:00:00. > :00:30.Minister Theresa May has sat at a vision of a fairer
:00:31. > :00:37.David Ford is to step down as Alliance Party leader tomorrow.
:00:38. > :00:40.We hear from the man who blinded himself after self harming
:00:41. > :00:49.You try to wake up with positive thoughts but it's hard.
:00:50. > :00:52.Robust exchanges as the Finance Minister
:00:53. > :00:55.appears in front of a Stormont committee.
:00:56. > :01:03.What part of no knowledge of dust the committee not understand?
:01:04. > :01:07.people from Northern Ireland have applied for an Irish passport
:01:08. > :01:20.at the new Magherafelt By-pass ahead of its opening tomorrow.
:01:21. > :01:22.Tackling mental health through Sport - Irish rugby international
:01:23. > :01:31.feel to the air as well but still largely dry.
:01:32. > :01:35.David Ford is stepping down as leader of the Alliance Party.
:01:36. > :01:37.The South Antrim MLA is the party's longest serving leader.
:01:38. > :01:40.He also served as the first Justice Minister when policing
:01:41. > :01:42.powers were devolved to the Assembly in 2010.
:01:43. > :01:43.Here's our Political Editor, Mark Devenport.
:01:44. > :01:47.I hope you'll be voting for Alliance.
:01:48. > :01:52.A social worker before he entered politics,
:01:53. > :01:54.David Ford has represented South Antrim for 18 years.
:01:55. > :01:57.For the past 15 years he's been the Alliance leader and in 2010
:01:58. > :02:00.he made history by becoming the first local Justice
:02:01. > :02:15.12 years and two days ago the politicians of Northern Ireland, the
:02:16. > :02:19.Prime Minister and the Taoiseach stood on the steps to record a
:02:20. > :02:26.significant step forward in the peace process. To date we have seen
:02:27. > :02:32.another significant step forward in the police and political process as
:02:33. > :02:34.we see further entrenching of the in situations agreed on Good Friday.
:02:35. > :02:37.As minister he tackled the high cost of legal aid and tried to reform
:02:38. > :02:40.At times, the pressure seemed all too clear,
:02:41. > :02:43.such as when he was asked if the Prison Service director
:02:44. > :02:46.should resign after a highly critical report on Maghaberry jail.
:02:47. > :02:56.I said to questions, that was three. Should you resign? Is that on your
:02:57. > :03:01.mind? You were told I had time for two questions and I had to see the
:03:02. > :03:02.Secretary of State, and I will not be resigning.
:03:03. > :03:05.A high point came when Naomi Long became the first Alliance politician
:03:06. > :03:07.to be elected as an MP in East Belfast.
:03:08. > :03:09.But Mrs Long and other Alliance representatives suffered
:03:10. > :03:12.intimidation after the party voted to limit the number of days
:03:13. > :03:28.the Union flag should fly over Belfast City Hall.
:03:29. > :03:33.at one level but it really was a high point to see the way
:03:34. > :03:34.in which my colleagues stood together supporting
:03:35. > :03:36.each other, stood absolutely firm by our principles,
:03:37. > :03:39.and I think that shows the kind of strength we have in Alliance.
:03:40. > :03:41.We may not have vast numbers compared to
:03:42. > :03:43.some other parties but we have a cohesion,
:03:44. > :03:45.we work together and we support each other well.
:03:46. > :03:48.The 250 members of Alliance's ruling council will meet in three weeks'
:03:49. > :03:52.Any of Mr Ford's seven MLA colleagues is entitled to stand.
:03:53. > :03:55.That said, party insiders predict that Naomi Long could be the only
:03:56. > :03:57.candidate. Mrs Long becomes acting leader
:03:58. > :03:59.tomorrow when Mr Ford formally stands down,
:04:00. > :04:01.and she is without doubt the clear A Londonderry man who blinded
:04:02. > :04:08.himself after self-harming in Maghaberry prison says he misses
:04:09. > :04:12.seeing the joy and happiness 23-year-old Sean Lynch inflicted
:04:13. > :04:18.what was described as "extreme and shocking" self-harm over
:04:19. > :04:22.a three-day period in prison. A Prison Ombudsman report found that
:04:23. > :04:25.two prison officers stood and watched for over an hour
:04:26. > :04:28.as he injured himself Two years on, he's still extremely
:04:29. > :04:33.distressed about Here's our North-West reporter,
:04:34. > :04:49.Keiron Tourish. It's all right, it's a fresh day.
