Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JUDGE WANTS DATE SET FOR CHLOE TRIAL
A JUDGE will set a trial date next month for a man accused of murdering Chloe Mitchell. Brandon John Rainey, 30, denies murdering the 21-year-old in Ballymena, Co Antrim, in June 2023. As the court heard a psychiatric report on the accused was due at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
HEATWAVE CHAOS
TINDERBOX Britain burst into flames yesterday as temperatures hit 38.1C sparking chaos. A blaze that engulfed six homes in Stourbridge, West Mids, was among several fires that broke out across the country on the hottest day of the year. Meanwhile, a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SUNSATIONAL
PEOPLE across Northern Ireland spent yesterday evening watching the best solar eclipse in decades. Crowds could be seen at various viewing spots including outside Queen’s University in Belfast as well as Armagh Observatory. And in Dublin there was an...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BRAZEN GUNMAN FIRES ON HOUSE
THESE are the chilling images of a masked and hooded gunman casually walking through a respectable residential area and opening fire. The brazen attack took place in the Breton Court area of Lisburn in Co Antrim shortly before 1.30am...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DONEGAL GAA HERO KILLED IN CRASH
ALL-IRELAND winner James Mchugh has been killed in a horror road traffic accident. The star – who played for Donegal until 1996 – died yesterday after the car in which he was travelling collided with a van in Co Cavan. The crash took place on the N3...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
HORROR AS BODY FOUND IN BURNT-OUT CAR
POLICE are appealing for witnesses over the death of a man found in a burnt-out car. His body was discovered in the Harford Street area of Portadown, Co Armagh, on Saturday night. The fire was reported at about 10pm and firefighters extinguished the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
KAMMY: MY CANCER SCARE
CHRIS Kamara has revealed he had a prostate cancer scare after a routine blood test. The football pundit, 68, who is entering the Great North Run to raise money for a cancer charity, said: “It was a scary thing to hear.”
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ANDREW: MY ‘STALKER ORDEAL’
A BALACLAVA-CLAD stalker chased Andrew Mountbatten-windsor near the disgraced ex-royal’s home, a court heard yesterday. Alex Jenkinson, 39, denies using threatening behaviour at Sandringham, Norfolk. The former duke said in a statement: “He was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
HELP IS ON THE WAY
MORE than 150 new NHS mental health centres will open in a major boost for patients and A&ES. Writing in today’s Mirror, PM Andy Burnham says the move will bolster a system that only steps in at crisis point as families face unbearable strain. He...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘I’M JUST A MUM WHO WANTED TO WORK’
A MOTHER has been awarded more than £20k after an industrial tribunal ruling in an indirect sex discrimination case. Anna Owens, a former receptionist at the Westville Hotel in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, said her agreed working pattern allowed her to...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘CRACKING JOKES TO THE END’
TRIBUTES have been paid to Northern Irish funnyman Jimmy Cricket after his death at 80. The Cookstown-born comic carved out a career in showbusiness stretching over five decades and was famous for his catchphrase, “And there’s more!”. Born James...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Harry: Dad, let the world see us together
PRINCE Harry is hoping for a public reunion with the King at next year’s Invictus Games. Organisers of the event, founded by Harry, are believed to be considering inviting his father, paving the way for their first appearance together in years. An...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FREE
THERE is a crisis in Belfast City Centre, the PSNI have admitted. Officers are facing issues such as anti-social behaviour, addiction, mental health issues and rough sleeping. Sergeant Dave Mckinley said more support is needed from those at the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FREE
EUROPEAN football chiefs turned on Gianni Infantino yesterday over his plans to sell rights to the World Cup. Some 55 nations including England warned the controversial Fifa boss they will boycott the tournament. Mirror chief sports writer Andy Dunn...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
KATE’S OUR GOLDEN GIRL
KATE O’connor struck gold for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last night winning the heptathlon. The Newry athlete sealed first place with victory in her final event last night, the 800m, ahead of team-mate Anna Mccauley who...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
EATERIES FEAR THEY WILL BE NEXT
