:00:15. > :00:17.This is BBC Newsline. The headlines this Thursday evening:
:00:18. > :00:20.The family of murder victim Michael McGibbon are told
:00:21. > :00:23.the community is standing strong with them.
:00:24. > :00:26.There's to be an independent inquiry into the disputes that have
:00:27. > :00:32.We ask why more students from Northern Ireland are choosing
:00:33. > :00:35.to study at universities in the Republic.
:00:36. > :00:39.Celebrating the Queen's birthday, at the party where you had to be
:00:40. > :00:51.I think she's the best one that has been on the throne for a long time.
:00:52. > :01:03.One year on since work started at upgrading the A26 in County Antrim,
:01:04. > :01:05.M here to find out how it's been progressing with a birds eye view of
:01:06. > :01:06.the road scheme. From Kerry to Bangor in County Down
:01:07. > :01:19.- Roger Casement remembered We hit 17 degrees today but tomorrow
:01:20. > :01:21.it will be colder. I'll have the details later.
:01:22. > :01:26.A priest has assured a grieving family that they don't stand alone
:01:27. > :01:28.against "those who live in the shadows".
:01:29. > :01:31.He was speaking at the funeral of 33-year-old Michael McGibbon,
:01:32. > :01:34.murdered in a paramilitary-style shooting in an alleyway
:01:35. > :01:37.near his home in North Belfast on Friday night.
:01:38. > :01:54.The words most important in the life and the family
:01:55. > :02:04.of 33-year-old Michael McGibbon - husband, daddy, father, son.
:02:05. > :02:07.At Holy Cross, joined by more than 800 mourners,
:02:08. > :02:11.Joanne McGibbon stood with her four children - Seana, Shea,
:02:12. > :02:15.Michaela, Cory-Leigh - and helped them begin the process
:02:16. > :02:29.Inside, reassurance that in their grief after the murder,
:02:30. > :02:39.the family of Michael McGibbon do not stand alone.
:02:40. > :02:47.vast majority of people here in Ardoyne and beyond this parish are
:02:48. > :02:52.with them, standing strong with them against those who live in the
:02:53. > :02:57.shadows and emerge from the shadows to perpetrate foul deeds which
:02:58. > :03:01.deprived a wife of her husband, children of their daddy, a father of
:03:02. > :03:05.his son and siblings of a brother. Children from Holy Cross Boys'
:03:06. > :03:07.School played and sang, school friends of eight-year-old
:03:08. > :03:28.Shea. The death of Michael McGivern marks
:03:29. > :03:37.another block on the road to lasting peace and reconciliation. Thank God
:03:38. > :03:40.for that piece that we had, but remember it is very fragile and
:03:41. > :03:42.needs to be nurtured. As the family moved
:03:43. > :03:44.on to the committal in Carnmoney, they took with them the public
:03:45. > :03:47.support of a community bound The Education Minister John O'Dowd
:03:48. > :03:56.has ordered an independent investigation into events
:03:57. > :04:00.at De La Salle College in Belfast. There have been ongoing industrial
:04:01. > :04:03.problems at the college Our education correspondent
:04:04. > :04:19.Robbie Meredith is with me. This is a very unusual move. It has
:04:20. > :04:23.been a troubled school recently with disputes between some teaching staff
:04:24. > :04:28.and senior management, periods were a third of teaching staff or off
:04:29. > :04:31.sick and that has had a knock-on effect for pupils, some preparing
:04:32. > :04:37.for exams have helped to prepare with subdued teachers and parents
:04:38. > :04:42.protested at the gate. John O'Dowd was reluctant to sanction an
:04:43. > :04:43.investigation but says he has received new information to take
:04:44. > :04:44.that step. So do we know what form
:04:45. > :04:51.the investigation will take? It will look at things including
:04:52. > :04:57.staff relationships, senior leadership, governance in the school
:04:58. > :05:02.but we do not know who will head it, although the minister says he wants
:05:03. > :05:06.to complete it by early summer. You have been looking at University