:04:50. > :04:54.Even a simple trip to the park can present problems for Sean Lynch.
:04:55. > :05:00.Each day when I wake and is a lot tougher than it used to be. I used
:05:01. > :05:05.to be able to get up in the morning and get dressed and get out on my
:05:06. > :05:12.bicycle and go on a run, and since this happened at Maghaberry, I can't
:05:13. > :05:18.get none of it done. From an early age Sean Lynch sowed enthusiasm for
:05:19. > :05:20.sport and had a number of cross-channel sports after his
:05:21. > :05:26.signature that is like she took a different turn and he developed a
:05:27. > :05:33.history of drug and alcohol abuse. Mental health in this followed. It
:05:34. > :05:37.was well in Rick -- Maghaberry prison that he blinded himself and
:05:38. > :05:44.injured his groin area. The ombudsman said he inflicted extreme
:05:45. > :05:50.self harm. They said CCTV cameras showed Sean Lynch shouting in pain
:05:51. > :05:55.and banging his cell door but two officers watched and did not
:05:56. > :06:01.intervene. They watched self harm for 67 minutes and didn't enter the
:06:02. > :06:06.cell because the security of the present might be at risk, so they
:06:07. > :06:11.thought Sean might have got the keys to escape from jail and they let him
:06:12. > :06:16.carry on until he blinded himself. All they had to do was walk in and
:06:17. > :06:22.handcuff him and he would have his site today. The family of Sean Lynch
:06:23. > :06:31.says the way the authorities reacted to the report caused great anguish.
:06:32. > :06:35.There's been no sympathy and no apology from anybody. Sean lives
:06:36. > :06:41.from day to day now, and life is difficult for them. He lives in
:06:42. > :06:48.darkness everyday. What do you missed the most when you hear your
:06:49. > :06:56.family's voices? I miss being able to set and have a one-to-one
:06:57. > :07:05.conversation face to face. I miss seeing them smiling. The happiness.
:07:06. > :07:10.The head of the prison service, Sue McAllister, defended her staff and
:07:11. > :07:15.said they had looked after Sean Lynch in a caring and professional
:07:16. > :07:20.way, and it should not be about a portion in claim or apologising. In
:07:21. > :07:24.the face of the report compiled by the ombudsman that is nonsense
:07:25. > :07:30.because her staff watched for 67 minutes as Mr Lynch inflicts
:07:31. > :07:34.grooviest injuries on himself. Sean Lynch knows his life will never be
:07:35. > :07:40.the same again but says he is determined to move on, and he says
:07:41. > :07:43.he knows he can depend on the hill, love and support of his family. --
:07:44. > :07:44.help. There were some heated exchanges
:07:45. > :07:47.at Stormont today as the Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir
:07:48. > :07:49.was questioned about secret contacts between a former Sinn Fein MLA
:07:50. > :07:51.and a loyalist blogger. Mr O Muilleoir denied he had any
:07:52. > :07:54.knowledge of the back channel correspondence between Daithi McKay
:07:55. > :07:56.and Jamie Bryson ahead of Mr Bryson's appearance before
:07:57. > :07:59.an inquiry into Nama. The Minister was appearing
:08:00. > :08:01.before the Finance Our political correspondent
:08:02. > :08:06.Enda McClafferty was watching. So what did the Minister
:08:07. > :08:18.have to say? The minister was adamant that he had
:08:19. > :08:23.no questions to anchor surrounding these coaching allegations. He said
:08:24. > :08:27.he was in Spain on holiday when the story broke and his conscious was
:08:28. > :08:34.clear that this was a pretty bad tempered meeting, and pretty
:08:35. > :08:39.bizarre. At one point the Minister attempted to question the committee
:08:40. > :08:43.chairwoman, a little pain Kelly, and she pointed out he was there to
:08:44. > :08:47.answer questions and not ask them, and that set the tone for what was
:08:48. > :08:52.to follow, and the Minister, when he was pushed about his relationship
