11/05/2017 BBC Newsline

and on BBC One, we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline:

A woman admits killing a Greenisland pensioner

The EU's Brexit negotiator tells the Dail he'll work to avoid

a hard border but emphasises there will have to be some form

The sister of a woman whose husband killed her and their children tells

of her family's relief that his body has been moved from their grave.

I was there this morning when it happened, and as he left

the cemetery, the sun broke through the clouds and I cried

Prince Charles tries his hand at hurling on the second day

The Balmoral Show - a place to renew rivalries,

I'll have all the characters and colour later in the programme.

I'm live on the North Coast as racing gets under way

With an English 1-2- three. After ten days of dry weather, were

back to normal with showers coming in this evening. I'll have the

details later. A 31-year-old woman has

admitted killing a pensioner 67-year-old Eddie Girvan was found

dead at his house on Station Road. Our north-east reporter Sara Girvin

was at Belfast Crown Court. Just as her murder trial

was about to start, Margaret Henderson-McCarroll

admitted killing Eddie Girvan. The mother-of-two, described

in court as fragile, is a heroin addict with nearly

100 previous convictions. Today she accepted that she'd

unlawfully killed retired plumber Henderson-McCarroll's solicitor

stood with her in the dock as she pleaded not guilty

to Eddie Girvan's murder, but she said she was guilty

of his manslaughter on the grounds She also pleaded guilty to eight

other charges, including theft These relate to the theft of cash,

jewellery and Mr Girvan's car Police discovered Mr Girvan's body

by chance after his stolen car, driven by his killer,

was involved in The vehicle was then found

outside the Belfast hostel No details of Mr Girvan's death

were given today at court but at a bail hearing last year

it was heard that he and Henderson-McCarroll had

rowed over money for sex. She said he'd come at her

with a sword and she'd been Mr Girvan was found at his

Station Road home, bound, gagged and with stab wounds

to his chest. Pre-sentence reports were ordered,

and Henderson-McCarroll The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has

told a special sitting of the Dail that he will work to avoid

a hard border. But Michel Barnier also emphasised

that there will have to some form of customs controls when the UK

leaves the EU. Our economics and business editor

John Campbell is in Dublin. The Irish government has been

mounting a huge diplomatic offensive across Europe for the last year,

trying to get Irish issues to the top of the EU's Brexit agenda. They

have so had some success there and Mr Barnier's appearance today was a

continuation of that strategy. It was the IP treatment for Michel

Barnier, addressing both houses of the Irish parliament is an honour

usually reserved for prime ministers and presidents. He reputed his

determination that Brexit negotiations should do nothing to

undermine peace in Ireland but warned that Brexit will mean change,

especially when it comes to customs. The UK's departure from the EU

will have consequences. We have together the duty

to speak the truth. Customs controls are part of the EU

border management, to protect the single market,

to protect our food safety But as I already said many

times, nothing in these negotiations He gave no indication as to what

those customs controls might amount to. The Sinn Fein leader said the

best way to avoid problems on customs or anything else was for

Northern Ireland to get special status in the view. That would

insure that our trading relationship with the rest of Ireland and the EU,

especially business tourism, the All-Ireland energy market,

agriculture, all that would be maintained. The SDLP leader, who met

Mr Barnier today, was also pushing special status. The EU has

recognised that we have to protect the Good Friday Agreement but what

we also need to do is take the Good Friday Agreement and its mechanisms,

especially north-south mechanisms, and use that to develop special

staters. That is a prize worth protecting. The Taoiseach says it is

a dream to get Ireland to the top of the agenda but acknowledged the

challenge. We know how complex and serious the issues are for Europe

and for Ireland. Later mist Kenny had his own meeting with Mr Barnier.

Tomorrow it will be the turn of business people to talk to him. They

will want to know more about what might happen with customs controls.

Those businesses that Mr Barnier is meeting tomorrow are all food

processing businesses in County Monaghan, the sort of firms which

will be badly damaged by any new tariffs or trade barriers between

the EU and UK, so they will be keen to get clarity, but at this early

stage of Brexit negotiations, there will not be much he can tell them

for definite. The sister of a County Cavan woman

whose husband killed her and their three children has been

speaking about her family's decision Alan Hawe had been buried

with his wife Clodagh and their three sons

after the apparent murder-suicide at their home near Ballyjamesduff

almost a year ago. Jacqueline Connolly spoke

to our reporter Kevin Magee. This is how the Hawe family grave

looked up until yesterday. And this is it now after

Alan Hawe's body was exhumed. At the time of their deaths,

the five members of the family were buried side by side

in St Mary's churchyard Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster,