CAFE and food outlet owners are concerned after a spate of break-ins across Belfast in recent days. A beer keg was used to smash into city centre business The Samosa King, during an early morning raid yesterday. Michael Henderson, of trade body the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BAIL WAIT FOR BOMB ACCUSED
TWO people charged in connection with an alleged bomb plot have been remanded in custody. Law student Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, who was arrested in Co Monaghan in a car allegedly containing explosives, was bailed. But her release was delayed...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NO CHILD SHOULD DIE FOR A DAY AT THE SEASIDE
A MUM whose daughter died after contracting E.coli is calling for Andy Burnham to crack down on firms pumping raw sewage into the sea. As thousands head to the beach, Julie Maughan, mother of tragic Heather Preen, eight, said: “Somebody could die...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
COPS FOIL CAR BOMB ATTACK
A “SIGNIFICANT” car bomb was intercepted near the border in an operation targeting dissident republicans, gardai said yesterday. The Garda’s Special Detective Unit stopped the vehicle travelling on the N2 south of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TRAGEDY ON BEACH TRIP
A TEENAGE girl and her mum drowned after rushing into the sea in a bid to rescue a young relative. Samiha Rahman, 15, and her mother Shally, 41, died off West Mersea Beach in Essex. Their relative, a seven-year-old boy, is in a critical condition and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MAKE US PAY MORE TAX
MORE than 100 millionaires have urged PM Andy Burnham to make them pay more tax. Former England striker Gary Lineker is among those calling for a wealth levy. He said: “I’m proud to stand with people who want to live in a more equal society.” A group...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ANN ‘HIT 21 TIMES WITH HAMMER’
ANN Widdecombe died after being hit on the head with a hammer 21 times as she ate lunch, a court was told yesterday. Joshua Kerry, 28, is accused of murdering the former Tory MP, 78, at her remote Devon home. Detectives drove him from Westminster...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
IT STARTS NOW
NEW Prime Minister Andy Burnham will hit the ground running today with measures to help struggling families. He signalled he could give low earners a tax cut and help out with energy bills. Mr Burnham said: “We want to do things people will feel...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
UUP TO LAUNCH DONALDSON REVIEW
THE Ulster Unionists will set up an “independent confidential process” into Jeffrey Donaldson’s time in the party. Donaldson, 63, was convicted last month of 18 child sex offences, including one count of rape. UUP leader Jon Burrows confirmed his party...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DRIVER HAD ‘MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS’
THE driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run was in a “mental health crisis”, a court heard yesterday. Francis Donaldson, 22, is accused of a number of charges, including causing death by dangerous driving. Raven Adams, 24, originally from Tipperary,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
WOMAN, 24 KILLED IN HIT & RUN HORROR
A 24-YEAR-OLD female pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run in the early hours of yesterday morning. Raven Adams, originally from Tipperary, was pronounced dead at the scene in the York Street area of north Belfast. A second pedestrian – a 22-year-old...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
I WILL LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED
FORMER top cop Jim Gamble has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” for the review into what was known within the DUP about child rapist Jeffrey Donaldson’s conduct. Leader Gavin Robinson insisted yesterday he has ordered an “unprecedented review” in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
CHILD AGED 8 AMONG THREE FOUND DEAD
AN eight-year-old girl was among those whose bodies were found in a house on Monday morning, the PSNI has confirmed. Police are treating the incident as a double murder-suicide after they were called to a report of a sudden death at the property on...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
3 FOUND DEAD IN FAMILY HOME
A MURDER investigation was launched yesterday after three bodies were discovered at a property in Ballymena. Officers were called to the scene on the Old Cullybackey Road in the Co Antrim town at around 9am after the bodies of two females and a male...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
I’M OVER THE MOON
THE Hillsborough Law is set to pass its final hurdle this week. MPS will vote to stop cover-ups like the one after the 1989 disaster. Margaret Aspinall, whose son died, said: “I’m over the moon... this is for all the country.”
