:37. > :04:38.gathered in the Holyland Many, although not all,
:04:39. > :04:41.are students at Queen's Our Education Correspondent Robbie
:04:42. > :04:44.Meredith spent the afternoon in the area with staff
:04:45. > :04:46.from both, who are trying A first St Patrick's Fun Day
:04:47. > :05:06.for some Holyland residents. The students are here to have a good
:05:07. > :05:11.time on their own property, they are trying to have fun like anywhere
:05:12. > :05:15.else in the world but here in the Holylands the place have been given
:05:16. > :05:21.a dad name down to people who have come from outside the area. -- a bad
:05:22. > :05:26.name. The same things happen on the Twelfth of July, the same height is
:05:27. > :05:28.made by the media and the media are jumping on the bandwagon.
:05:29. > :05:30.Between them, Queen's and Ulster University have around 20
:05:31. > :05:35.They've been planning for this day for three months.
:05:36. > :05:42.We are very disappointed that we have the amount of people we have
:05:43. > :05:47.around the Holylands after a coordinated strategy working with
:05:48. > :05:53.the PSNI, City Council, University of Ulster and Belfast met. From what
:05:54. > :05:59.we have seen the strategy isn't working. Queens would condemn what
:06:00. > :06:02.happened last night, I don't think any students would endorse what
:06:03. > :06:04.happened last bite, we will have to go back to the drawing board.
:06:05. > :06:07.Five students were suspended after Saint Patrick's Day last year.
:06:08. > :06:09.But the universities feel the finger of blame is often
:06:10. > :06:19.We hear reports of people being brought in from the country,
:06:20. > :06:23.bus-loads of people, so it points to the fact that this is a wider
:06:24. > :06:30.societal problem. This is the place to be, up in Belfast is where we
:06:31. > :06:36.come to party. The Holylands is just St Patrick's day. I have been there
:06:37. > :06:39.for a couple of hours. There are thousands of young people partying
:06:40. > :06:45.in the streets, it has been good-natured so far but it makes you
:06:46. > :06:50.wonder what tonight may bring. All agencies are hoping these people
:06:51. > :06:55.drink themselves into stupidity and drop them asleep in the street, that
:06:56. > :07:00.is the best outcome and residents are saying this year has been the
:07:01. > :07:01.worst, they say they cannot stay here tonight and will stay
:07:02. > :07:03.elsewhere. The party, and the problems,
:07:04. > :07:06.show no sign of ending. Well, as we saw there,
:07:07. > :07:08.there are hundreds of students still on the streets
:07:09. > :07:11.of the Holyland this evening. Let's get the latest
:07:12. > :07:21.from Mark Simpson, who's been back Everything seems to be under control
:07:22. > :07:25.in this part of the Holyland. Let's take a closer look at what is going
:07:26. > :07:31.on down the street. Hundreds if not thousands of people were on the
:07:32. > :07:37.streets, the two parallel streets with just as many people if not
:07:38. > :07:42.more. You may be not see many police but they are here in numbers and
:07:43. > :07:49.seem to be taking more of a softly softly approach. The atmosphere
:07:50. > :07:52.isn't sinister but a moment. People are drinking but the police are
:07:53. > :07:58.trying to assure them inside but it is virtually impossible given the
:07:59. > :08:00.numbers. So far so good in terms of the security operation but there
:08:01. > :08:03.will be a long night ahead. When 50 Syrian refugees came
:08:04. > :08:05.to Belfast just before Christmas there was tight security
:08:06. > :08:07.surrounding their arrival. The five families had been living
:08:08. > :08:10.in Beirut after fleeing the conflict I've been to meet one
:08:11. > :08:23.of the families to see how they've A new home in a new country, one
:08:24. > :08:29.they knew nothing about before December. It was only when they
:08:30. > :08:33.arrived at the airport in Beirut they were told which city would be
:08:34. > :08:41.their final destination. What was the journey like? It is very long
:08:42. > :08:50.and hard, both the journey, and strange and new. But we must get
:08:51. > :08:55.used to living there. The family are from Holme 's, one of the Syrian
:08:56. > :09:03.cities most affected by the war. Their father passed away in August.
