Derry Journal (Derry, Northern Ireland) back issues from April 2008:
No funding means bleak future for Family Information Group.
Apr 01, 2008 ... The future of the Family Information Group, based at the Creggan Day Centre, Fanad Drive, has never looked bleaker because, as of yesterday it has become a non-funded organisation. The group, which has raised issues affecting families of disabled children for more than ten years ...
Nurses get together to mark Susie's return.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Thirty years after they met as student nurses at Altnagelvin Hospital, eleven of the Altnagelvin class of '77 got together last Thursday night when they enjoyed a reunion dinner at the Radisson Hotel, Limavady. Members of the Class of '77 have met up over the years and ...
Mayor's tribute to ex-police chief.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Mayor Drew Thompson has paid tribute to Derry's former police chief Ricky Russell who has just retired. The Mayor said the former chief superintendent was a popular and valued member of the PSNI who had served the people of the North West well during his 27 years as a police ...
Horror after cat caught in trap.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Greysteel woman has spoke of her horror after her pet cat had to have its leg amputated after it got caught in an iron trap. Amanda Cooper said her two-year-old cat, Tom, got caught in the trap in the Briar Hill area of the town last week and was so badly injured that it ...
Good response to Tidy Triax litter hotline.
Apr 01, 2008 ... The Tidy Triax litter hotline opened yesterday morning and has already received a large number of calls from the public, according to the organisers of the initiative. The anti-litter campaign, which is being organised in co-operation with the 'Derry Journal,' began yesterday ...
Mass-goers urged to be vigilant.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Mass-goers at St. Columba's Church, Long Tower at the weekend were warned to be vigilant when walking through the Church grounds after a woman was assaulted last week. At Masses on Sunday, Fr Roland Colhoun and Fr Gerard Mongan asked parishioners to pray for for the woman who ...
Major re-vamp for City Walls.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Derry's Walls are to be plastered as part of a multi-million pounds upgrade which could also attract corporate sponsorship, the Journal has learned. It's understood the move has been prompted by growing concern that the Walls are beginning to crumble because of the additional ...
Derry republicans go on new DPP board.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Two well-known Derry republicans have been appointed to the city's reconstituted district policing partnership (DPP). Martin Connolly (51), a community drug and alcohol counsellor, and Noel McCartney, a brother of Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney, are among eight new independent ...
U2 linked with Civil Rights concert in city cityDerry?
Apr 01, 2008 ... A concert planned to be held in Derry later this year as part of the civil rights commemorations could attract some of the biggest names in the music industry. The concert, which is set to be held in the city in November, is being organised by the Civil Rights 1968 Commemoration ...
Gray salutes Brandywell Faithful.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Derry defender, Stephen Gray, claimed he has been shocked by the passion of City's 'Red and White Army' after the former Drogheda player helped the 'Candy Stripes' to a crucial three points against his former club on Friday night. MICHAEL WILSON reports The versatile ...
Bishop Hegarty statement on Lumen Christi.
Apr 01, 2008 ... This is the full text of Bishop Seamus Hegarty's statement on post-primary transfer: The education system in Northern Ireland is undergoing considerable change at the moment. Change can be unsettling, but also presents opportunities. The existing system, in relation ...
More than half of Derry's new babies born outside marriage.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Over half of new babies born in Derry last year were born outside marriage. Statistics released this week from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) revealed that out of the 1,589 births in the city last year 51 per cent (813) were born out of wedlock. ...
Malin Head family save car fire victim.
Apr 01, 2008 ... The life of 27 year old Derry man, who suffered burns to 70% of his body, was very likely saved by the kindness and quick thinking of a Malin Head family. David Mayvin remained in critical condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast yesterday, after having initially been ...
Bishop's anger at Lumen Christi plan.
Apr 01, 2008 ... The Bishop of Derry Dr. Seamus Hegarty has strongly criticised a Derry grammar school's plans to set its own entrance exam to replace the 11-plus. In a statement to the 'Journal' yesterday, Bishop Hegarty said he could not support Lumen Christi College's proposals to introduce ...
Sentenced tomorrow:Nigerian pleads guilty to 'sham weddings' charges.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A man who pleaded guilty to seven counts of assisting the arrangement of sham weddings with Chinese and Nigerian immigrants in Derry and Donegal will be sentenced tomorrow morning at Coleraine's Crown Court. Alexander Success (30), from Waterfoot Park, has already served one ...
Gareth moves into 'Oliver House'.
Apr 01, 2008 ... After Sunday's stunning live performance, it was time for Gareth Borrow and his family to schmooze with the celebs at the 'I'd Do Anything' after-show party. "The after-show party was the best bit so far. We got to meet Graham Norton and John Barrowman. They were both really ...
'Dudey' sustains hand injury in third round.