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MAN ON BONFIRE HATRED CHARGE
A JUDGE yesterday refused bail to a man charged with incitement to hatred linked to a loyalist bonfire. Brian Conrad Neill, 56, of Dungannon, Co Tyrone, is alleged to have committed the offence on Wednesday when a mosque was place on the pyre in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘A VILE DISPLAY OF HATRED’
A MOSQUE on top of a loyalist bonfire has been slammed as “sickening” and a “blatant attempt to stir up hatred”. The PSNI said a 56-yearold man has been arrested over the pyre in Moygashel, Co Tyrone, and is in custody. UUP leader Jon Burrows called...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘NO ONE SHOULD GO TO WORK AND LOSE THEIR LIFE’
A WASTE plant worker and business were convicted yesterday over the death of a man in a workplace accident. Ian Mccollum, 52, below, was killed at Mckinstry Biomass Ltd in Carnbane Business Park, Co Down, when he was struck by a telehandler in January...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DESPERATE
NIGEL Farage was branded desperate last night as his cynical resignation stunt ended in humiliation. The Reform UK leader said he would quit as an MP and stand in a by-election in his own constituency. It was to prove his popularity in the face of a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FOUL
DONALD Trump admitted calling Fifa chief Gianni Infantino to complain about a USA player’s ban in a move that has sickened football. Uefa blasted the “unjustifiable” decision to allow striker Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium this morning,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MAKE ROADS SAFER FOR JAIDYN
A FAMILY has renewed calls for changes to the law – a year after teenager Jaidyn Rice lost her life in a road accident. Jaidyn, 16, died after being hit by a car in Bangor, Co Down, last July. Since then, her family have campaigned for safer roads in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SHE DESERVES JUSTICE
THE family of Lyra Mckee said “no stone will be left unturned” to get justice after three men were found not guilty of her murder. Ms Mckee, who was 29, died after being hit by a bullet as she stood close to police vehicles while observing...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
GLITTER FACES 4 CHILD SEX RAPS
EX-POP star Gary Glitter has been charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl nearly five decades ago. Glitter, 82, is accused of attacking her over a three-year period between 1978 and 1981 in London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
THEY TOLD US TO GO HOME TOO
THE mother of the young girl seriously injured in the terrifying stabbing attack in Dublin city centre has spoke of her trauma. She said: “I’ve had people say to me, walking by in the street, while I was speaking to my daughter, they told me to go...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FLACK FAMILY’S HEARTACHE
BY NICOLA METHVEN TV Editor THE brother of tragic TV star Caroline Flack, Paul, is feared to have taken his own life, six years after her suicide.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
POOTS UNDER PRESSURE
EDWIN Poots is under pressure to step aside as Stormont Speaker over concerns about the DUP’S handling of complaints made about Jeffrey Donaldson. Mr Poots was urged to make clear what he did with information related to a woman who came forward five...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
WHAT DID COPS KNOW ABOUT PAEDO DONALDSON?