:09:04. > :09:07.Their own explained what happened. TRANSLATION: He was held for one
:09:08. > :09:12.year and tortured and then left prison after one year because he is
:09:13. > :09:18.being hit hard on his head, he developed some diseases. Aisha and
:09:19. > :09:24.her younger brother are settled in the new school and it is there they
:09:25. > :09:30.have had no support. Also different from schools in Lebanon and Syria
:09:31. > :09:41.but nice, beautiful and teachers are lovely and I made friends. Beautiful
:09:42. > :09:48.and people very good and teaching maths, English very good. Have you
:09:49. > :10:00.made friends? Yeah. English and Arabic friends. Me and my sister.
:10:01. > :10:04.You miss your Big Sister? There is another sadness for this family.
:10:05. > :10:12.Their elder sister is still in Lebanon. TRANSLATION: Very hard for
:10:13. > :10:19.us to live out their step she talked to me every day and she is crying,
:10:20. > :10:23.she wants to be with us. She has a husband and two young children and
:10:24. > :10:29.they were not included in the list of refugees. I hope the government
:10:30. > :10:37.will help us to bring my sister and her husband and their children. Are
:10:38. > :10:45.they in a difficult place? Yes, a very difficult place, they are
:10:46. > :10:49.delivering their, very bad. It is not clear if that were so be
:10:50. > :10:51.granted. For now the rest of the family are very grateful to be
:10:52. > :10:52.living here. He was known by his family
:10:53. > :10:55.and colleagues as Izzy, Today a lifelong friend of murdered
:10:56. > :10:58.prison officer Adrian Ismay spoke on behalf of his family
:10:59. > :11:02.and described a man who did his best to help others in need, regardless
:11:03. > :11:05.of their religion or politics. Ian Simpson of the Prison Service
:11:06. > :11:09.Benevolent Fund was a colleague of the murdered officer
:11:10. > :11:25.for nearly 30 years. We called him the gentle giant. A
:11:26. > :11:29.better friend you couldn't find. Izzy was one of those people, no
:11:30. > :11:36.matter who asked help of him, he never asked who you were, what you
:11:37. > :11:40.did, your religion, anything about you, he would have given you the
:11:41. > :11:46.health unions and his family would have wanted the people of Northern
:11:47. > :11:52.Ireland to know he died as a result of the injuries he sustained in the
:11:53. > :11:59.bomb attack -- he would have given you the help you needed. It is a
:12:00. > :12:04.very difficult time for his family, after the blast on Friday we had
:12:05. > :12:11.helped him through the week, we expected that he would make a full
:12:12. > :12:18.recovery given time and obviously Tuesday's events were totally
:12:19. > :12:26.unexpected and as you can appreciate totally devastated the family. They
:12:27. > :12:37.have a big sorrow in their heart. A wonderful husband, a loving father,
:12:38. > :12:40.a friendly, gentle grandfather. He has been taken out of all our lives.
:12:41. > :12:44.Still to come on the programme: A big day for schools' sports -
:12:45. > :12:47.we'll have a full report on the winners and losers in both
:12:48. > :12:54.the Belfast Senior Football Cup and the GAA McCrory Cup.
:12:55. > :12:58.The US Secret Service has said it regrets that the Sinn Fein leader
:12:59. > :13:00.Gerry Adams was unable to enter a St Patrick's Day event
:13:01. > :13:07.Mr Adams said he was subject to unacceptable
:13:08. > :13:11.From Washington DC, here's our Economics
:13:12. > :13:26.Gerry Adams had no trouble hitting into this event, one of Irish
:13:27. > :13:31.America's bigot charitable lights. The Sinn Fein president had also
:13:32. > :13:35.been invited to the White House but when he arrived he was told a
:13:36. > :13:42.security issue had arisen. After wishing for more than an hour, he
:13:43. > :13:46.left. It is the right of any country to have security and I can be
:13:47. > :13:51.glitches but this is not that time to be treating Sinn Fein and fairly
:13:52. > :13:59.recruiting anyone unfairly, so I put it to the State Department today
:14:00. > :14:03.that we want this sort out. The Irish American elite comes out in
:14:04. > :14:12.force for this event. Congressman, union bosses, business executives
:14:13. > :14:19.mingle with local politicians. Michael Flatley was honoured for his
:14:20. > :14:23.cultural contribution. Nights like tonight, they are hugely important
:14:24. > :14:30.to raise awareness,, robbery, bring the people of Ireland together --
:14:31. > :14:34.camaraderie. These people go away with a great feeling. They don't get
:14:35. > :14:40.this in normal Washington years. Nights like this demonstrates the
:14:41. > :14:44.enduring strength of Irish American links but that political
:14:45. > :14:48.significance of these trips has diminished over time. It is now more
:14:49. > :14:55.about maintaining and enhancing networks built up over the years.