Apr 01, 2008 ... PAUL McCLOSKEY may have sustained an injury to his left hand during the third round of his victory over former WBC world champion, Cesar Bazan, in Letterkenny on Saturday night, but it certainly didn't stop the Dungiven southpaw from producing a high quality performance. The ...
Derry 'wiped out' in Galway defeat.
Apr 01, 2008 ... DERRY MANAGER, Paddy Crozier succinctly summed up this dreadful display at Pearse Stadium when he said: "Wiped out," even before we'd begun to reflect on the game. This phrase aptly summed up what was the poorest performance by Derry this season; indeed it was Derry's poorest ...
Ramsey, Harps' boss dismissed at Dalymount.
Apr 01, 2008 ... BOHEMIANS 3 FINN HARPS 0 FINN HARPS' boss, Paul Hegarty, experienced great frustration when facing Bohemians on Friday night at Dalymount Park, the former midfielder dismissed from the dugout after kicking over a water bottle after his striker, Kevin Ramsey, had been ...
Shots fired at house.
Apr 01, 2008 ... Panicked residents in Gobnascale said they were terrified to leave their homes on Monday evening after shots were fired at a nearby house. Gunfire was heard by residents of Eskaheen View around 10pm on Monday night causing fear and confusion to many families living nearby. ...
Grill wants drink back.
Apr 01, 2008 ... The management of the Golden Grill in Letterkenny have said they're taking court action to recover tens of thousands of pounds worth of drink seized from the premises by gardai on Saturday night. The Grill released a statement yesterday saying they'd been successful in the ...
Gilchrist trial begins.
Apr 01, 2008 ... A Derry man admitted to police that he had murdered a local musician after seeing a "grey figure at the end of his bed", a court heard on Tuesday. The revelation came during the opening day of the trial of four Derry men charged in connection with the murder of father-of-five ...
Outrage at post office closure plans.
Apr 01, 2008 ... More than ten Post Office branches across the North West are to be closed as part of a massive restructuring of the company. In all, four branches in the Derry and Limavady districts are earmarked for closure while another seven will operate through "a form of outreach service" ....
Nigerian admits cross-border scam wedding charges.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A thirty-years old Nigerian man who has admitted his involvement in carrying out sham weddings at registry offices in Derry, Coleraine, Letterkenny and Stranorlar on various dates in 2005 and 2006 is to be sentenced at the High Court in Belfast next week. Alexander Success, from ...
Derry youth get active on human rights abuse.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A group of Derry teenagers are taking a stand against human rights abuses around the world by setting up a new Amnesty International youth group in the city. The young people have planned to launch their own Amnesty group, which will be open to all young people regardless of ...
Make a difference to stroke research.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Derry's Everglades Hotel will be the venue for a Stroke research event being hosted by the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network, Speechmatters, on Tuesday, April 29, from 2pm-4pm. The event will outline the development of a Stroke Research Network in the North and allow ...
Creggan debate on renewables energy.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Creggan Country Park will host a series of seminars on renewable energy sources this Friday, 4th April, beginning at 1pm. The country park has been using renewable energy (wind and water power) at its site for some time. Speakers will focus on solar power, wind energy and ...
Meditate and move with acclaimed Swiss expert.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Meditate and move this coming weekend with the woman who swapped the Swiss Alps for Derry's Walls. Ursula Laeubli is Co-Artistic Director of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company and has been an ever-present force in Derry's arts and dance scene for over a decade, not to mention a ...
Derry Samaritans host conference for Ireland.(Conference news)
Apr 02, 2008 ... This weekend will see the Derry branch of the Samaritans hosting the organisation's regional Irish conference at the Guildhall and City Hotel. Speaking to the 'Journal', Giovanni Doran, of the Samaritans, said: "We are very excited about the event and hope it will be a big ...
Waterside man receives award from Queen.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A Waterside man received the Royal Maundy award from the Queen Elizabeth in Armagh Cathedral last month. William Alexander Miller(Lexie) from Clements Court received the award for his charity fundraising and life-long involvement with cricket in the city. Lexie ...
Da's back from the grave with 'Give My Head Peace'.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Tim McGarry, of 'Give My Head Peace' and 'The Blame Game' fame, has promised he will know the majority of his lines by the time his new show debuts in the Millennium Forum tonight. 'Give My Head Peace? Back from the Grave!' will play in the Forum until Saturday and Tim said: "We ...
Starling is Derry's top bird.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Avid birdwatchers around Derry have revealed that the starling is now the region's most popular bird. Close to 40,000 people counted more than six million birds in 228,000 gardens across the UK as part of the RSPB's annual Big Garden Birdwatch. In the North, 6,000 ...
