Latest news with #Bogside
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Derry bonfires: Last-ditch effort to save stolen flag fails
A last-ditch attempt to save a flag stolen from Londonderry's Protestant cathedral from being burned on a bonfire in the city failed, an independent councillor has replica crimson flag – flown to mark the 1689 siege of Derry – was taken from St Columb's Cathedral in the run up to the bonfire in the Bogside, which was lit on Friday councillor Gary Donnelly said efforts to have the Apprentice Boys' flag returned had failed and he believed it was burnt on the Boys' governor William Walker said he was "saddened" by the theft and it was "hard to believe that anyone would enter the grounds of a church to steal anything". "Unfortunately, it is my firm belief it was burned," Gary Donnelly told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme. "It has been destroyed and I believe that is unfortunate." Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Gary Middleton said the flag was of symbolical importance to the city's unionist is flown twice annually during events relating to the city's 1689 siege, marking the Relief of Derry in August and the shutting of the city's gates in December."To go into a church premises and steal that is completely unacceptable," he told BBC Radio Foyle."To hear it has been burnt is deeply upsetting for many people across our communities." Donnelly said some items had been handed back following mediation before the bonfires were lit but the attempt to save the replica crimson flag had come too said he believed it could have been saved if there had been "reciprocal gestures". However, he said he believed a US flag, stolen from the grounds of a school built on the site of a former US naval base, had been flag, gifted to the school by members of the former US naval communications station, was taken from Foyle College on the Limavady Road in early had been gifted to the school by members of the former US Naval Communications said it had been secured, was in a safe place and there was now "a process under way that that will be handed back". The bonfires in in the Bogside and Creggan had attracted criticism from the Catholic Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, who said "older sinister forces" were exploiting young people to stoke up fear and Minister Michelle O'Neill said there was no place in Northern Ireland for "illegal, unregulated bonfires" or for the burning of flags or was also condemnation after the names of a dead child and a former senior detective who was shot and seriously injured, appeared on a bonfire in Creggan. Why are the bonfires lit? Bonfires on 15 August are traditional in some nationalist parts of Northern Ireland to mark the Feast of the Assumption, a Catholic holy bonfires are also lit in August to commemorate the introduction of internment without trial of republican suspects during the Troubles, which was brought in by the UK government in 1971.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
BBC reporter Peter Taylor: ‘People forget how we got to Good Friday – how precious it is'
In a lifetime as a journalist, Peter Taylor has spent his career searching for the answer to a single question. His introduction to Ireland was Derry on the evening of January 30th, 1972; only hours earlier, 13 people had been killed when members of the British army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on anti-internment marchers in the city's Bogside, with a 14th dying later. 'I felt guilty that my soldiers – me being a Brit – appeared to have been responsible for what appeared to be a massacre, and I felt guilty that I, as a young, 30-year-old journalist, was so ignorant. 'I thought, I'd better find out, and I spent the next 50 years. It was a seminal moment for me.' READ MORE Taylor had found his calling; in the years that followed, his quest to understand what had happened, and why, made the BBC journalist, to quote this newspaper, 'by far the most knowledgeable British – or Irish – television reporter on Northern Irish affairs'. He has won many awards for his work, including Journalist of the Year and Lifetime Achievements Awards from both BAFTA and the Royal Television Society. He revealed Derry businessman Brendan Duddy as the intermediary between the IRA and the British government in 2008's The Secret Peacemaker, while his most recent documentary – and accompanying book – tells the previously untold story of Operation Chiffon, a top-secret British intelligence operation aimed at bringing the IRA's armed campaign to an end. [ 'Secret peacemaker' Brendan Duddy 'risked life for peace' Opens in new window ] [ Brendan Duddy: From chip-shop owner to secret peacemaker Opens in new window ] Yet it might have begun so differently. In 1972 Taylor was working for Thames Television's This Week programme when instinct told him 'there was likely to be trouble on the march, given what had happened at Magilligan [the week before], when the Paras had laid into the civil right marchers.' He suggested they cover it; a plan for three camera crews – one with the British army, one with the marchers and another roaming free – was 'all set to go' until the union 'vetoed its members going because Thames Television wouldn't agree to pay danger money'. They might have had footage 'of everything', concedes Taylor with a groan of regret. 