:08:53. > :09:01.with the three central players, said this. Any linkage, any connection,
:09:02. > :09:06.any thread which can link me to the affair surrounding Mr O'Hara, Mr
:09:07. > :09:14.Bryson and Mr MacKay, and here is the rub. It's been a long time since
:09:15. > :09:18.I was in San Sebastien but those who were throwing the mud have not been
:09:19. > :09:24.able to get any scintilla of evidence, any little patch of
:09:25. > :09:25.evidence linking me to this disgraceful and inappropriate
:09:26. > :09:31.behaviour. Jim Allister has received
:09:32. > :09:42.copies of the exchanges Yes, Jim Allister said he had
:09:43. > :09:45.received a transcript of the exchanges between the three central
:09:46. > :09:50.players, although it was pointed out either committee chair that this was
:09:51. > :09:54.an edited transcript and there were parts missing, and she said the
:09:55. > :10:01.committee could not read much into this because of that, but Jim
:10:02. > :10:07.Allister had a chance to put some of the contents of what he received to
:10:08. > :10:11.the Minister, and this is what the Minister had to say when Jim
:10:12. > :10:18.Allister accused him of being in denial about what had happened. I
:10:19. > :10:22.admire Chris Sandow, it's like the end of Colombo when Colombo says
:10:23. > :10:27.just one more thing and he has some evidence, but well we have been
:10:28. > :10:31.dancing around this, you haven't done that. Sometimes those who were
:10:32. > :10:33.highest fall the hardest. And in a surprise development,
:10:34. > :10:43.the police also addressed Yes, we learned late on that one of
:10:44. > :10:48.the committee meeting was delayed for over an hour, a senior police
:10:49. > :10:54.officer was talking to members, impressing on them not to say
:10:55. > :10:59.anything that might hamper a future police investigation. The police
:11:00. > :11:04.asked to bring out this inquiry to see if any offences have been
:11:05. > :11:09.committed but we expect to hear back from them to find out what their
:11:10. > :11:10.next move will be on this one. Thank you.
:11:11. > :11:12.Belfast Crown Court has heard how one of the defendants accused
:11:13. > :11:16.of murdering an Armagh man and dumping his body in a bin blamed
:11:17. > :11:17.his co-accused for the assault during a conversation
:11:18. > :11:21.Stephen Hughes spoke to his mother from a police station
:11:22. > :11:26.Stephen Hughes and Shaunean Boyle face charges of murdering
:11:27. > :11:34.Owen Creaney's body was discovered in a wheelie bin at this house.
:11:35. > :11:45.A postmortem examination revealed it had taken him two days to die.
:11:46. > :11:50.25-year-old Shaunean Boyle and 29-year-old Stephen Hughes stand
:11:51. > :11:57.In court today, the jury heard that after Stephen Hughes arrived
:11:58. > :12:02.at Antrim Police Station he asked to be able to call his dad.
:12:03. > :12:05.While on the phone, his father said his mother wanted
:12:06. > :12:13.This is part of that conversation - listened to by the custody officer.
:12:14. > :12:17.Stephen Hughes' mother asks him, who put Owen Creaney in the bin?
:12:18. > :12:20.He answers, "the two of us" - a reference to his
:12:21. > :12:26.His mother then asks her son what he had done.
:12:27. > :12:30.He answers that she, again referring to Shauenean Boyle,
:12:31. > :12:36.hit him, put him up the stairs, she cleaned him up, saying
:12:37. > :12:40.that she had checked on him and found him dead,
:12:41. > :12:45.adding that it was Shaunean Boyle who had stood all over him.
:12:46. > :12:48.The court also heard the details of a police interview
:12:49. > :12:51.with Stephen Hughes, In it he gave his account
:12:52. > :12:58.He alleged Shaunean Boyle had argued with Mr Creaney while
:12:59. > :13:01.the three had been drinking on the night of the assault.
:13:02. > :13:05.He said they'd argued about how a friend of the deceased had
:13:06. > :13:12.in the past broken Shaunean Boyle's father's legs with a sledgehammer.