:05:07. > :05:12.admissions and news that more students from Northern Ireland
:05:13. > :05:14.choose to study in the site. Irish universities give A-level students
:05:15. > :05:19.here points depending on what grades they get. It was difficult for
:05:20. > :05:24.students doing three A-levels to get into popular courses because the
:05:25. > :05:27.points were so low, but those points have not risen and that has given
:05:28. > :05:42.rise to a rise in applications. The students are planning their
:05:43. > :05:49.university future and all are looking south. I need to a stars
:05:50. > :05:50.that I think people have a preconception it is almost
:05:51. > :06:09.impossible to get in downside. The new A-level points system
:06:10. > :06:12.is already having an impact - so far this year 1,718 school pupils
:06:13. > :06:14.from Northern Ireland have applied to study
:06:15. > :06:22.at universities in the Republic. Pupils are now saying they have a
:06:23. > :06:27.chance to get into high-end courses like law, medicine that would have
:06:28. > :06:35.been beyond the reach of students on three A-levels. Northern Irish
:06:36. > :06:40.students make up a tiny proportion of students in the Republic so is it
:06:41. > :06:44.important that more of her pupils head across the to study?
:06:45. > :06:46.Academics from Trinity College Dublin
:06:47. > :06:48.were in Lisburn today to appeal to local teachers for more
:06:49. > :06:59.It benefits everybody that we have people from all traditions coming to
:07:00. > :07:01.the University, it is beneficial for us as a university and for our
:07:02. > :07:05.students from all over the world. And with yearly tuition fees
:07:06. > :07:08.in the Republic substantially lower at 3,000 euro a year,
:07:09. > :07:11.it's expected that more local pupils Events have been taking place
:07:12. > :07:14.across Northern Ireland today There was a 21-gun salute
:07:15. > :07:18.at Hillsborough Castle and as BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson reports,
:07:19. > :07:21.some people even older than the Queen celebrated
:07:22. > :07:29.with a tea party. To be invited to this
:07:30. > :07:34.celebration in East Belfast, And anyone aged 100
:07:35. > :07:54.was particularly welcome. I was ten when she was born. Oh,
:07:55. > :08:01.yes. I think she is the best one that has come on the throne for a
:08:02. > :08:09.long time. Everybody loves her. I don't think she has ever been silly.
:08:10. > :08:16.She is never silly. I always said the Queen got married before me and
:08:17. > :08:23.then I had my son but now I cannot keep up with her. In Magherafelt,
:08:24. > :08:29.Louisa Mickey is a special connection with the Queen. She was
:08:30. > :08:34.also born this day 90 years ago. I feel proud to be this page and lucky
:08:35. > :08:47.as well, and thank God that he has spared me. In recent years the Queen
:08:48. > :08:51.has become involved in the peace process, so on the Falls Road in
:08:52. > :08:57.Belfast, have attitudes towards her change? What do you think of the
:08:58. > :09:05.Queen? Nothing wrong with her, she does us no harm. Do you care that
:09:06. > :09:09.the Queen is 90 today? No, my granny was 70 two weeks ago, does anybody
:09:10. > :09:15.care about that? Fair play to her. Happy birthday. I shouldn't say that
:09:16. > :09:21.on the Falls Road but happy birthday! She's got to 90, fair play
:09:22. > :09:26.to her but as Irish Republican Army we would like to see her gone. Have
:09:27. > :09:33.you warm to her more given some of the jesters G has made? Very much
:09:34. > :09:36.so. The shank and falls need to come together and she set the example I
:09:37. > :09:44.shaking hands with Martin McGuinness. -- with Martin
:09:45. > :09:50.McGuinness. A 21 gun salute was held at Hillsborough Castle. She may now
:09:51. > :09:57.be entering her 10th decade but she is likely to be back here soon.
