23 March 2005 Edition
Children attacked by loyalist gangs
23 March 2005
Two schoolchildren are recovering after being attacked in North Belfast in two separate sectarian attacks over the weekend. In the first attack, on Friday 18 March, a 14-year-old schoolboy was attacked by four loyalists as he walked towards his friend's house on Alliance Avenue, Ardoyne, at around 9pm. Free article
Different approaches to dealing with Shell
23 March 2005
November 2005 will mark ten years since Ken Saro-Wiwa, activist and writer, along with eight colleagues, was executed by the Nigerian Government following a campaign against the environmental impact of oil companies in Ogoniland on the Niger Delta. Free article
BoI sheds 2,100 jobs
23 March 2005
"Corporate greed at its most vulgar" This was how Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) General Secretary Larry Broderick described the decision by Bank of Ireland (BoI) to shed 2,100 jobs over the next two years. Free article
Government must fulfil promise to reduce class sizes
23 March 2005
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has said the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats Government has failed to fulfil its promise to reduce class sizes at primary level to under 20. Highlighting the fact that the 26-County state has the second highest average class size in the EU, Ó Caoláin called on the government to create more teaching posts at primary level this year in order to reduce class sizes and "give every child in every school equal rights and equal opportunities". Free article
Immigration portfolio should be removed from McDowell
23 March 2005
Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh called on Tuesday for an emergency debate on the Government's "ruthless policy" of forcible mass deportations and has also called for the removal of the immigration portfolio from the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell. Free article
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Still waiting for justice
23 March 2005
An announcement by the NIO and PSNI that £30 million is to be made available to review unsolved killings related to the conflict brought no hope for justice to the family of Francis Rowntree. In 1972, Francis Rowntree became the first of many children to be killed by the British Army and RUC using rubber and plastic bullets. Francis was just eleven years of age when a British soldier fired a rubber bullet into his head at point blank range. The rubber bullet had been doctored, hollowed out and a battery inserted, to render it more lethal. Free article
Anti-War rallies across the globe
23 March 2005
Around 1,500 demonstrators gathered in Dublin on Saturday, joining thousands of others in similar protests across the globe to mark the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. The Irish contingent were protesting the continuing occupation of Iraq and of Palestine. Dublin Councillor Larry O'Toole addressed the marchers on behalf of Sinn Féin. Free article
McGuigan to address Toronto Easter Commemoration
23 March 2005
Sinn Féin's Philip McGuigan, is flying to Canada over the Easter period. He is due to address the Friends of Sinn Féin Easter Commemoration in Toronto on Easter Sunday. Free article
1980s football challenge to remember Gerard and Martin Harte
23 March 2005
On Easter Saturday, GAA football teams of a 1980s vintage from Loughmacrory in County Tyrone will dust off their boots and take part in a challenge match in memory of Loughmacrory footballers Gerard and Martin Harte. Free article