Latest news with #Aughnacloy
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Pensioner dies after house fire in Co Tyrone
A pensioner has died following a house fire in Co Tyrone. The woman, aged in her 70s, died following the blaze at a residential property in the Derrycush Park area of Aughnacloy on Wednesday evening. Advertisement A police spokesperson said officers were called shortly after 6pm and attended alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service. 'Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service extinguished the blaze but, sadly, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene,' they said. 'Inquiries are ongoing; however at this stage, it is not believed that the death is suspicious.' Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew described the news as 'absolutely heartbreaking'. Advertisement 'I want to express my condolences to the family, friends and neighbours of this woman, who now face extremely difficult days and weeks ahead,' he said. 'The community is in shock today, but I have no doubt they will rally around to support the woman's loved ones in the time ahead.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Aughnacloy: Elderly woman dies in house fire
A woman in her 70s has died following a house fire in County happened shortly after 18:00 BST on Wednesday in the Derrycush Park area of extinguished the blaze, but a woman was pronounced dead at the into the cause of the fire are ongoing, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said her death is not believed to be suspicious.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Why is Sinn Féin so reluctant to amend climate legislation to improve the A5?
Sinn Féin's loyalty to Stormont's climate change legislation is perplexing self-sabotage. Liz Kimmins, the party's infrastructure minister, has announced an appeal against June's ruling on the A5 dual-carriageway from Aughnacloy to Derry. The Northern Ireland High Court quashed the scheme, the largest single road-building project in the North's history, because it did not comply with emission reduction targets in the 2022 Climate Change Act. These targets can supposedly be met by drawing up carbon offset plans but no serious attempt had been made to do so. Nor does compliance look feasible within the timeframe Stormont has set itself: net zero by 2050, with interim reductions of 48 per cent by 2030 and 77 per cent by 2040. READ MORE The judge in June's case, Mr Justice McAlinden, said it might be possible to make a plan for the A5 consistent with the Act. In theory, perhaps, but experience in Wales suggests otherwise. The Welsh government scrapped all major road-building in 2023, declaring this was the only way to meet its similar net-zero schedule. The Scottish government took a more realistic approach last year when it repealed the interim targets in its climate change legislation, while retaining the aim of net zero by 2045. It did this largely to save a dual-carriageway upgrade from Inverness to Perth. There has been no mention of any of this from Kimmins or her department. All statements on the appeal indicate it will be based on saving lives. The current A5 has a horrendous safety record , averaging one fatality every four months. [ From the archive: 'Everyone who has lost a loved one on that road will be happy' Opens in new window ] This was addressed in June's ruling, however. Mr Justice McAlinden acknowledged lives will continue to be lost but the A5 can still only be built 'in accordance with the law'. His comments reflected the extent to which the Climate Change Act had tied the court's hands. The Court of Appeal will hardly see it differently. Kimmins also referred this week to the A5 as 'regionally significant'. The project is often framed as correcting historic underinvestment in the west of Northern Ireland. If that is being considered as grounds for appeal, it is equally doomed: the Climate Change Act does not care on which side of the Bann carbon dioxide is emitted. Of course, Stormont's hands are not tied by its own laws – it can amend, repeal or replace them. Sinn Féin's refusal to countenance this is bizarre, given how little the party had to do with the 2022 legislation and how important the A5 is to its constituents and supporters. Delivering the project has been a key party promise since the 2006 St Andrews Agreement. Its safety and travel enhancements would be complemented by the symbolism of all-Ireland infrastructure: the Irish government was to have co-funded it to connect Dublin with Donegal. Sinn Féin stepped up these promises last year, when it assumed the first minister's post at a restored Stormont. June's ruling has undermined the credibility of the party and of devolution itself among republican voters. The Climate Change Act has eccentric provenance. It began life as a 2021 private member's bill from Clare Bailey, then leader of the Greens. Sinn Féin supported it, as did the SDLP, Alliance and the UUP, with reservations. The DUP opposed it, arguing Bailey's targets were unachievable. So Edwin Poots, then the DUP environment minister, produced a rival bill. Both bills progressed together amid haggling over targets and several other issues, until Bailey was satisfied enough to let her bill lapse and the DUP's pass, with the support of every party except the TUV. Poots described his final legislation as 'a compromise'. The DUP and TUV both oppose the 2040 deadline, required by the 2022 Act but set by a separate vote last December. Why is Sinn Féin prepared to suffer any political pain to defend a DUP law that even the DUP only begrudgingly supports? If Sinn Féin proposed repealing interim targets, as in Scotland, the DUP would agree. Alliance now holds the environment portfolio but the DUP and Sinn Féin have the numbers to put any change through the assembly. Deborah Erskine, the DUP chair of Stormont's infrastructure committee, responded to June's ruling by saying the Climate Change Act 'will have to be looked at as a matter of priority'. She noted this week that an appeal will take years. Even sluggish Stormont can amend laws quickly, when it wants. Although tactical retreat on climate change would be briefly embarrassing, Sinn Féin has managed far greater reversals in the past. It is managing a trickier U-turn even now on transgender medicine. One possible explanation for the party's behaviour is that it no longer believes the A5 will be built. The estimated cost has quadrupled since the project was proposed, rendering it increasingly implausible. If that is too embarrassing to admit, an appeal kicks the can down the road. But this is speculation on my part, over a genuine mystery. Sinn Féin really needs to explain itself.