THERE has been a call for a probe into the PSNI and what it may have been aware of regarding Jeffrey Donaldson’s sick child sex abuse offences. It comes amid reports that the EX-DUP leader’s former party may be “damaged beyond repair”.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DONALDSON’S SECRET GAY SEX HANGOUTDUP
DISGRACED ex DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson visited a gay sauna in London the same year he described homosexuality as “sinful”, a BBC documentary claims. Donaldson was convicted of rape this week and awaits sentence.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BIG BUCKS FOR AN EMPTY HOME
THE King and Queen will not move into Buckingham Palace after its £369million taxpayer-funded refurbishment. The bombshell came as the annual report into royal finances was published. It showed Prince William is worth £1.2billion after inheriting...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
TAKE MY KNIGHTHOOD FROM ME
JEFFREY Donaldson has asked for his knighthood to be forfeited after he was found guilty of child sex abuse. The former DUP leader, 63, was convicted on Monday of 18 offences, including rape. Solicitor John Mcburney said: “I have issued a letter...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
PAEDO MAY SERVE TIME IN BRITAIN
CHILD rapist Jeffrey Donaldson’s could serve his sentence in Britain for his own safety, a former prison governor said yesterday. Ian Acheson told the BBC it would not be feasible to have the paedo held in Northern Ireland. He said: “The safest...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
GUILTY 18 TIMES
JEFFREY Donaldson is facing a “lengthy” prison term after being found guilty of 18 historical sexual offences against two women when they were children. The former DUP leader was convicted of one count of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘A POPULAR AND DEEPLY VALUED PUPIL’
THE teenager killed at the Donegal rally was a “popular and deeply valued pupil” at his school. Tadhg Callaghan Carter, 15, a student at Saint Eunan’s College, was hit by a race car which veered off the road.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MAN DIES A WEEK AFTER ASSAULT OUTSIDE BAR
A MAN has died in hospital following an assault outside a bar last week. Carl Holland, 30, was punched on the Suffolk Road in West Belfast on June 12. It is understood a verbal altercation occurred at the venue earlier that evening and the killer...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
£400K AND APOLOGY FOR BROTHERS’ MURDERS
A MAN who alleged security force collusion in the murder of his three brothers is to get £400,000 damages in court settlements. Eugene Reavey, 79, sued the PSNI and the Ministry of Defence over claims that serving UDR soldiers and an RUC officer...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘IGNORE THE NOISE’
TWO women who have accused Jeffrey Donaldson of sexual offences are not “sufficiently reliable enough”, a barrister said yesterday. The EX-DUP leader’s barrister Kieran Vaughan also told jurors to “ignore the noise and focus on the evidence” as the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘NO REASON FOR TWO DONALDSON ACCUSERS TO LIE’
CLOSING speeches have begun in the trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson over historical sexual offences. The consequences of alleged sexual abuse by Mr Donaldson “cannot be ignored and brushed under the carpet any longer”, a court has...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘HE WAS HELLBENT ON GETTING TO THE KIDS’
A HEROIC creche worker yesterday told a court how she got stabbed trying to protect children from a knife attack. Leanne Flynn tackled the assailant in Parnell Square, Dublin, after he started “ferociously jabbing” one of the children. “The children...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
A GIANT NEW DISCOVERY
MOTHER Nature knocked up Giant’s Causeway in less than half the time previously thought, say geologists. The 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns were formed during dramatic on-off volcanic activity spanning 5.5 million years rather than 13.5 million. Dr...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SICK PAEDO LOCKED UP
THIS dangerous sex predator was jailed for 20 years yesterday for a string of vile offences against children. Neil Jackson, 44, who attacked a young girl over a three-year period, was also found guilty of child cruelty and abuse against two young...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘ELEANOR WOULD HAVE GONE BANANAS’
JEFFREY Donaldson gave evidence in court yesterday and rejected sex abuse allegations that have been made against him. Asked about a claim that his wife Eleanor had witnessed an occasion where he touched Complainant A’s breasts, the former DUP leader...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MAN CHARGED WITH KNIFE ATTACK MURDER BID
A MAN appeared in court yesterday charged with attempted murder in a violent knife attack in Belfast. Sudanese national Hadi Alodid allegedly told police: “I killed someone, I don’t know if they are dead.” Victim Stephen Ogilvie lost an eye in the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘PREDATOR’
» Seven women claim billionaire Sullivan ‘preyed’ on them for sex » Former porn boss denies all allegations and threatens to sue » Ex-model: He told me I needed to be one of his ‘special friends’ WEST Ham co-owner David Sullivan is facing allegations...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FOR SAM AND ALL THE KIDS WE’VE LOST
THE Mirror today launches our Save Lives for Sam campaign to stop the equivalent of a classroom of children drowning every year. It is backed by stars, charities and parents including Simon Haycock, whose son Sam, 16, died in 2021. He said: “Change...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘I COULDN’T REPORT DONALDSON ABUSE’
COURT THE trial of Jeffrey Donaldson heard a church pastor state an alleged victim told him she could not report the abuse. Stephen Matthews told the court the reason given by the woman was it would “destroy” the ex DUP leader’s “reputation”. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
WHAT A CHEEK
DISGRACED Andrew Mountbatten-windsor lived virtually rent-free while letting out cottages on his estate and keeping the cash, it has emerged. The former prince, who appeared to have a large bruise on his cheek yesterday, rented out three cottages at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
NATALIE KILLER LOCKED UP FOR 31YRS
BY STEPHEN Mccullagh was jailed for a minimum 31 years yesterday for the “cold-blooded” murder of pregnant Natalie Mcnally. As he imposed the tariff at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Kinney said: “You have committed a brutal and senseless murder....