Clodagh's sister Jacqueline I used to call her golden girl. In

my eyes she never put a foot wrong. She was just lovely. Clodagh was

wonderful. She described how she felt watching

Alan Hawe's body being removed I was there when it happened,

and as he left the cemetery, the sun broke through the clouds

and I cried with relief that he

was gone for good. He may as well have killed

us as well, because Why did you decide at

the time that the family The funeral arrangements never

came into our heads, we just couldn't even

think about the fact that they were In a statement, the Hawe family said

that they had agreed to a request from Clodagh's side

of the family to have They referred to the devastating

losses that they too have suffered - losing a son, grandchildren

and daughter-in-law. They say the he circumstances

surrounding the tragedy will be the subject of an inquest later this

year, and in light of that they A total of 109 candidates

are standing for election here in the Westminster contest

on June the 8th. That's down on the 138 people

who put their name forward in the last general

election two years ago. This evening the Ulster Unionist MLA

Alan Chambers withdrew his candidacy in North Down, where the party says

the independent unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon enjoys

overwhelming support. Here's our political

editor, Mark Devenport. Mark, so fewer candidates,

does that mean less I suppose it's a snap election so

perhaps people have had less time to think about this. We have six

candidates on average per constituency and some parties who

put up a number of candidates last time are either not contesting or

putting you work candidates in. We don't think Ukip is in the race, the

Conservatives and QUB have cut back on their candidates but we do have

some idea of a party breakdown although all the details have not

yet been published. The main storm and parties, of them Sinn Fein, the

SDLP and Alliance are all fielding 18 candidates, in all

constituencies, the DUP standing aside in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

What's the significance of the Ulster Unionist

I think the independent unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon would be pretty

confident about defending North Down. She places at challenge from

the DUP in the shape of Alex Easton and other parties will be in the

race that this would make more confident. Last time the Ulster

unionist didn't stand against her. She was originally an Ulster

unionist and is now independent but we will have a full list on our

website once they have been published.

Plenty still to come on the programme.

Join me at Balmoral Show when I'll be introducing you to Agnes

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall spent most of today

in Kilkenny on the second day of their visit to the Republic.

The county is famous for its hurlers.

And as our Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison now reports,

Kilkenny hurling legend King Henry Sheflin teaching Charles

His first question was, how hard can you hit it, so like anyone you want

to see how hard you can head it, but for his first go he did well.

And looking on, possible future GAA stars had a morning to remember.

Ease asking what you need to wear and I said you need a helmet and his

like, you have to practice us and I said yeah. The princess asked if the

girls are better than the boys and I said the girls were better than the

boys. It's over a century since

a member of the royal And as all know, a lot has

happened in Ireland - This is the Prince's third visit

to the Republic in three years. And to quote the man himself,

he's going to keep bothering people in the Republic as a demonstration

of the UK's commitment to peace. With hundreds of bystanders nearby,

the Prince, a noted organic farmer, visited the farmers' market outside

Kilkenny Castle, impressing We have our herbal drink here cold

Dragon Fire and we offered him that. He went to drink it but then saw

there was garlic in it and put it down again. It was lovely to meet

him. While the prince and the duchess had

other engagements today, this was the highlight -

at least for people here. The royal couple will spend

tomorrow in Dublin. It's another sunny day

at the Balmoral Show. The crowds are there once again

today in their thousands - and Donna Traynor is there

for us too. Good evening, Catherine.

Unfortunately the sun has gone behind clouds for the moment. The

Balmoral Show has been packed today. It has come a long way since its

origins are being purely for farmers. I've met people from town

and country here at Balmoral Park, and I have come across an

interesting lady, Agnes told. She has been showing pigs, she is from

Banbridge and you have a champion of champions. We reared her from birth

to bacon and she has turned out exceptional and we knew from the

start she was an exceptional guilt and so it is nice to have a champion

of champions. She is some size of a lady. When we went to film her, she

is a large white and how popular is that breed? Not very popular now.

Long white breeze are dying out now, there are only three breeders in

Northern Ireland whom breed large quite, so my husband and I are

trying to keep the breed open, to keep them going on. You show, your

husband shows, what about the rest of the family? My grandchildren take

part in every year as handlers so they will be out running after the

pegs. It's a real family occasion. Balmoral Show has an international

flavour this year with foreign buyers trying to strike a few gales.

Our agriculture and environment correspondent Conor Macauley met up

with them and also find out about five to keep its content.

Sometimes getting too close to the attractions has its perils. There is

a competitive side to the show, like here at the cattle shed where to

breeders were about to renew along running rivalry. Who's going to win?

Time will tell! Desmond Bloom had splash the cash on an England rival.

In the show ring it paid off. He won the class and later the overall

title. Can't win them all! With the show extending to a fourth day, it

will give people from the city a chance to see what all the buzz is

about. The best of the show will soon be here but you may have missed

the best of the weather. Even the Algerian trade delegation was

feeling the heat. Are you likely to place orders as a result of being

here or are you just here for a look? I came here to place orders,

to make new opportunities for work because we know the know-how of

Irish people is high-class, so this is why I came here, know-how and

technologies. In the food Pavilion, this egg stand won best local stand

at the show. Business owner Andy Gilbert loves his happy hands. I

want to know the hens are contented when I close my eyes. You use your

ears, that so you know what's going on in your henhouse. Can you

replicate the noise of a contented hen for us?