BBC News
06-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Lt Fred Barton: WWII pilot remembered at Tyrone field crash site
At the entrance of a quiet field in County Tyrone, a newly erected memorial stone pays tribute to the life of an American World War Two pilot who lost his life on a nearby 80 years ago this week, Lieutenant Fred A Barton's plane crashed into the farmland close to was the 21-year-old's final flight before he was due to return home the next day to his wife and newborn son – a child he would never 1 July 1945 the US Air Force pilot's plane crashed into a field close to the townland of Eskragh. The Georgia-born pilot had completed 35 missions during World War II and following the end of the war had been working as a test pilot based out of a US army encampment in County cause of the crash was deemed unknown but local reports at the time said parts of the exploded plane covered a distance of half a square mile across the Tyrone Barton was initially buried in Belfast before his remains were exhumed and transferred to a cemetery in his home of Atlanta, week, to mark the 80th anniversary of his death, a group of local history enthusiasts from County Tyrone organised a memorial at the entrance of the field near the crash man Trevor Lockhart worked closely with Lt Barton's family members. Mr Lockhart said: "This young pilot lost his life in a field just over that hill, it was a story that was known locally, but we wanted to put in a permanent memorial."The idea really started last year when some members of Lt Barton's family came to visit this site, so with their permission, and with the help of the local historical society, we took the idea of a memorial forward."Earlier this week a short act of remembrance was accompanied by music provided by a local of Lt Barton's family were unable to attend the event in person , but some were able to video call and watch it remotely. This included Lt Barton's great-niece, Neely Stansell-Simpson, who lives in the American state of to BBC News NI, she said: "The service was lovely and our family was so moved by it."There is also something so profound to me about connecting with a community so far from the place I live, who has so lovingly and tenderly kept the memory of my great-uncle alive." Last October Lt Barton's nephew, Greg Norton, travelled to visit the crash site with his has sadly since passed away, but his wife Elaine was able to watch the memorial service through a video said: "It was very emotional for lots of reasons, and I know Greg would have been astounded when it was clear how many local people had turned out for the dedication, it means a lot to the family." Son, brother, husband, father Speaking at the memorial event, County Tyrone historian Jonathan Gray reflected on the said: "A local man who witnessed the crash that Sunday morning, told me that the aircraft did not sound right, perhaps he had heard the results of engine failure."Either way it's right we're honouring his life, his service and the ripple effects his loss had on his family and friends."A few lines of a letter from Fred's boyhood friend, H R Hawkins, were also read out. The letter said: "Mother has just notified me about the Lord taking my best pal. He must have had a reason but it is hard to believe that Fred won't be there when I get back. Fred has always been the best buddy I ever had."The only satisfaction I get is knowing that Fred was a wonderful person and I know that where he has gone there will be no dark days just as we have had since entering the war. "We will never forget him and it is a wonderful thing that there is a Little Fred to take his place. I will certainly love that baby."Fred Barton is one of a number of WWII pilots who died as a result of aircraft crashes in Northern Ireland. This was largely due to the fact that there was a high concentration of airfields and training of the most well known cases was that of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress that crashed on Cave Hill in Belfast, resulting in the deaths of 10 crew Lockhart says it is fitting the crash site of Lt Barton's plane has now been formally marked and said: "It's important to remember this young man, for his important service and he paid the ultimate sacrifice for that service."So now we have a spot for Lt Barton's family and future generations to come and visit, to pay their respects to this young war hero."