:13:13. > :13:15.He went on to say he then heard a thud, and when he looked up
:13:16. > :13:20.Shaunean Boyle was kicking and stamping on Owen Creaney.
:13:21. > :13:24.He told the officer that she'd begged him not to call an ambulance,
:13:25. > :13:28.saying she was worried they would take away her child.
:13:29. > :13:32.He said it was Shaunean Boyle who suggested putting Mr Creaney's
:13:33. > :13:36.body in a wheelie bin, describing then how they'd
:13:37. > :13:40.brought the bin upstairs, put the body in it together
:13:41. > :13:43.and that he then brought it down the stairs.
:13:44. > :13:47.Near the end of the police interview he said Shaunean Boyle had put him
:13:48. > :13:52.under pressure to clean up the mess she had got herself into.
:13:53. > :14:13.I suffered with bulimia and self harm when I was a young teenager, 12
:14:14. > :14:20.or 13, and just felt like I wasn't good enough. Tackling the stigma
:14:21. > :14:21.surrounding mental health, and Irish rugby international tells us her
:14:22. > :14:22.story. Some of today's other news now,
:14:23. > :14:26.and a number of people have escaped injury when shots were fired at two
:14:27. > :14:28.houses in Lurgan last night. It happened at Woodville Street
:14:29. > :14:31.and Victoria Street. The police have appealed
:14:32. > :14:33.for witnesses to contact them. A Fermanagh man has been sentenced
:14:34. > :14:39.to six years for causing the death of a passenger in his car
:14:40. > :14:43.by dangerous driving. 20-year-old Conor Jeremiah Briody
:14:44. > :14:47.from Ferney Rise in Enniskillen was almost two and a half times over
:14:48. > :14:51.the legal alcohol limit when he crashed his car
:14:52. > :14:58.into a roundabout in the town. Police witnesses said he was driving
:14:59. > :15:02.at up to 90 miles per hour One of his five passengers,
:15:03. > :15:05.Vaidas Urbonas, died in hospital Two 18-year-old men have been beaten
:15:06. > :15:12.with baseball bats by a masked gang They were attacked by three men
:15:13. > :15:21.at around 8:30 last night as they locked up premises
:15:22. > :15:23.in Balmoral Avenue. One has since been discharged,
:15:24. > :15:26.the other is still being treated A teenager was hit on the head
:15:27. > :15:30.and an away supporters' bus vandalised after last night's
:15:31. > :15:33.football match between Derry City Derry City have apologised to fans
:15:34. > :15:38.caught up in the trouble and have warned that if it continues it
:15:39. > :15:40.could have grave implications for the club's status
:15:41. > :15:52.in the league of Ireland. Our best wishes go to those people
:15:53. > :15:58.and our apologies for events that are outside our control, but we have
:15:59. > :16:04.to be big enough to apologise. We have a great reputation, Derry City
:16:05. > :16:09.fans, we are welcomed everywhere and would like to extend the same
:16:10. > :16:13.welcome to visiting fans. We do that in the ground, the Stewart Cink
:16:14. > :16:19.arrangements were first class, Dundalk fans were well-behaved,
:16:20. > :16:23.Derry City fans well-behaved, but these problems happened outside the
:16:24. > :16:28.ground and we have to find a way of dealing with them.
:16:29. > :16:31.It's been claimed that "no full stop, no comma, no phrase"
:16:32. > :16:33.of the Good Friday Agreement could prevent Northern Ireland
:16:34. > :16:37.The Attorney General John Larkin made his comments during the second
:16:38. > :16:39.day of hearings for legal challenges to the government's
:16:40. > :16:44.More voices at the High Court - opposed to taking Northern Ireland
:16:45. > :16:46.out of the EU along with Great Britain, more people
:16:47. > :16:49.supporting the legal challenges being heard at length inside.
:16:50. > :16:51.One of them working with a learning disability group,
:16:52. > :17:04.The Human Rights Act underpins all the quality legislation and
:17:05. > :17:05.discrimination legislation that gives people with disabilities the
:17:06. > :17:07.rights and ensures their rights. Then those bringing the legal
:17:08. > :17:10.challenges, the victims campaigner Raymond McCord, and some
:17:11. > :17:21.of the cross-party group of MLAs Whilst the whole of the UK might
:17:22. > :17:26.have voted to leave Europe, Northern Ireland voted to remain. We want to
:17:27. > :17:30.challenge the legal standing of that decision. We believe Northern
:17:31. > :17:32.Ireland should remain part of Europe.
