Jul 12, 2020

Top Stories

A round up of the most popular news stories this week.


	Orange Order chief: Support the 2020 Twelfth at home or online

	Orange Order Grand Secretary Rev Mervyn Gibson has urged everyone celebrating the Twelfth this weekend to enjoy themselves - but to celebrate at home and to socially distance if going out.

Victim ‘cried all night’ after seeing councillor messaged ex-Real IRA prison commander to celebrate her Omagh bomb victory

A Fermanagh councillor marked the passing of her motion against the extradition of an Omagh bomber this week with a “delighted” message to a former prison commander of the group which carried out the atrocity - the Real IRA.

Sam McBride: Sinn Féin is now sacrificing public health advice on the altar of self-protection

When a government minister openly and unashamedly disregards advice which she has told the public was crucial to save lives, there are inevitable political repercussions.

Bobby Storey funeral: ‘When the IRA bombed Roselawn it seemed like a horrible dream… it all stays engraved in your mind’

The brother of an IRA murder victim whose funeral was then purposely disrupted by an IRA bomb says he was “extremely disappointed” to see preferential treatment being given to the mourners of Provo boss Bobby Storey.

Ben Lowry: It is handy to blame the calculated Bobby Storey IRA funeral breach on the PSNI or Belfast City Council, but it is a much wider scandal

The IRA funeral of Bobby Storey was so flagrant, so calculated, so shameful that of course it is welcome that the PSNI and Belfast City Council are now going to be subject to external investigation.

The message is clear: enjoy the Twelfth this year, but stick to the Covid advice and celebrate from home

The message from across unionism and across the loyal orders could not be clearer.

Arlene Foster: Funeral undermined health messaging and raised questions over PSNI

The funeral of Bobby Storey and the multiple breaches of COVID-19 regulations that occurred on that day have eroded confidence across many institutions.

The Twelfth is in our DNA and worth holding on to

In my childhood experiences of this night before the Twelfth, families would be getting themselves ready for the big day, making sure the picnic bags were packed, the orange lillies properly displayed, the Sunday best clothes dusted down and shoes polished.

Summer staycations: home is where the holiday is this year

How often do we dismiss the easy option? Regarded as being ‘too close to home’, domestic holidays are frequently overlooked in favour of more exotic escapes; shelved for a later date, because we can go any time.



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