Bus substitutions on railway line between Drogheda and Dundalk for next two weekends

Due to engineering works on the main Dublin to Belfast train line for the next two weekends, a bus substitution will operate on the last two trains services (in both directions) on Saturday 23rd May and 30th May between Drogheda and Dundalk.

This will result in the following schedule changes:

From Belfast;
• 1805 will operate as timetabled to Dundalk with a bus substitution between Dundalk and Drogheda; train arrives Dublin Connolly 2050.
• 2135 will now depart Belfast Central 2140 with a bus substitution from Dundalk to Dublin Connolly arriving 0015.

From Dublin;
• 1900 will operate as timetabled to Drogheda with a bus substitution between Drogheda and Dundalk; train arrives Belfast 2135.
• 2050 will operate as timetabled to Drogheda with a bus substitution between Drogheda and Dundalk; train arrives Belfast 2333.

Bomb warning at Gerry Adams’ home is dismissed

Gerry Adams

A bomb warning at the Belfast home of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has turned out to be “nothing untoward”.

The PSNI were called to the Norfolk Drive area of west Belfast this morning after receiving information that a device had been left at an address there.

Inspector Roy Burnside said: “Officers attended and nothing untoward was found.”

Mr Adams, a TD in Co Louth, said it comes amid a “concerted series of threats and attacks on the homes of Sinn Féin members”.

He added: “There can be no place for these type of actions nor will they deter Sinn Féin from working to advance the peace process and advance our political objectives.”

Earlier, Martin McGuinness blamed dissident republicans for attacks on two cars belonging to Sinn Féin representatives in Derry.

Police said the separate attacks happened at 1.50am in Kildrum Gardens and just before 2.30am in Oakbridge Park on Wednesday.

A parked car was set on fire in the earlier incident causing extensive damage to the engine block, while in the second case the front and rear windscreens of a parked vehicle were smashed.

Two men aged 17 and 23 were arrested by police in Oakbridge Park on suspicion of criminal damage.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness tweeted: “With overnight attacks on Sinn Fein councillors Sandra Duffy and Colly Kelly in Derry, I have no doubt anti-democratic dissidents responsible.”

Liam Adams loses abuse conviction appeal

Liam Adams

Liam Adams, brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, has lost an appeal at the High Court in Belfast against his conviction and sentence for raping and abusing his daughter.

The 59-year-old was found guilty of a string of attacks on his daughter Aine Dahlstrom when she was aged between four and nine during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He was handed a 16-year sentence in 2013, but sought to have his convictions overturned.

Delivering a reserved judgment, Lord Justice Patrick Coghlin said: “The court has not been persuaded that the verdict of the jury was unsafe and, consequently, the appeal must be dismissed.”

Judge Coghlin added: “In the circumstances, we are not persuaded that the learned trial judge erred in the exercise of her discretion and, accordingly, we reject this ground of appeal.”

Liam Adams, formerly of Bernagh Drive in west Belfast, was convicted of 10 offences against his daughter – three counts of rape, four of indecent assault and three of gross indecency.

He committed the crimes when he was left alone with his daughter, often sneaking into her room while she slept.

The abuse was committed over a five-year period between 1977 and 1981.

In later years he went on to work in a number of youth centres in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including for a time in Dundalk.

Ms Dahlstrom, now in her early 40s, waived her right to anonymity.

Liam Adams’ convictions heaped pressure on Gerry Adams to explain why he did not alert the authorities to the abuse allegations when he initially learned of them.

The Sinn Féin leader has insisted he acted properly and accused political rivals of exploiting a family issue to attack him.

Liam Adams appeal to be heard today

Liam Adams was sentenced to 16 years in jail in 2013

The brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will today hear the outcome of an appeal against his convictions for sex abuse.

Court of Appeal judges in Belfast are to deliver their reserved judgement in the case of Liam Adams.

The 59-year-old was found guilty of a string of attacks on his daughter Aine Dahlstrom when she was aged between four and nine during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He was handed a 16-year sentence in 2013, but is seeking to have his convictions overturned.

Liam Adams, formerly of Bernagh Drive in West Belfast, was convicted of 10 offences against Mrs Dahlstrom – three counts of rape, four of indecent assault and three of gross indecency.

He committed the crimes when he was left alone with his daughter, often sneaking into her room while she slept.

The abuse was committed over a five-year period between 1977 and 1981.

In later years he went on to work in a number of youth centres in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including for a time in Dundalk.

Mrs Dahlstrom, now in her early 40s, waived her right to anonymity.

Northern Ireland’s Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan and two other senior judges heard the appeal.

Liam Adams’ convictions heaped pressure on Gerry Adams to explain why he did not alert the authorities to the abuse allegations when he initially learned of them.

The Sinn Féin leader has insisted he acted properly and accused political rivals of exploiting a family issue to attack him.