:09:58. > :09:58.We will have more on that before the end of the programme. Still to
:09:59. > :10:00.come... Northern Ireland's booming film
:10:01. > :10:02.industry - work starts The Liberal Democrat peer
:10:03. > :10:10.who was responsible for liberalising abortion law in Britain says it's
:10:11. > :10:14.ridiculous that Northern Ireland continues to operate under
:10:15. > :10:18.the 1861 legislation. He was speaking in an interview
:10:19. > :10:21.for The View tonight. Our health correspondent
:10:22. > :10:23.Marie-Louise Connolly By introducing the 1967
:10:24. > :10:30.Abortion Act to Britain, Lord David Steel brought
:10:31. > :10:33.the Victorian Legislation But that doesn't apply to Northern
:10:34. > :10:37.Ireland. Instead we continue to operate under
:10:38. > :10:42.the 1861 legislation. This is it, written on vellum
:10:43. > :10:47.and stored in the archives The Liberal Democrat peer says
:10:48. > :11:03.the legislation is outdated I think we have to face up to the
:11:04. > :11:10.fact that the law in Northern Ireland is simply ridiculous, 1861,
:11:11. > :11:15.and it is time they came up at least as far as 1967 if not 2016. It is
:11:16. > :11:18.not unreasonable to ask that. Of course, others disagree,
:11:19. > :11:20.including Baroness Nuala O'Loan. You can see all of that,
:11:21. > :11:22.including inside the legislation vault, on The View
:11:23. > :11:25.tonight at 10:45pm. Work has started on what will be
:11:26. > :11:28.Northern Ireland's second The ?20 million project
:11:29. > :11:34.is being financed by Belfast Harbour and aims to be ready by the end
:11:35. > :11:36.of the year, as our business correspondent
:11:37. > :11:40.Julian O'Neill reports. Planning permission for the studios
:11:41. > :11:42.was obtained in February Builders are on site, aiming
:11:43. > :11:50.to complete the project by December. The studio complex is off the M2
:11:51. > :11:55.on the fringes of Belfast Docks in a redevelopment area known
:11:56. > :11:58.as Giant's Park. Belfast Harbour is funding
:11:59. > :12:02.the scheme and has consulted with film companies
:12:03. > :12:14.on the building's This project will clearly make
:12:15. > :12:20.Northern Ireland number two in Europe in terms of film location,
:12:21. > :12:21.number two only to the south-east of England, which is dominated by names
:12:22. > :12:23.such as Pinewood. Northern Ireland is developing
:12:24. > :12:25.a reputation as a cost-effective venue for major film
:12:26. > :12:27.and TV productions. Demand for specialist space
:12:28. > :12:30.is strong, with the only other major venue in Titanic Quarter usually
:12:31. > :12:45.tied up doing HBO's Game of Thrones. Belfast Harbour is seeking to
:12:46. > :12:51.capitalise on recent growth in the film sector, helped by grants and UK
:12:52. > :12:57.tax breaks, Belfast is on the movie map, supporting jobs and generating
:12:58. > :13:02.millions of pounds worth of spent by international production companies.
:13:03. > :13:06.We are talking to some of the major studios, there is some great
:13:07. > :13:12.interest at the way the studios work is due to what they call cancel
:13:13. > :13:14.booking, they are close to the first one of those, and then we firm up as
:13:15. > :13:15.we go along. Newry firm O'Hare and McGovern has
:13:16. > :13:18.been awarded the construction contract and it says the project
:13:19. > :13:32.will provide work for 200 people. Still to come... The colt of the
:13:33. > :13:39.Curlew was once common in wild places like this, it is rarely heard
:13:40. > :13:42.now but one woman is on a 500 mile odyssey to try to bring it back.
:13:43. > :13:45.The Green Party leader Steven Agnew says he will be disappointed
:13:46. > :13:47.if his party does not win three seats at
:13:48. > :13:51.Launching his party's 19-page manifesto,
:13:52. > :13:54.entitled Zero Waste Strategy for Northern Ireland,
:13:55. > :13:56.the Green Party leader said a vote for the Greens would
:13:57. > :14:05.Steven Agnew predicted success in May's election.