:17:33. > :17:34.But as hearings progressed, the court heard the views of
:17:35. > :17:38.Barristers for the two legal challenges had argued that including
:17:39. > :17:40.Northern Ireland in Brexit was unlawful, and that the process
:17:41. > :17:45.But a barrister for James Brokenshire said the process
:17:46. > :17:49.the government is planning is "not illegal, unorthodox
:17:50. > :17:55.Later, the court heard from the Attorney General,
:17:56. > :17:57.John Larkin, QC for the Stormont Executive,
:17:58. > :18:03.suggesting the Good Friday Agreement is no obstacle to an EU withdrawal.
:18:04. > :18:06.Could the Belfast Agreement work if any of the players weren't
:18:07. > :18:12.The answer is inevitably yes, he said.
:18:13. > :18:14.And he cited the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, none
:18:15. > :18:31.These hearings have now been extended into a third day.
:18:32. > :18:33.More than 37,000 people from the UK have applied
:18:34. > :18:35.for an Irish passport since the vote for Brexit.
:18:36. > :18:37.Almost half of them have come from Northern Ireland.
:18:38. > :18:40.BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson has been looking at the numbers.
:18:41. > :18:42.The rush for Irish passports began the day
:18:43. > :18:46.So many people wanted to pick up an application form
:18:47. > :18:49.from a Post Office that some in Belfast had to put up notices
:18:50. > :18:55.So we knew there'd been an immediate increase in applications.
:18:56. > :18:58.Today we got the figures for the past three months.
:18:59. > :19:03.Across the UK, a total of 37,306 people applied
:19:04. > :19:09.And that included more than 15,000 from Northern Ireland.
:19:10. > :19:12.That's a lot more than during the same period last year.
:19:13. > :19:20.However, there is some evidence that the real rush is now over,
:19:21. > :19:24.and applications are now slowing down.
:19:25. > :19:27.Right, what about across the water, in England, Scotland and Wales?
:19:28. > :19:29.Well, the total number of UK applicants included
:19:30. > :19:38.That's a 97% rise on the same period last year.
:19:39. > :19:42.And there seems to be no end to the rush over there -
:19:43. > :19:46.month by month, the numbers keep going up.
:19:47. > :19:48.According to The Times newspaper last week,
:19:49. > :19:52.at least ten MPs or peers at Westminster have applied
:19:53. > :19:55.for Irish passports since the Brexit vote.
:19:56. > :20:00.That's the downside of the new figures.
:20:01. > :20:17.We don't know exactly who the 37,000 new applicants are.
:20:18. > :20:24.Still to come, the plush surroundings of carbon house in
:20:25. > :20:27.County Kildare. Northern Ireland's footballer seemed to approve of
:20:28. > :20:33.their new training base ahead of their World Cup qualifier.
:20:34. > :20:41.A ?35 million road scheme, which will take 7000 cars a day out
:20:42. > :20:42.of a busy regional town, opens tomorrow.
:20:43. > :20:44.The A31 Magherafelt Bypass has been completed several
:20:45. > :20:46.Here's our agriculture and environment correspondent,
:20:47. > :20:50.The new bypass runs through four miles of countryside
:20:51. > :20:53.It cost ?35 million to build and will open
:20:54. > :20:56.It's single-carriageway with passing lanes at either end and should cut
:20:57. > :21:04.Work began last April, and the finishing touches
:21:05. > :21:12.are still being applied to what was a big project.
:21:13. > :21:21.We have during construction moved 500, half a million cubic metres of
:21:22. > :21:25.Earth and that included 25,000 cubic metres of little rock, a lot of
:21:26. > :21:33.which was sourced locally. Part of this road scheme is about improving
:21:34. > :21:37.access of people in the west to the big cities of Belfast and Derry, but
:21:38. > :21:41.it's also about the town of Magherafelt, which is so choked with
:21:42. > :21:43.traffic at certain times of the day that people will not go into it.