:14:56. > :15:01.This trip by executive ministers faced its difficulties, not least a
:15:02. > :15:07.paramilitary murder at home, but its focus on the economy will be
:15:08. > :15:12.dividends, something that will not become clear for some time.
:15:13. > :15:14.St Patrick's Day Parades have been taking place across Ireland
:15:15. > :15:18.Thousands took advantage of the good weather to take part
:15:19. > :15:19.in festivities in Downpatrick, Armagh, Londonderry,
:15:20. > :15:21.Enniskillen and Dublin among other places.
:15:22. > :15:27.Our first report is from Colletta Smith at the Belfast parade.
:15:28. > :15:37.Today wasn't just a sea of green, it was all things Bright and beautiful.
:15:38. > :15:46.From the traditional to the more contemporary. The parade snaked its
:15:47. > :15:52.way through the central streets of Belfast. Making its way from City
:15:53. > :16:01.Hall to custom house Square. What was your favourite? The snake that
:16:02. > :16:08.squirted water of -- at us. It was me doing some dancing. My favourite
:16:09. > :16:14.part was Star Wars. Mine were shaking the Lord Mayor's hand.
:16:15. > :16:20.Visitors from around the world got into the atmosphere. I have never
:16:21. > :16:30.been here on St Patrick's Day. Interesting, I like it. I am from
:16:31. > :16:37.China. Thousands of people have turned up here today basking in the
:16:38. > :16:38.sunshine, hoping to enjoy the music and the dancing for St Patrick's
:16:39. > :16:44.Day. The theme this year
:16:45. > :16:48.was Feasts and Wild Beasts. As for the beasts, there
:16:49. > :16:52.were plenty on the ground. Not to be outdone by the big boys,
:16:53. > :16:55.this wee one may have been biting Today is all about this man, Saint
:16:56. > :17:18.Patrick. He was visited by God in aviation
:17:19. > :17:23.and told to go back to Ireland and free the people, so he went back to
:17:24. > :17:31.Ireland, freed the people and became the patron saint of Ireland. How old
:17:32. > :17:35.are you to know all that? 12. Tell me about his fascination with
:17:36. > :17:39.snakes. He is meant to be the one who'd drove the snakes out of
:17:40. > :17:41.Ireland, more likely it was a community effort that stories are
:17:42. > :17:42.stories. And he's been drawing
:17:43. > :17:53.the crowds here in Downpatrick The parade is fantastic, and to
:17:54. > :17:58.support Patrick and 1400 years of Christianity, we are very proud of
:17:59. > :18:02.that in Ireland. Beautiful. It is good to see everyone working
:18:03. > :18:04.together and enjoying the day. Another thumbs up for what has
:18:05. > :18:16.become a safe, family fun One of the first parades outside of
:18:17. > :18:20.fast place in Omagh, where there was a multicultural procession through
:18:21. > :18:25.the town. The main theme were sharing heritage and tradition. The
:18:26. > :18:31.man himself was pulled along the street by a tractor. He was followed
:18:32. > :18:38.by local sporting community groups. It is not Brazil, its Enniskillen,
:18:39. > :18:42.as the sound of samba filled the streets for a Mardi Gras themed
:18:43. > :18:47.parade. Many people got into the spirit. Thousands lined the streets
:18:48. > :18:51.as the colourful spectacle made its way through the town, although one
:18:52. > :18:58.vintage car needed a hand to get up the hill. The procession began just
:18:59. > :19:02.after lunch in Armagh and weaved through the city. Here they are
:19:03. > :19:09.looking at how to make it more inclusive. There is a lot of hard
:19:10. > :19:12.work behind-the-scenes in terms of building community relations around
:19:13. > :19:18.the same Patrick's Day parade and it is well coming that people of all
:19:19. > :19:23.walks of life are dissipated because Saint Patrick is about unifying
:19:24. > :19:30.people. The largest parade in the Republic is in Dublin. Locals and
:19:31. > :19:33.tourists lined the streets. In Londonderry thousands lined the
:19:34. > :19:39.route of the carnival parade. This year's theme was the land of the
:19:40. > :19:44.little people. It made its way along the banks of the Foyle. Locals and
:19:45. > :19:49.visitors were impressed by the floats and costumes on display. The
:19:50. > :19:55.Apprentice Boys of Derry have also been parade. The local No Surrender
:19:56. > :20:02.Arrant Club marched around the diamond before attending a religious
:20:03. > :20:07.service in the cathedral. In Newry the theme was seized and weld beats,
:20:08. > :20:12.with events taking place all week, and some of the world's most famous
:20:13. > :20:16.landmarks went green for Saint Patrick.