:14:06. > :14:07.If I'm honest, I'd be disappointed if we
:14:08. > :14:09.did not see at least three Green MLAs in the next Assembly.
:14:10. > :14:12.We are confident, we are right to be confident.
:14:13. > :14:14.We had a trebling of our membership, a doubling of our vote,
:14:15. > :14:17.it's now time to take that opportunity and get an increase in
:14:18. > :14:29.The Arlene Arkinson inquest has been told the decision to search this
:14:30. > :14:34.home of her sister Kathleen was prompted by hearsay. The information
:14:35. > :14:41.based on an overheard conversation was passed to police by an unnamed
:14:42. > :14:45.source that the senior investigating officer at the time described as
:14:46. > :14:49.sincere. Nothing was found in the search, which took faced two years
:14:50. > :14:55.after she disappeared in 1994. Counsel for the family put it to the
:14:56. > :14:58.constable that she could be as honest as the day is long but
:14:59. > :15:01.overhearing something you hear other peoples they does not vote for its
:15:02. > :15:03.credibility. Next, the latest on the upgrade
:15:04. > :15:06.of the A26 part of the main road It's being made into a dual
:15:07. > :15:10.carriageway and work began One year on, Donna has been on site
:15:11. > :15:19.to see how it's progressing. Strategically this is one of our
:15:20. > :15:25.most important roads, linking Belfast to the north coast and its
:15:26. > :15:28.popular tourist attractions. Every day 18,000 cars and lorries use this
:15:29. > :15:34.road and that number is growing all the time. This upgrade focuses on an
:15:35. > :15:40.eight kilometre stretch of the road and as you can see, the scheme runs
:15:41. > :15:46.between Blackford and the Ballycastle fork, closely following
:15:47. > :15:50.the existing road route. The development is aimed at improving
:15:51. > :15:57.congestion and safety, although there have been et al at his along
:15:58. > :16:01.this road. I have been speaking to the Project manager to see how it's
:16:02. > :16:07.progressing. It's a massive investment in this corridor, ?55
:16:08. > :16:13.million is great, currently we're on programme, we have hit challenges
:16:14. > :16:18.with the weather, a wet summer and winter and we are standing here
:16:19. > :16:25.today on a lovely draped and we will hope we get more of those and if we
:16:26. > :16:33.get more of those we will hopefully open earlier. One of the areas is
:16:34. > :16:38.lined with trees. What is happening to that part of the road. They were
:16:39. > :16:43.subject to debate as to whether we would keep believed them. They have
:16:44. > :16:47.deteriorated over the roads and only a small number of trees are still
:16:48. > :16:51.planted there but we decided to keep that feature and they will become
:16:52. > :16:59.rest areas where people can stop under the trees and enjoy that
:17:00. > :17:04.feature. Never mind the difficulties that scheme has encountered, let's
:17:05. > :17:10.hear about business in this area. How difficult will it be for your
:17:11. > :17:14.customers to access your business given this new dual carriageway that
:17:15. > :17:20.will bring traffic flying past you? It is hard to tell. You can see the
:17:21. > :17:24.visual impact of the construction on the site but conversations have
:17:25. > :17:30.continued. We now have what we believe are suitable access and
:17:31. > :17:36.accommodation works for the complex that we believe will not impinge on
:17:37. > :17:42.the businesses. Wesley Johnson, from a motorists's point of view, how
:17:43. > :17:48.will this new dual carriageway add to the motoring experience? There
:17:49. > :17:53.are almost 20,000 vehicles a day using this road, people travelling
:17:54. > :17:57.just a few feet from each other. People know what it's like when you
:17:58. > :18:00.get to the end of the dual carriageway and it gets more
:18:01. > :18:06.stressful, traffic slows down, but this new road will allow much more
:18:07. > :18:12.reliable sustained higher speeds and safer travelling with no right
:18:13. > :18:16.turns, no gaps in the central reservation, three sets of junctions
:18:17. > :18:24.with flyovers and slip roads and a much safer experience. The DRD says
:18:25. > :18:28.when this road is completed, that stretch of eight kilometres that
:18:29. > :18:33.normally takes ten minutes in the evening rush-hour will be five --
:18:34. > :18:37.had to five minutes. The road will be heated by this time next year.