:21:44. > :21:46.Magherafelt is a busy trading town, but at certain times of the day
:21:47. > :21:50.25,000 vehicles a day go through, many of them passing
:21:51. > :22:02.It can get quite bad in mornings and afternoons especially, UQ half an
:22:03. > :22:06.hour to get in before you think about car parking, maybe longer
:22:07. > :22:08.depending on what is happening with the traffic.
:22:09. > :22:10.Some traders are concerned at the loss of passing trade,
:22:11. > :22:13.but the consensus seems to be the new road will bring benefits.
:22:14. > :22:15.So what about other regional towns crying out
:22:16. > :22:23.Decongestant these towns, getting the bypass in place is important.
:22:24. > :22:28.It's a great way to use this money and we are now looking at other
:22:29. > :22:30.places across the North, how best we use this money to have the same sort
:22:31. > :22:31.of impact. Around 30 farmers had to sacrifice
:22:32. > :22:34.ground to let this scheme happen. They've been compensated and some
:22:35. > :22:36.bridges and underpasses put in to allow them continued access
:22:37. > :22:40.to their land. The sport of rugby has
:22:41. > :22:42.been tackling the stigma surrounding mental health -
:22:43. > :22:49.Mark has more. Yes, Tara, the Irish Rugby players
:22:50. > :22:52.association is saying it could be you, it could be me -
:22:53. > :22:57.mental illness does not respect gender or profession,
:22:58. > :23:02.and as role models they've decided to tackle the issue head on -
:23:03. > :23:04.Hannah Tyrell is one She was in Belfast last night -
:23:05. > :23:16.this is her story. Physical injury is part and parcel
:23:17. > :23:22.of contact sport, broken and bruised limbs he'll but it's more difficult
:23:23. > :23:29.to identify and treat emotional pain and anguish. I suffered with bulimia
:23:30. > :23:36.and self harm when I was a young teenager, 12 or 13, and I felt like
:23:37. > :23:40.I wasn't good enough at sport, at school, I wasn't pretty or skinny
:23:41. > :23:45.enough and I felt like maybe if I was skinnier I would do better in
:23:46. > :23:51.school, people with like me more, all around my life would be better.
:23:52. > :23:58.But things didn't get better. Unable to communicate her emotions, aged
:23:59. > :24:05.18, Hannah was another to a psychiatric hospital for six months.
:24:06. > :24:09.Sport was a big deal, I had G8 or soccer, then rugby, and I was able
:24:10. > :24:15.to go to that and forget about my problems. There was always someone
:24:16. > :24:20.there willing to listen, especially if you can call them a friend, and
:24:21. > :24:25.as soon as you talk to someone the relief you feel is massive. What
:24:26. > :24:32.ever your gender, it seems talking is the key to unlocking. They say
:24:33. > :24:36.women talk face to face and men shoulder to shoulder and maybe the
:24:37. > :24:40.men of rugby talk in the ruck but we are asking people to have that
:24:41. > :24:46.conversation and open up. Next up for Hannah Terrell, England in the
:24:47. > :24:50.November internationals, and she still gets bad days, but it seems
:24:51. > :24:53.now the Ireland winner is better able to tackle them.
:24:54. > :25:00.To football. Derry City are out of the FAI cup -
:25:01. > :25:07.beaten 2-1 by holders Dundalk is last night's semifinal replay,
:25:08. > :25:09.the biggest crowd of the season to date at the Brandywell ground saw
:25:10. > :25:12.Ronan Curtis steer the candystripes into an early lead -
:25:13. > :25:19.then a moment which caused much debate as Dundalk's Robbie Benson
:25:20. > :25:23.adjudged to have been brought down in the box -
:25:24. > :25:28.the penalty was awarded and ciaran Dundalks winner came compliments
:25:29. > :25:32.of a Ronan finn header to set up a meeting with cork city
:25:33. > :25:34.in the final. Michael O'Neill has called Aberdeen
:25:35. > :25:37.defender Callum Morris and Saint Johnstone midfielder Paul Payton
:25:38. > :25:39.into the squad for the World Cup qualfiers against San
:25:40. > :25:41.Marino and Germany. It seems the Northern Ireland boss
:25:42. > :25:43.has settled on Carton house in County Kildare as the preferred
:25:44. > :25:50.training base for this campaign. We are about 50 yards from our room
:25:51. > :25:57.and our team base, in other destinations we would be 25 minutes
:25:58. > :26:01.or half an hour away, so out in the countryside away from the hustle and
:26:02. > :26:06.bustle and you can focus on football, which is a key thing when
:26:07. > :26:10.you're away for so long, and it forces you to make sure your team
:26:11. > :26:15.are bonding and doing stuff together and you aren't wasting time. More
:26:16. > :26:17.from the camp as the week progresses.
