Other News In Brief

Sinn Fein President: We Won't Celebrate NI Centenary

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has said her party will not partake in any official celebrations to mark the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland.

The Dublin TD said Sinn Fein will be very careful about how it deals with the occasion, which will happen in 2021, 100 years on from the Partition of Ireland.

The DUP argued for a public holiday to celebrate the occasion, and are planning a series of events to mark the centenary along with others from the unionist community.

"We don't celebrate the establishment of the Northern state or partition," Mrs McDonald told the Irish Times.

"Obviously, for unionists, that was the moment when they secured their 'wee statelet'; and for Irish nationalism it is the moment when people woke up one morning and said: 'What happened there?'"

She added that the establishment of the border and the "northern state" is a time for republicans to reflect on the last 100 years and the experience after partition.

Young Boy Beaten In Belfast Attack

A 14-year-old boy was left traumatised and covered in his own blood after a savage attack in Belfast, in which he was beaten with knuckledusters and hammers.

The incident happened in the Deerpark Road and Alliance Avenue area on Friday.

The boy had been walking home with a friend when he was set upon by a group of youths. He was taken to hospital after the vicious attack and was left with head injuries and extensive bruising.

Police said they had received reports of large numbers of youths coming into the area from outside.

The victim's mother said her son was lucky to be alive.

"The blood was all over his head, face and clothes and I was in shock," she told Good Morning Ulster.

"They hit him with a hammer and a knuckleduster and the only thing he could do was curl up in a ball to protect himself."

A passing motorist helped the young boy home.

Police are appealing for information and have since increased their patrols in the area. They expressed concern of youths organising fights through social media.

Officers also appealed for parents to be aware of where their children are and what they are up to at all times.

Urgent Review Of Schools Built By County Tyrone Firm

The Irish Department of Education is set to carry out "urgent structural assessments" at 30 schools built by a County-Tyrone based construction firm.

It follows the discovery of "significant structural issues" at Ardgillan Community College in Balbriggan, County Dublin.

All the schools in question were built by the company, Western Building Systems (WBS), in the last 10 years.

The surveys are to begin in the coming days, and the department has also initiated legal proceedings against the firm in relation to four schools.

WBS is located in Coalisland and facilitated the construction of an 18-classroom section of the Balbriggan school in 2009.

Engineers carrying out fire remediation work last week discovered that ties which fix the exterior walls to interior walls are inadequate. That section of the building has now been closed.



(JG)