'That was one of the great what-ifs, and I was so pissed off, angry, and that was just one of those things.' At home in London that Sunday afternoon, he heard what had happened on the news and immediately joined 'the long queue of journalists on a flight to Belfast'. 'I actually arrived in Derry on the night of the killings … I think I stayed in a B&B, and I remember going to bed that night nervous in case a sniper would hit me through the window. It just shows how alien my mindset was.' The next morning, he went to the Bogside. 'That's where I saw the wreaths and the blood relatively fresh on the ground, and knocked on doors. 'I was welcomed, rather than excoriated, as a visiting Brit. I always remember that.' This week he was welcomed back to Derry yet again, as a guest of the city's féile. He has visited old friends, including the Duddy family, and enjoyed chance meetings with everyone from Eamonn McCann to the Undertones' Mickey Bradley. 'It's nostalgic, it's invigorating, it's sad, it brings back memories, it's great to see how things have changed.' [ Eamonn McCann: 'How did I get to be 80? This doesn't feel like 80 is supposed to feel' Opens in new window ] Eamonn McCann and Peter Taylor at a concert at Derry's Féile last weekend Taylor points out that the hotel terrace where he is speaking to The Irish Times 'used to be the Brits' barracks, Ebrington Barracks … and here we are on a beautiful sunny morning, people out, relaxing, running, lots of tourists. Normality. It's beautiful.' 'Yet just over there, in the Bogside and in the Fountain, are huge bonfires,' he says. Sectarianism 'is still there … it has never gone away'. But compared with the Derry he first knew in 1972, the 'transformation is phenomenal, and it's the peace dividend, the result of [the] Good Friday [Belfast Agreement], and we must never forget what we all went through … and we have to protect it. It's not over. 'People forget how we got to Good Friday, and how precious it is, and we forget that at our peril, and in the end, those historical knots have to be untied, and something has to emerge which transforms the nature of the Irish State, Irish society. 'And unionists, loyalists, have to be party to it, that's the key thing.' With the caveat that 'there's no such thing as historical inevitability', he believes 'if you look at the history of Ireland, the division of Ireland, there is a certain inevitability that in the end, at some stage, further down the road and all those qualifications, in the next 20, 30 years there is likely to be some form of unity.' In the meantime, 'an awful lot of work has to be done … I don't think the work has been done on our side, the British side, that is being done on the Irish side, and both sides need to work together to try and work out a formula that would work and be acceptable. BBC journalist Peter Taylor in Derry. Photograph: Trevor McBride 'It has to be engagement, dialogue, intimate discussions between the two governments' and reassurance 'that all that is dear to unionists and loyalists is still there, and the traditions on both sides have to be respected'. 'The big obstacle to that is sectarianism … but despite that, the effort has to be made, because I think there is no other solution.' More than 50 years on, many questions remain, not least for Taylor himself. After all his searching, has he found his answer? 'Not to my satisfaction yet, because there are still too many unknowns and too much has to happen.' The next programme he wants to make 'would be a realistic analysis of what the possibility of a united Ireland is, in whatever form it may be – and that will be the thing to consider'. Yet he is all too aware of how journalism is 'under threat' from multiple challenges from disinformation and claims of 'fake news' to a 'desperate' shortage of resources. He compares how he was able to report first-hand from Bogside in the immediate aftermath of Bloody Sunday to the situation now in Gaza, 'where [BBC correspondent] Jeremy Bowen and his colleagues are not allowed, The Irish Times is not allowed to have access.' A journalist's job 'is to report accurately, as independently as one can and, in particular, to get up the closest to the truth of what the situation is like'. 'I want to hear from Jeremy Bowen or John Simpson or whoever in one of the food distribution centres saying, I believe that what has happened here is true, and it's difficult to find a word other than genocide to describe it.' [ John Simpson: 'It's been great to watch how Ireland went from a pretty backward country to a real powerhouse in Europe' Opens in new window ] In Derry, Taylor did get up close; he is respected as one who listened, who gave people a voice, and who told their story. 'At my talk, I got two or three cards and notes from people, just saying, 'thank you'. I got the 'thank you' many times from people, who just said, 'thank you, for all you've done'. 'That means a huge – it means so much. It means more than anything.'