:26:18. > :26:18.Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy who recently
:26:19. > :26:21.underwent surgery for a groin complaint has been declared fit
:26:22. > :26:29.ahead of tomorrows night's World Cup qualifier against Georgia in Dublin
:26:30. > :26:37.It's a timely boost for Martin O'Neill. I would listen to the
:26:38. > :26:41.players and if the player hasn't played for a couple of weeks, you
:26:42. > :26:46.would ask if fitness is a concern and if the match is a concern, and
:26:47. > :26:51.if the injury is cleared up, I wouldn't see that as a problem. I've
:26:52. > :26:58.been involved in club management for quite some time, less so as an
:26:59. > :27:04.International manager, and I have never played anyone who has arrived
:27:05. > :27:07.and not been properly fit. We know a lot about them from the last
:27:08. > :27:15.campaign and when you got a little bit of magic out there and at home,
:27:16. > :27:20.Johnny got his goal and they beat Spain not so long ago in a friendly
:27:21. > :27:25.match and they ran in Germany and Austria are close, so it's a tough
:27:26. > :27:32.game, it will not be a walkover and we will have to be on our game to
:27:33. > :27:38.get a result tomorrow night. Thomas Kane will be at the game and we will
:27:39. > :27:46.get the result tomorrow. And she is here with the weather. We have a
:27:47. > :27:50.large area of high pressure sitting over Scandinavia, keeping all those
:27:51. > :27:57.weather fronts away from us, but it was quite breezy today, quite big
:27:58. > :28:01.waves, a large sea swell. Earlier on we started with cloudy skies but the
:28:02. > :28:07.best of the sunshine was out towards the West, are much better and drier
:28:08. > :28:11.day for western counties after some wet weather. That brisk
:28:12. > :28:16.south-easterly wind pushed the cloud inland towards the West so it
:28:17. > :28:20.brightened up nicely with sunshine and even that cloud over inland
:28:21. > :28:25.parts of Northern Ireland has been breaking up, so there will be some
:28:26. > :28:28.nice sunsets this evening. We should hold onto those clear skies into the
:28:29. > :28:35.first part of the night, becoming quite cool, temperatures in the
:28:36. > :28:40.countryside may be in single figures, then later in the night the
:28:41. > :28:44.breeze brings or cloud in and tomorrow will generally be a cloudy
:28:45. > :28:49.day, but not all bad news. There's still a lot of dry weather forecast
:28:50. > :28:53.but we will lose any early brightness as that cloud creates its
:28:54. > :28:58.way in on the breeze, but even then it will hopefully not be too solid
:28:59. > :29:03.and as we go into the afternoon the breeze will churn it up, we'll get a
:29:04. > :29:09.few bright intervals, a few glimpses of sunshine as temperatures crook
:29:10. > :29:14.downwards without south-easterly breeze, a cooling effect around 13
:29:15. > :29:20.degrees. Tomorrow night is still breezy, mainly dry, variable amounts
:29:21. > :29:25.of cloud but clear spells and temperatures dip to seven or 8
:29:26. > :29:28.degrees. Later in the night we could see some thicker cloud which could
:29:29. > :29:35.threaten a few showers towards eastern counties and as we go into
:29:36. > :29:39.Friday the breeze eases but it may still some of those showers across
:29:40. > :29:46.during the morning but they will not all day, the emphasis still on dry
:29:47. > :29:51.weather. Good news for the farmers, failing barley here in Richhill and
:29:52. > :29:59.the mainly dry theme continues into the weekend. I'll be back with our
:30:00. > :30:01.late news at 10:30pm. From