Teenager dies in Belfast crash in van stolen from outside Dundalk

A teenage boy has died after a van which had been stolen just outside Dundalk crashed in Belfast last night.

The 17-year-old was killed after the silver Transit van, which had been stolen from alongside the N1 near Carrickarnon earlier that evening, collided with a barrier on the M1 between the Blaris and Saintfield junctions at around 10.50pm.

The teenager has yet to be named although the PSNI have seized a red Ford Mondeo from an address in Lagmore, west Belfast. It is believed it was travelling with the van at the time of the accident.

The PSNI have appealed for anyone who saw either vehicle before the crash to contact them.

St Vincent’s win All-Ireland Debating Science Issues competition

The winning St Vincent’s team of Ciara McLoughlin, Isobel Jones and Aoife O’Malley

One of the St Vincent’s students on the podium today, Aoife O’Malley

St Vincent’s Secondary School in Dundalk were today named the All-Ireland winners of the Debating Science Issues event, hosted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The winning team comprised of Ciara McLoughlin, Isobel Jones and Aoife O’Malley.

The Seatown school seen off competition from Our Lady & St Patrick’s College from Belfast in their semi-final before seeing off Clonakilty Community College to secure the coveted prize.

Earlier in the month St Vincent’s won the Leinster final with victory over Avondale Community College in the final.

The school had previously won the DSI award in 2011.

Bus transfers in place for train journeys to Dublin this weekend

Anyone travelling to Dublin via train over the May Bank Holiday weekend are advised that there will be no train service between Dublin Connolly and Malahide/Howth on Sunday or Monday.

The following service alterations will be in on both days:

• All Dublin Connolly – Belfast services will operate between Drogheda and Belfast only with bus transfers operating between Dublin Connolly and Drogheda.
• DART services will operate between Dublin Connolly and Bray/Greystones only.  DART services will not operate between Dublin Connolly and Malahide/Howth.
• Northern commuter services will operate between Dundalk/Drogheda and Malahide only.  A bus transfer will operate between Connolly and Malahide.

Miss Louth Fionnuala signs with London based model agency

Miss Louth 2014 Fionnuala Short

Miss Louth 2014 Fionnuala Short’s modeling career has taken another step forward after she signed up with London-based BMA Models.

The Hackballscross women has been making a real name for herself in the last 12 months having also been signed to Assets Model Agency in Dublin and CMPR in Belfast.

Expect to see even more of Fionnuala in the weeks and months ahead.

Millions wasted after officials ignored whistleblowers’ concerns over cross border broadband project

Government officials have admitted they failed to follow up on whistleblower concerns about a broadband project that lost €4.3m for taxpayers north and south of the border.

Mark Griffin, the secretary general of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, said an official failed to attend a meeting arranged to discuss the whistleblower’s concerns.

The man raised concerns in 2006 over the operation of the Bytel project, a plan to provide faster internet connections to homes in Belfast, Craigavon, Armagh, Dundalk and Dublin.

“I don’t know why we didn’t attend,” Mr Griffin told the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee. His department lost €2.3m on the venture.

A subsequent auditor general report found an investigation of the whistleblower’s claims by the North’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) was inadequate.

The report found €1.3m was used to buy equipment from a sister company of Belfast firm Bytel, even though it may have been worth just €30,000.

Mr Griffin said his department had accepted assurances from DETI that the whistleblower concerns were the result of an internal dispute within Bytel.

“We took our eye off the ball,” he said.

“If the nature and seriousness of the allegations made in 2006 had been fully appreciated, there may have been an opportunity to step in at that stage.”

Government cash pumped into the project was to be recouped later from an EU fund.

However, the EU pulled out of the deal when a litany of irregularities were found.

Labour TD Derek Nolan said the episode was “shocking for the almost gold standard it sets for management incompetence”.

Source: Irish Independent

Documentary on one-armed former Dundalk striker Hasty now available via podcast

Hasty scoring one of his 103 goals for Dundalk

A radio documentary on former Dundalk FC striker Jimmy Hasty aired on BBC Radio Ulster yesterday, with those who missed it able to listen back to the podcast here.

‘A Diamond in the Rough’ tells the story of the one-armed striker, who was shot dead in Belfast in October 1974.

Hasty had signed with the Lilywhites in November 1960, helping the club to their first league title in 31 years in the 1962-63 season when he scored 19 goals. The following season he would score 35 goals, two of which came in the European Cup game against FC Zurich when Dundalk became the first Irish club team to win an away European tie.

In the 170 games he played with Dundalk, Jimmy scored 103 goals, a remarkable record. He left Dundalk in 1966.

Tragically in 1974 he became the innocent victim of the sectarian troubles when, at the age of 35, he was murdered as he walked to work on the streets of Belfast by Loyalist paramilitaries in a tit for tat killing.

The documentary features input from Jimmy’s family, as well as many people associated with Dundalk FC both past and present.