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Bishop Donal McKeown warns bonfires exploiting 'fear and anger'
Bonfires do not serve any purpose, and "older, sinister forces" are exploiting young people to stoke up fear and anger in communities, the Catholic Bishop of Derry has Donal McKeown was speaking ahead of bonfires being lit in the Bogside and Creggan areas of Londonderry on was condemnation after the names of a dead child and a former senior detective who was shot and seriously injured, appeared on a bonfire in names on the bonfire included what is understood to be a serving police officer, as well as Billy Wright, the murdered founder of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), and Sinn Féin assembly member Pádraig Delargy. BBC News NI understands that one of the offending signs, bearing several names, has since been removed from the name of retired Det Ch Insp John Caldwell, who was shot in Omagh in February 2023, appeared on a placard placed on the bonfire in the Creggan name of Kyle Bonnes, who was 15 when he died in a drowning incident in Drumahoe, near Derry, in 2010, also appeared on the to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme, Bishop McKeown said bonfires were being used to "exploit fear and anger"."In some ways I am conflicted, in that there is a lot of pain and distress for many young people in life - I'm not playing down that reality," he said."The question is how do we deal with that."He said he was convinced that having a bonfire that would "encourage anger" was not the way."Nothing beautiful grows in an angry head."Those who are helping young people to be angry are not doing them any favours." 'Ashes of anger' Bishop McKeown said he was not going to condemn the actions of others, but he believed "a better way forward" had to be found."There is always a risk that older, sinister forces will use young people and say this is the way forward - you name people you hate and burn it on the bonfire."No future can be built on the ashes of anger." Previously, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, condemned the placing of names on the bonfire in Creggan. The federation described it as "a reprehensible action by people who are filled with hate and have nothing to offer the wider community".The police said they were aware of material, including drawings of cross-hairs and people's names, being placed on the bonfire and they would investigate all offences linked to it. Why are the bonfires being lit? Bonfires on 15 August are traditional in some nationalist parts of Northern Ireland to mark the Feast of the Assumption, a Catholic holy bonfires are also lit in August to commemorate the introduction of internment without trial of republican suspects during the Troubles, which was brought in by the UK government in 1971.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bogside: DUP says Sinn Féin's silence 'deafening' over bonfire
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has accused Sinn Féin of a "deafening" silence over plans for a republican bonfire on private land in Londonderry, which has stalled work on a £11m development. Last week, a man needed hospital treatment after he fell from the bonfire which is under construction at Meenan Square in the site is managed by Apex Housing, which has had to delay work on a project because it cannot find a contractor willing to remove the bonfire member Gary Middleton said there was a "void of political leadership from Sinn Féin in the Bogside" over the bonfire, which has sparked controversy in recent years. Sinn Féin has been asked for comment. Last year, police said they were treating the display of flags and banners - including union flags, a King Charles coronation flag and the flag of Israel - on the bonfire in the Bogside as a hate 2022, police investigated shots being fired near the site and in 2021 posters placed on the bonfire referenced former Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne and another the murder of Catholic police officer Ronan Kerr."This bonfire has been a source of serious concern for some time, causing disruption, raising safety fears and delaying an £11 million publicly-funded redevelopment project," Middleton said."That investment is being stalled because not a single contractor is willing to go near the site to remove materials, citing threats and safety risks."It is time they [Sinn Féin] stepped up and made clear this situation is unacceptable." Injured man transferred to Belfast hospital Last Wednesday evening, a man was seriously hurt after falling from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) confirmed that a man was taken to injured man was treated for undisclosed injuries at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry, before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Housing has declined to comment but previously said it was continuing to re-secure boundary fencing and gates following repeated incidents of "forced entry" at the £11m development will include social housing, community services, retail, commercial and office space. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was committed to working with partners, including local councils and community representatives, to address community safety issues linked to City and Strabane District Council said, while it does not authorise or regulate bonfires, it does engage with a wide range of partners to minimise the impact on communities.A spokesperson said it would continue to liaise with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) regarding the storage and disposal of tyres and other materials which may be placed on bonfires. Why is the bonfire being lit? Bonfires on 15 August are traditional in some nationalist parts of Northern Ireland to mark the Catholic Feast of the bonfires are also lit in August to commemorate the introduction of internment without trial of republican suspects during the Troubles, which was introduced by the UK Government in 1971.