:18:38. > :18:40.He was born in Dublin but always regarded himself as an Ulsterman.
:18:41. > :18:42.100 years ago today, Sir Roger Casement was arrested
:18:43. > :18:44.by British authorities as he returned to Ireland
:18:45. > :18:46.from Germany, where he'd been seeking support
:18:47. > :18:50.He was later hanged for treason at London's Pentonville Prison.
:18:51. > :18:52.His arrest at Banna Strand in County Kerry was marked today
:18:53. > :18:57.with a special ceremony, as Mervyn Jess reports.
:18:58. > :19:00.The Irish President was among those who gathered at Banna Strand
:19:01. > :19:03.near Tralee today to remember Sir Roger Casement, who was arrested
:19:04. > :19:06.shortly after coming ashore from a German U-boat
:19:07. > :19:22.He was later executed for treason and his part in the Irish rebellion,
:19:23. > :19:24.Years later, Casement's remains were returned to Ireland
:19:25. > :19:26.and buried in Dublin with full military honours.
:19:27. > :19:29.The Dublin-born Protestant grew up in County Antrim and was a former
:19:30. > :19:32.British diplomat who sympathised with the Irish nationalists.
:19:33. > :19:40.Through his life Roger Casement always thought of himself as an
:19:41. > :19:49.Ulster man. When he and a small number of friends, including Erskine
:19:50. > :19:55.Childers, took the initiative of the Kilcoo will don runnings in the
:19:56. > :19:59.summer of 1914, they had in mind the example of the Ulster volunteers who
:20:00. > :20:07.had imported tonnes from Germany a few months earlier. This World War I
:20:08. > :20:11.U-boat gun have been cited in bank for the best part of a century,
:20:12. > :20:16.given to the town in memory of a local sailor who won the VC, but it
:20:17. > :20:22.has a connection with another part of Irish history. It is from the
:20:23. > :20:26.German submarine which Lord Roger Casement back to Ireland from
:20:27. > :20:33.Germany. It is no coincidence that the U-boat which carried Roger
:20:34. > :20:38.Casement to Ireland, its gun was presented to a town in Ireland, and
:20:39. > :20:48.when I refer to Ireland I refer to it as it was before 1922, went
:20:49. > :20:52.everybody referred to it as Ireland. Today, Sir Roger Casement was
:20:53. > :20:54.remembered with a wreath laying near the place where he was arrested.
:20:55. > :20:57.The curlew was once common here and its call has long been
:20:58. > :21:00.associated with wild places like moors and mountains.
:21:01. > :21:03.But the bird has been in decline for years.
:21:04. > :21:07.Now a conservationist is walking 500 miles from Fermanagh to England's
:21:08. > :21:13.Our agriculture and environment correspondent Conor Macauley went to
:21:14. > :21:22.In her distinctive curlew-emblazoned jumper, I meet conservationist
:21:23. > :21:28.Mary Colwell at a Fermanagh wetland where the birds are known to nest.
:21:29. > :21:34.This kind of boggy place provides them with food and cover,
:21:35. > :21:39.but drainage schemes to improve farmland have seen habitat diminish
:21:40. > :21:41.and that's hammered numbers of this once-common bird of moor
:21:42. > :21:50.and mountain, with its evocative call.
:21:51. > :21:53.To raise awareness, Mary plans to walk 500 miles from Enniskillen
:21:54. > :21:55.to the east coast of England, through places
:21:56. > :22:12.I love the way they look, the long bill, it makes me laugh, it looks
:22:13. > :22:16.quite comical, and combine that with its call, which is evocative and
:22:17. > :22:21.beautiful, especially this time of year when they are breeding and you
:22:22. > :22:24.have a collection of characteristics which do something special for me.