Teachers' union calls on Lumen Christi board to go.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A teachers' union has urged the board of governors at a Derry grammar school to resign after it decided to introduce its own entrance examination. Lumen Christi College plans to bring in its own form of academic selection when the 11-plus is abolished this year. The ...
Water charging starts.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Businesses and other non-residential Northern Ireland Water customers in Derry began paying for their water this week. Northern Ireland Water began charging firms and other non-domestic users for water and sewerage services yesterday. Householders will not be charged ...
St Mary's girls rewarded for charity work.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Two kind-hearted Derry girls last night attended a glitzy awards ceremony for their caring work in the community. The pair, who both attend St Mary's College, have been rewarded for their charity work in the city after beating thousands of other hopefuls across Ireland. ...
Men held in dissident probe.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Three men have been arrested in Donegal on terrorist charges. The men were taken into custody last night by Gardai investigating the activities of dissident ...
Durkan and Hume pay tribute to Ahern.
Apr 02, 2008 ... Foyle MP Mark Durkan has paid tribute to Bertie Ahern following the announcement that he is to step down as Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader in May. Mr. Ahern announced his intention to resign in a speech at Parliament Buildings in Dublin this morning. He said he ...
Leisure centre worker faces voyeurism charge.
Apr 02, 2008 ... A leisure centre worker from Derry denied a charge of voyeurism when he appeared before the city's Crown Court this week. 57-years-old Martin Carlin, from Ballyarnett Village, is accused of having, for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification, observed another doing a ...
Buncrana Road upgrade call.
Apr 03, 2008 ... Derry's Buncrana Road must be upgraded to accommodate increased traffic from the new Skeoge Road. That is the view of Sinn Fein Shantallow Councillor Tony Hasson who says that high volumes of traffic are leaving the new road and filtering onto a narrow stretch of the Buncrana ...
Wild West comes to Creggan.
Apr 03, 2008 ... Stampeding horses are roaming through the streets of Creggan. The herd, which is believed to have been deliberately released from a nearby field on Wednesday night, is running wild around the High Park area. Sinn Fein councillor Kevin Campbell said the horses should ...
Arrests may be linked to Burns probe.
Apr 03, 2008 ... Three men arrested in Ballindrait on Tuesday are being questioned in connection with the murder of Strabane man Andrew Burns, it has been claimed. The three men, all believed to be from Strabane were arrested a short distance from the border in Ballindrait on Tuesday evening. ...
Harrowing evidence at Derry murder trial.
Apr 03, 2008 ... Harrowing evidence about the discovery and recovery of a murder victim's body from the River Foyle in Derry two and a half years ago was given at Derry Crown Court this week. Three local men, Daryl Quigley (21), of Crawford Square, Anthony Fahy (20), of Northland Road and Daniel ...
Emmett in Vanity Lair final.
Apr 03, 2008 ... Derry man Emmett Friel has made it through to the final of T4's Vanity Lair, which will be broadcast on Sunday at 12.30pm. The show, a 'Big Brother' for beautiful people, has seen a group of self-declared attractive people live togather and compete for a [pounds sterling]10,000 ...
Making people aware of rare disease PSP.
Apr 04, 2008 ... Derry woman Sandra Campbell has called on local people to host tea parties this week in order to raise awareness of a rare neurological disease which claimed the life of her father. The tea parties will be held across the UK as part of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) ...
Tidy TRIAX off to a good start!
Apr 04, 2008 ... The Tidy Triax litter hotline which was launched earlier this week is already having an impact in a number of areas of the city, one of the organisers has said. The anti-litter campaign, which is being organised by the Triax neighbourhood management team (NMT) in association ...
Jim Gilchrist recalled - 'an absolute gentleman'.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A Derry man murdered in the city almost three years ago has been remembered as an "absolute gentleman," a court heard this week. Jim Gilchrist's body was recovered from the River Foyle on September 28, 2005. Four Derry men are currently on trial in Coleraine in ...
Finance firm confirms cuts may be ahead.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A worker at a Derry debt management firm says employees are being left in the dark over the future of their jobs. The employee says 12 permanent staff members at McCambridge Duffy Insolvency Practitioners on the Northland Road have been told that their posts may be made ...
Jailed for hitting his mother twice with baseball bat.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A man who hit his mother with a baseball bat last New Year's Eve was yesterday jailed for nine months. Christopher O'Bryan (22), from Milltown View, Drumahoe, in the Waterside area of Derry, admitted striking his mother Shirley twice with the baseball bat. He told the police ...
Foyle head 'surprised' at Lumen Christi criticism.
Apr 04, 2008 ... The headmaster of Foyle and Londonderry College says he's surprised at the criticism levelled at Lumen Christi College over its decision to introduce its own entrance exam. Jack Magill says the Lumen Christi was set up by the Diocese of Derry to promote academic achievement and ...
'Ireland Medal' Award for Foyle Search team.
