As Sinn Féin delegates gather for their Ard Fheis in Dublin this weekend, the debate on last week's Agreement is gathering pace. Free article

Spirits and numbers were high as the threat of snow gave way to unexpected sunshine as Belfast's Easter parade made its way from Beechmount to Milltown Cemetery. Apart from a diminished gathering of RUC jeeps outside Andersonstown Barracks, British crown forces' personnel stayed away while the people of West Belfast honoured Ireland's dead free from interference. It was very much a family affair, with children dressed in their Easter best, sporting the traditional bonnets and carrying egg-filled baskets. Bunting, flags, pipes, flutes and drums, it was as much a celebration as a commemoration. Free article

There were no cheering crowds. No relatives to weep and wave. No friends to bid a fond farewell. Elizabeth Ann `Lily' Kempson, a 19-year-old unemployed factory worker from Dublin, stood alone on Liverpool docks about to embark on the most momentous journey of her life. Free article

On Wednesday afternoon the Grand Lodge of the Orange Order refused to endorse the Agreement. They asked for clarification on a number of issues, but reports indicated that the feeling at the meeting was strongly against the Agreement. It is seen as a blow for the Trimble leadership of the UUP. Free article

As 12 year old nationalist child David Goodall lies seriously ill in the Royal Victoria Hospital after being attacked by a loyalist mob on the Crumlin Road his family have reported that a neurosurgeon has been brought in to treat him. Free article

An Phoblacht has learned that John Steele, the NIO's Director for Policing and Security, will be leaving his post before the summer. Free article