Irish Times
10-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
‘I'm not going to do anything that isn't possible to do together': peacemaker Lord Eames celebrates 50 years since consecration
Fifty years on from his arrival in Derry as the city's Church of Irelan d bishop, Robin Eames , has vivid memories of two things: the suffering of the city on Bloody Sunday and its aftermath, and being reunited with the man who would go on to become a lifelong friend, his Catholic counterpart, Bishop Edward Daly. 'I broke with tradition and made history because, without realising it was the first and only time it had happened, I invited him to my consecration and he walked beside me,' Lord Eames said. 'That friendship and that hope image of what we wanted to do together took me through all the years of my service here, and Edward and I became very close friends and we did lots of things which were never publicised, but I hope were for the good of the people of this place. 'We treated each other as men, as people, forgot about the fabric of office ... We acted together.' READ MORE Speaking following a service in St Columb's Cathedral in Derry to mark the 50th anniversary of his consecration as Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Lord Eames recalled going, at Bishop Daly's suggestion, 'into the Bogside all by myself and going from door to door simply saying look, 'I'm Robin Eames, the new Church of Ireland bishop, I just called to say hello, I'm glad to meet you.' 'It was there in one of those houses, when the door opened, and a hush fell over the conversation, and somebody walked through the door straight over to me with a hand outreached. 'He said simply, 'Welcome to Derry. I'm John Hume', and that was the meeting of two people who were to work together in the years to come.' In 1986, Lord Eames became Archbishop of Armagh and the head of the Church of Ireland; serving in this role from 1986 to 2006, he known for his work in peacebuilding and reconciliation, often, as in Derry, working in conjunction with his Catholic counterpart. He had been due to preach the sermon for Remembrance Day sermon in Enniskillen in 1987, a service that never took place. Eleven people died when an IRA bomb exploded at the town's cenotaph; Lord Eames spent the day in the hospital, and later wrote that the experiences of that day 'will never leave me.' As Church of Ireland primate he had a direct role in trying to resolve the Drumcree dispute of the mid-1990s, and in 1998 was an advocate for a 'yes' vote in the referendum on the Belfast Agreement . Throughout, his approach was inspired by his belief in human connections. 'It's what's always made sense to me in my ministry ... I have emphasised over and over again that I'm not going to do anything that isn't possible to do together. 'That's been the way of it, and I hope that's what people will remember when they bury me,' Lord Eames said. Following his retirement in 2006, Lord Eames became co-chair, along with Denis Bradley, of the Consultative Group on the Past, an independent group set up to examine how to deal with the legacy of the North's Troubles. Its recommendations included an independent commission to examine legacy cases over a five-year period, but it became embroiled in controversy after a plan for a £12,000 payment to victims' families was leaked, and its proposals were never adopted. 'That report, quite honestly, turned out to be before its time,' Lord Eames said. 'If there had been time before we published it, I think it might have had more effect. So much that has happened since could have been avoided ... But I don't regret one word of it.' To move forward, Ireland must 'look back on its past with humility' and acknowledge 'hurts have been inflicted on both sides'. 'If we can only have the humility to say yes, these things happened, but they've no part and place in our future,' he said. 'Let's learn from the past, let's learn from the mistakes. 'In Ireland we've so much going for us, so many opportunities, and if only we can be a generation that takes these opportunities, I believe the future is bright for us all.'