:20:17. > :20:18.It's been am extremely busy day of St Patrick's Day sport.
:20:19. > :20:23.St Patrick's Day, traditionally a big occasion for schools sport,
:20:24. > :20:25.and we'll round up all the action shortly.
:20:26. > :20:27.But we start with news of another great day for the Irish
:20:28. > :20:30.at Cheltenham, and another hat-trick of wins for
:20:31. > :20:35.the Ruby Walsh/Willie Mullins jockey-trainer combination.
:20:36. > :20:38.Walsh romped home on Black Hercules in the first race of the day,
:20:39. > :20:41.the novices chase, becoming the first post-war jockey to win 50
:20:42. > :20:46.And then he had a beautifully controlled ride here
:20:47. > :20:50.in the Ryanair Chase on Vautour, another Mullins mount.
:20:51. > :20:53.He would go on to repeat his feat of Tuesday, completing another
:20:54. > :20:57.hat-trick of wins, with a first place on Limini with his last ride
:20:58. > :21:00.of an impressive day's work at the festival.
:21:01. > :21:03.There was no fairy tale ending at Croke Park today for Cushendall
:21:04. > :21:06.in the All-Ireland club hurling final.
:21:07. > :21:09.The Ruairi Ogs from Antrim were beaten by 11 points
:21:10. > :21:13.by Na Piarseee of Limerick, after the worst possible start.
:21:14. > :21:17.They conceded a goal after just 30 seconds of the match and went
:21:18. > :21:19.on to fall further behind in the first half,
:21:20. > :21:25.But the men from the Glens did restore some pride in the second
:21:26. > :21:31.half despite the heartbreak of defeat in the showpiece final.
:21:32. > :21:34.Rugby, and captain Rory Best has been deemed fit to lead Ireland
:21:35. > :21:38.in their final RBS Six Nations game against Scotland on Saturday.
:21:39. > :21:40.There's one change to the side that beat Italy.
:21:41. > :21:44.Munster flanker Tommy O'Donnell comes in for Josh Van Der Flier.
:21:45. > :21:50.The team want to end a disappointing championship on a positive note.
:21:51. > :21:59.We never felt like we were drowning but we were struggling to stay on
:22:00. > :22:05.the surface and now that we have our head above the surface, we want to
:22:06. > :22:10.try to capitalise on that and produce something that we finish off
:22:11. > :22:15.this weekend to give us a positive outcome on the table and also a
:22:16. > :22:16.positive that formed to look ahead to.
:22:17. > :22:19.Some our possible future Ireland rugby stars were on show today
:22:20. > :22:23.in Belfast in the final of the Schools Cup.
:22:24. > :22:25.And there was a dramatic finish to the game.
:22:26. > :22:28.Royal Belfast Academical Institution, leading 6-3
:22:29. > :22:32.and besieged by Campbell College for most of the second half,
:22:33. > :22:37.broke away with this interception try by centre James Hume in the last
:22:38. > :22:39.few seconds of the match at the Kingspan Stadium.
:22:40. > :22:46.It clinched a 13-3 victory and meant RBAI retained the trophy.