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ALL I COULD HEAR WAS HIS HEAVY BREATHING
A WOMAN has told a court details of the moment she alleges she was raped as a child by Jeffrey Donaldson. She told the former DUP leader’s trial yesterday: “I just remember hearing his heavy breathing.”
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ELEANOR ‘LAUGHED IT OFF..’
A WOMAN who claims she was abused by Jeffrey Donaldson as a child told a court his wife "laughed off" an incident she told her about. Complainant A claims the ex-DUP leader kissed her and put his tongue in her mouth on several occasions. The woman...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
PRECIOUS GIFT OF TIME
A NEW daily pill has been hailed as the Holy Grail in fighting pancreatic cancer. Drug daraxonrasib doubled survival times for patients with the deadliest major cancer in a trial, giving them six months longer than those on chemo. Specialist Dr...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
FREE
A LETTER from Jeffrey Donaldson to a woman accusing him of sexual assault was “nothing to do” with the allegations, a court has heard. However, the woman told the trial of the EX-DUP chief she believed it was an apology for years of alleged...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘MY SINFUL & SELFISH ACTIONS’
JEFFREY Donaldson wrote a letter to a woman who has accused him of sexually abusing her as a child expressing “regret” for “all the hurt, pain and distress I have caused”, his trial has heard. The first witness in the trial, known as Complainant A,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘VICTIMS FACED TRAUMATIC ABUSE’
THE sexual abuse trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson yesterday heard claims he subjected two women to “traumatic” abuse when they were children. The prosecution case has been set out for the jury at Newry Crown Court where the 63-year-old is...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
THE RIGHT DECISION
TOP judges will review a controversial decision not to lock up two teenage rapists. The boys were spared custodial sentences last week for attacking two girls aged 14 and 15 in a decision which caused public outrage. Attorney General Lord Hermer has...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
REVOLTING REPULSIVE REFORM
REFORM UK sparked fury yesterday by defending a by-election candidate who made vulgar remarks about Carol Vorderman. MP Danny Kruger claimed Robert Kenyon’s comments were private and that of “an ordinary man”. But TV star Carol demanded an apology from...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
RUSSIAN SPIES... FOR REAL, NIGE?
NIGEL Farage faces more questions over his finances after he claimed Russian spies hacked his phone to expose a secret £5million “gift” from a crypto billionaire. The Reform UK leader was accused of muddying the waters over the controversial handout...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
OUR GRIEF IS CONSTANT
THE parents of Kathryn Parton yesterday spoke of the “catastrophic loss” caused by the death of their only child. They spoke as a woman who admitted assisting her son in the aftermath of Kathryn’s violent death was sentenced to four years. During a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ANDREW COPS IN SEX CRIME PROBE
DETECTIVES investigating Andrew Mountbatten-windsor over potential misconduct in a public office are assessing claims of sexual offences. A woman allegedly sent by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to the former prince’s Royal Lodge home is at the centre of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
ELEANOR ‘UNFIT’ FOR TRIAL
ELEANOR Donaldson has been ruled unfit to stand trial in a historical sexual offences case in which her husband – former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson – is a defendant. Judge Paul Ramsey said at Newry Crown Court yesterday: “I am satisfied that upon...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
KYLIE: MY SECRET CANCER BATTLE
KYLIE Minogue endured a private cancer battle 16 years after she was first diagnosed with the disease. The pop princess, 57, says: “I was just a shell of a person. Thankfully I got through it again and all is well.” She also reveals in a new...
Read Full Story (Page 1)