Apr 04, 2008 ... By Natalie Brolly Derry's river rescue team has revealed that it talked three young men out of jumping into the Foyle last weekend. The revelation comes as the group is awarded the 'Ireland Medal' for outstanding contribution to saving lives from drowning by the ...
Concerns over Creggan Burn health centre plan.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A new health centre earmarked for the Rosemount area of the city could be at risk because of funding concerns, a local councillor has claimed. Sinn Fein's Maeve McLaughlin spoke out after receiving a letter from the Department of Health stating that it could give "no ...
Samaritans' regional conference to be held in Derry city centre this weekend.(Conference news)
Apr 04, 2008 ... The Samaritans are hosting their Irish regional conference in Derry this weekend. The Mayor will launch the conference at the Guildhall tonight where he will greet the visiting delegates from across the Irish Region. Today at the Verbal Arts Centre, the Samaritans ...
Sandinos is one of Observer's 'best pubs' list.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A Derry bar has been ranked as one of the best pubs in the UK by a quality Sunday newspaper. Sandinos was unveiled as one of the best spots in the country to enjoy a pint in the Observer's 'Food Monthly' magazine. In the previous issue of the supplement, readers were ...
Dig deep for Foyle Search and Rescue.
Apr 04, 2008 ... Foyle Search and Rescue Service (FS&R) Annual Bucket Appeal will take place across the city next week. During the fundraising collection - from Monday 7th April to Saturday 19th April - FS&R volunteers will be knocking on doors between 6pm and 9pm each night. All ...
Primary one places announced tomorrow.
Apr 04, 2008 ... Parents of next year's primary one pupils will find out tomorrow which school their child has been accepted for. The letters are due to be posted today and should arrive tomorrow morning. Head of Transfer and Open Enrolment with the WELB, Robert Thompson, said: ...
Hospital staffer on child porn charges.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A senior member of staff at Altnagelvin Hospital has appeared in court charged with making pornographic images of children, the 'Journal' has learned. The man was remanded in custody at a hearing at Derry's Magistrate's Court a number of weeks ago. He was charged with three ...
Nigerian admits cross-border sham wedding charges.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A thirty-years old Nigerian man who has admitted his involvement in carrying out sham weddings at registry offices in Derry, Coleraine, Letterkenny and Stranorlar on various dates in 2005 and 2006 is to be sentenced at the High Court in Belfast next week. Alexander Success, from ...
Joe keeps on running(but stops shaving..!).
Apr 04, 2008 ... IT'S a big enough challenge to decide to run the London Marathon. It's bigger again when you make a pledge to yourself not to cut your hair, shave your beard or touch a drop of alcohol during seven months of training for the event. But that is exactly what Derry driving ...
Customs House for sale at [pounds sterling]900,000.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A landmark building in Derry's city centre has just gone on sale for a cool [pounds sterling]900,000. The former Customs House - which occupies a prime site at the junction of Queen's Quay and Customs House Street - commansd uninterrupted views over the River Foyle to the ...
Crushed by Saracen but.. No charges.
Apr 04, 2008 ... The family of a Derry man who died during rioting in the city in July 1996 says it is "disappointed" that the Historical Enquires Team (HET) has recommended that no charges be levelled against the soldier who drove the vehicle that killed him. However, Dermot McShane's relatives ...
Estate agent fears housing market crisis.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A Derry estate agent last night warned that the city could be on the verge of a housing meltdown. As evidence released this week predicted a serious crisis in the local housing market, the 'Journal' has been told repossession orders are increasing, while those in trouble with ...
St Anne's P.S. in All-Ireland Credit Union Cup Final.
Apr 04, 2008 ... A team from St Anne's Primary School will represent Derry Credit Union at the National Quiz Final hosted by the Irish League of Credit Unions at the RDS in Dublin this Sunday. Having won at local and Chapter 1 level, this team of talented quizzers will travel to Dublin with ...
Dame Geraldine's Qatar post.
Apr 04, 2008 ... The former principal of St Mary's College in Derry is to take up a new education post in Qatar. Dame Geraldine Keegan, who spent 19 years at St Mary's, has been appointed as an educational consultant and will work with a company involved in setting up international schools. ...
Injury hit Harps visit Wicklow 'seaside'.
Apr 04, 2008 ... FINN HARPS manager, Paul Hegarty, is likely to ring the changes once again when his side face bottom of the table Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds tonight. (Kick-off 7.45) Hegarty has altered his starting line-up in each of the past two games, but in fairness to the ...
Family search for missing man.
Apr 07, 2008 ... The family of a missing Derry man have issued an emotional plea asking him to get in touch or come home. Jim Rafferty, who works as the Sacristan at St. Brigid's Church, Carnhill, went missing on Saturday morning. His sister Rose Crozier said his actions were ...