:22:25. > :22:26.This area is managed to help the bird.
:22:27. > :22:28.And with just a couple of hundred breeding pairs left
:22:29. > :22:30.in Northern Ireland, they're badly in need of assistance.
:22:31. > :22:39.In the mid-1980s we know from survey work that there were about 5000
:22:40. > :22:44.pairs of Curlew in Northern Ireland and the most recent figures suggest
:22:45. > :22:50.we have something between 250 and just over 700 pairs. A big part of
:22:51. > :22:55.the problem Curlew 's face is that predators take their eggs and
:22:56. > :22:59.chicks. And this reserve a solar powered electric fence has been run
:23:00. > :23:02.around the perimeter to keep out foxes and badgers.
:23:03. > :23:04.It'll take Mary six weeks to complete her trek.
:23:05. > :23:07.She says she feels she must do something to help a bird
:23:08. > :23:29.Good luck to Mary on her walk. Let's get the weather. That's a very blue
:23:30. > :23:32.sky. You may be forgiven for thinking this was the Mediterranean
:23:33. > :23:38.but it is Belfast Lough scene from Green Island. Please keep your
:23:39. > :23:41.photos coming in. We have some fine evening sunshine but because of
:23:42. > :23:48.those clear skies it will turn chilly to night. Towns and cities
:23:49. > :23:52.should stay about four or 5 degrees but some countryside areas will be
:23:53. > :23:55.lower than that, which sets us up for a cool start on Friday but
:23:56. > :24:02.another fine day to look forward to, but it will be colder as we tried in
:24:03. > :24:08.arctic air, so not quite as warm but tomorrow morning a fine start, dry
:24:09. > :24:13.and sunny weather, winds are light and in the afternoon we hold onto
:24:14. > :24:17.sunshine although for coastal areas with northerly winds it will feel
:24:18. > :24:23.the pain. Today we hit 17 in Fermanagh, tomorrow we are likely to
:24:24. > :24:28.hit 11 or 12 at best, still above average. It is a north-south split
:24:29. > :24:35.tomorrow, rain scattered across the south coast of Ireland, into Wales
:24:36. > :24:39.and England, north of that sun dry weather, maybe some showers for
:24:40. > :24:44.Scotland but we will have plenty of dry and sunny weather in Northern
:24:45. > :24:49.Ireland. We end the week on a high note, sunshine tomorrow evening but
:24:50. > :24:53.a cold end to the day because of arctic air so tomorrow night it will
:24:54. > :24:57.turn chilly, many seeing temperatures falling to two or three
:24:58. > :25:04.but some countryside areas could see frost by Saturday morning. For
:25:05. > :25:08.Saturday itself there will be a fair amount of dry weather, cloudy at
:25:09. > :25:14.times with sunshine, the cloud could give some isolated showers, most of
:25:15. > :25:20.us stayed dry but quite cold, eight or nine the highs in some areas, ten
:25:21. > :25:26.or 11 inland and with northerly winds it will feel colder. Sunday
:25:27. > :25:31.and Monday we hold onto cold feeling conditions as arctic air stays with
:25:32. > :25:32.us but we can expect lengthy of dry weather, so don't put away the big
:25:33. > :25:34.coats just yet. Finally tonight, we'll leave
:25:35. > :25:37.you with a look back at some of the many visits the Queen has
:25:38. > :25:40.made to Northern Ireland over the years and her ground-breaking
:25:41. > :25:49.trip to the Republic. This city hall in Belfast is another
:25:50. > :25:50.scene of gaiety and enthusiasm as the Royal car approaches the
:25:51. > :26:29.building. You can also keep in contact with us
:26:30. > :27:03.via Facebook and Twitter. This is the story of the year
:27:04. > :27:24.that changed Ireland...