:22:47. > :22:56.Fair play to Campbell, that was an unbelievable force, they put us
:22:57. > :23:01.under pressure, we felt them coming but our boys defended strong, my
:23:02. > :23:05.heart goes out to the Campbell lads, I know how much that would have
:23:06. > :23:07.meant to them but we back our day. I knew we would have to work harder
:23:08. > :23:10.but that would be no problem for us. In schools football, De La Salle won
:23:11. > :23:13.the Belfast Senior Cup played They beat St Malachy's 3-1
:23:14. > :23:16.in the final. Midfielder Donal Rocks scored
:23:17. > :23:19.the first goal of the game and then this effort from
:23:20. > :23:21.Nathan Fox made it 3-0. That meant the trophy returned
:23:22. > :23:24.to the West Belfast school Armagh was the venue for the final
:23:25. > :23:31.of Gaelic football's MacRory Cup, A four-goal blitz in the first 18
:23:32. > :23:39.minutes helped the Derry school to a comfortable victory over
:23:40. > :23:41.St Paul's Bessbrook. Shane McGuigan fired
:23:42. > :23:43.in the opening two goals. Francis Kearney and Paddy Quigg
:23:44. > :23:47.netted two more in quick succession to give St Pat's what proved to be
:23:48. > :23:52.an unassailable half-time lead. And they sealed an easy 5-7 to 9
:23:53. > :24:11.points win for their third MacRory I experienced the whole journey and
:24:12. > :24:15.today I tried to absorb all the support, it is an unbeaten double
:24:16. > :24:20.experience. The last couple of games didn't start well, the final day is
:24:21. > :24:22.the biggest date to pull off so a good start for us.
:24:23. > :24:25.And in the last of the schoolboy finals, Banbridge Academy beat
:24:26. > :24:28.The match had finished 1-1 after extra-time and
:24:29. > :24:31.Banbridge goalkeeper Luke Roleston was the hero,
:24:32. > :24:34.making two saves in the shoot out, before the clinching stroke
:24:35. > :24:49.The Belfast Giants had a big win last night at the SSC arena. They
:24:50. > :24:55.beat Cardiff 5-2 in the Elite League. They cannot win the title
:24:56. > :25:03.but the result put a dent in the world's side's hoax. They next day
:25:04. > :25:05.the Flyers in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday.
:25:06. > :25:07.Rory McIlroy is just starting out at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
:25:08. > :25:20.He is two over par after five holes. Graeme McDowell has finished his
:25:21. > :25:24.round four shots of the early lead, so a busy day of sport continues.
:25:25. > :25:34.Let's get the weather now. No complaints. A cracker day and we are
:25:35. > :25:37.starting off with a picture of slow march because it was reportedly the
:25:38. > :25:45.first place same Patrick lived in Ireland and it has been a beautiful
:25:46. > :25:51.same Patrick stay. Temperatures have not been high today, but the sun is
:25:52. > :25:56.getting strong and we will go from one contrast to another as tonight
:25:57. > :25:59.will get cold with clear skies and temperatures will fall below
:26:00. > :26:06.freezing, so pockets of frost and fog by the end of the night, -24
:26:07. > :26:10.minus three degrees in parts of Fermanagh and Tyrone, so if it is
:26:11. > :26:19.back to work or school, a frosty start, maybe some fog but the sun is
:26:20. > :26:23.up earlier this morning at 6:30am and maybe the fog will hang around
:26:24. > :26:27.for longer and temperatures will start to pick up in the early part
:26:28. > :26:35.of the morning. We expect decent sunshine to come again, maybe some
:26:36. > :26:38.low cloud, mist and greyness, not as sunny as today with the best
:26:39. > :26:45.sunshine in the South West. The onshore breeze may bring some
:26:46. > :26:49.clothes to the east coast and later that may sink act against but
:26:50. > :26:55.temperatures hitting up to 11 degrees. The cloud will hang around
:26:56. > :26:59.tomorrow night, it will not be as cold and it will be cloudy this
:27:00. > :27:04.weekend but looking dry into the early part of next week. The sun
:27:05. > :27:09.makes all the different so it will feel cool in the breeze, on Saturday
:27:10. > :27:12.most of the cloud in the north and possibly the East Coast with the
:27:13. > :27:24.best chance of Sunday Frakes across eastern counties. -- sunny breaks.
:27:25. > :27:28.Then on Sunday we should see temperatures getting into double
:27:29. > :27:29.figures, so more dry weather to come and more sunshine, especially
:27:30. > :27:31.tomorrow. Our late summary is at 10:30pm.You
:27:32. > :27:35.can also keep in contact with us