Today is done and two to go. There are still prizes to be handed out

before the big clean-up. You join me here with a man who runs

one of the most popular displays, the falconry display, and this is

junior. What is he looking at? He's looking at this lovely microphone,

thinking it's a bit of meat. What is it about this animal that people are

scared when they see the displays? People get very nervous because of

the shaft it and the talons, but they are a very friendly bird. One

of the most friendly birds you will get in the hawk family because they

are a pack bird, so we train them as young birds and they become part of

our pack so they want to be around you and do things with you, so

people get the wrong idea. The crowds soaked it all in today. What

age is junior? Four years old. Do they have a short life span? He

would have a life span of 20 or 25. Where did you get your love of

birds? Was it acquired in later life? I always had it. My fathers

cup Canaries, hens, so I always had a love for birds. These birds are my

life. I'm looking at him, he has fantastic eyes, what a beat. What

does he most like for his dinner? Best thing is Kentucky without the

batter. Chicken. We don't have poultry here because of the avian

flu. Does that affect him, that virus? There have been no reports

that I know of, we did clear it with the powers that be and got the all

clear. Thank you for introducing me, John. I think I've found a friend

here. Come back to us later when are best will be here with the weather

forecast for the next few days. You're a brave woman, Donna Traynor.

An agreement has been signed to promote increased

co-operation between the BBC and Northern Ireland's

Its aim is to promote collaboration on the development

It also encourages the sharing of facilities and student

Now, our cameras were at the Port of Belfast a little earlier

for the lunchtime arrival from Scotland and what we saw

can only mean one thing - racing is getting under way

These fans arrived in their hundreds on the ferry.

Since then they've been making their way - in the sunshine -

And that's where Gavin Andrews joins us from now.

We have three scheduled races, the second is about to get under way,

the superstock class, and we had at shop in the first. Martin Jessup

picked up his first North West 200 win. We will speak to one of the

great around here, Philip McCallum. A great start to the evening. It's

been superb, a long time since we had a dry Tuesday, dry Thursday

practising and great racing. It was a magnificent win for Martin Jessup

to night. It was very unfortunate for Alistair Seeley, who was

favourite to win the race but he had mechanical trouble and dropped out.

Tough for the local lad. He's more fired up than ever, he has to be the

favourite for this race but you need luck, mechanical like, a bit of

everything, but behind that Apache is pushing hard, rocker is pushing

hard, Lee Johnson, and he wants to prove a point. One rider not

involved is John McGuinness, who had a crush in final practice on the

coast road. He was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital with a

suspected broken leg. He is one of the big favourites but at 45 do you

see him coming back? John is a great ambassador for the sport world wide,

he'd does a brilliant job and that was unfortunate, at 45 he doesn't

need a crash and I heard rumours that he was thinking about this

being his last year because he is sensible, he will not keep racing

until he's too old to do it, he wants to finish as a winner, so we

do not know the total injuries but I suspect it's a broken leg and if

that becomes complicated and take such humans to steal, if he misses

the TT and he's in pain, you could see him hanging up the lovers. Enjoy

the rest of the meeting. We will turn to golf now, and fresh from

getting married and signing a new equipment till, Rory McIlroy is back

in action in Florida. It will be his first

tournament since the Masters. The last few weeks have been cool, I

got married and went on honeymoon, got back to Florida last Thursday,

trying to lose a bit of weight, trying to shed a few pounds before

here, but everything has been great. I feel like my game is in good

shape. I had to address a few issues between Augusta and here and did

that in the first ten days after Augusta and then turned my

attentions elsewhere, but feel-good coming into this event. Rory tees

off in Florida around now and we will enjoy the North West 200 and

the Florida sunshine here. It looks lovely this evening. Now

let's get the weather with Barra Best to whiz at the Balmoral Show

too. It has been a great day, up until

about an hour ago, the sunshine was out. 19 degrees in Castlederg. It

has been the tenth consecutive dry day but that is about to end. The

cloud has begun to roll them, we will have scattered showers moving

into parts of County Down and tarmac, they will move north and

west across all parts tonight but the winds are changing to come in

from the south, so it will not be as chilly. Temperatures should stay in

double figures, so tomorrow will be more unsettled, we can expect a wet

start but it will not be a wash-out, it will brighten up your in the day.

To begin with there will be widespread scattered showers but as

we go into the afternoon most of those will move west, becoming

confined to western counties, so along the east coast there will be

sunshine but the a risk of a shower. Winds will be liked and in the best

of the sunshine temperatures will once again reach the mid-to high

teens. In the second part of the day we will see some evening sunshine,

the best showers will be for western counties, the odd one possible

towards the east. Tomorrow night it will turn dry for a while and we

hold onto mild air, so temperatures no lower than ten or 11 but rain

will move back in in time for Saturday. Saturday will have a

disappointing start but improved, to begin with there will be some rain,

not a great start for the North West 200, but there is good news, that

moves out of the way and it will brighten up but there will be some

showers following that ring, and when the sun comes out it will feel

pleasant with temperatures in the mid-to high teens but some rain is

likely again on Saturday. Into Monday, there will be showers at

times, breezy but no frost and it will stay mild but for now it's back

to normal. Our late summary

is at half past ten. You can also keep in contact with us

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