BreakingNews.ie
26-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Independent review recommended for investigation into murdered teenager
An independent review has been recommended of the police investigation into the murder of a teenager in Co Tyrone in 1973. It comes after the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland found 'numerous failings' in how police handled the case, and just eight documented contacts with police and 18-year-old Marian Beattie's family. Advertisement It also found that the three suspects had paramilitary links, and two were former police officers. The Police Ombudsman's chief executive, Hugh Hume, said Ms Beattie's family did not receive the service they deserved from the police. Hadden's Quarry in Aughnacloy where the body of Marian Beattie was found (PSNI/PA) Ms Beattie's partially clothed body was found at the bottom of a quarry. She had been attending a charity dance at Hadden's Garage in Aughnacloy on March 30th, 1973, to listen to her brother playing in the band. Advertisement The teenager was last seen leaving the dance with a young man just after 1am and walking in the direction of Hadden's Quarry. No one has ever been charged or convicted over her murder. In 2017, then Police Service of Northern Ireland chief constable George Hamilton referred the case to the Police Ombudsman. The Ombudsman investigation found that police failed to ensure that all lines of inquiry were progressed, that all suspects were interviewed, that all alibis were checked, and that discrepancies between some suspects' accounts and other evidence were examined. Advertisement An independent review has been recommended. Mr Hume said they found organisational and systemic failings. 'In 50-plus years after her murder, up until earlier this year, there were only eight documented contacts between the police and the family,' he said. 'It is understandable that they have lost confidence and trust in the police,' he said. Advertisement 'Although our inquiries found no evidence of individual police criminality, nor misconduct by any serving officer, the police investigation of Marian's murder has been undermined by organisational and systemic failings.' The Ombudsman investigation also considered information from the Beattie family that police made comments on four separate occasions that led them to believe there were potential links between suspects and either police, military/security services or paramilitaries. They found while there were no police records of this being discussed, available information suggests 'it is more likely than not that such comments had been made'. The Ombudsman's Office also said it found that three suspects had paramilitary links, and two were former police officers. Advertisement In addition, while clear lines of inquiry were outstanding in relation to the suspects known to have potential paramilitary and police connections, this was not unique to these suspects. The investigation was described as being unable to establish whether or not these connections had any impact upon the police investigation. Mr Hume said they hope the independent review they have recommended may bring Ms Beattie's killer to justice. 'Although our investigation has found significant errors and omissions during the police inquiries into Marian's murder, it is my hope that the independent review we have recommended will ensure that every effort is made to uncover the truth about her murder, and to finally bring her killer, if still alive, to justice,' he said. He added that while Ms Beattie was murdered in 1973, lessons of relevance to current policing could be learned. 'At the time of Marian's murder the police faced significant policing challenges, with hundreds of murders each year being attributed to 'the Troubles', and that context was taken into account during our inquiries,' he said. 'Nevertheless, we must learn from past errors and omissions, particularly if we are to properly address the problem of violence against women and girls in local society. Northern Ireland has the second-highest levels of femicide in western Europe. 'Unfortunately, the Police Ombudsman has found a similar lack of investigative rigour and pre-emptive conclusions in some recent PSNI femicide investigations. 'Police Ombudsman investigations are critical to learning lessons, and it is my hope that our recommendation for an independent review will help to ensure that future police inquiries into Marian's murder are comprehensive and focused.' Belfast solicitor Darragh Mackin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Solicitor Darragh Mackin, acting for Ms Beattie's family, said the report should 'serve as a lightning strike reminder of the need for urgent and immediate action to ensure no other women are systematically failed by the very state that should protect them'. He said the family 'now look forward to engaging with the Chief Constable in the weeks ahead'. 'The facts of this investigation speak for themselves. In 50 years the police contacted this family a mere eight times. Such blatant disregard for the family of Marian is indicative of the inherent unenthusiastic approach adopted,' he said. 'Today's revelations confirm that three suspects had paramilitary links and two were former police officers. The family have always believed that such connections have played a direct role in the obfuscation and procrastination adopted, in failing to investigate Marian's murder.' Ireland Search of Dublin property as part of Annie McCarri... Read More He went on: 'Marian's report confirms that women in this jurisdiction have not been safe for five decades. 'Today's report should serve as a lightning strike reminder of the need for urgent and immediate action to ensure no other women are systematically failed by the very state that should protect them. 'Gender based violence had no place in society in 1973 and it has no place in 2025. In Marian's memory, it is time for action.'
