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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Parents' anger at Ahern donation | Parents' anger at Ahern donation |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The parents of a murdered teenager have written to Bertie Ahern over community funding for loyalists by his office. | The parents of a murdered teenager have written to Bertie Ahern over community funding for loyalists by his office. |
| No-one has been convicted of murdering Thomas Devlin, 15, who was stabbed in the back five times as he and two friends walked home on 10 August 2005. | No-one has been convicted of murdering Thomas Devlin, 15, who was stabbed in the back five times as he and two friends walked home on 10 August 2005. |
| His mother Penny Holloway said some people in the loyalist Mount Vernon estate were harbouring his killers. | His mother Penny Holloway said some people in the loyalist Mount Vernon estate were harbouring his killers. |
| The Irish government said the 4,000 euro was for a Somme art commemoration and such funds were "a token nature". | |
| Police have made a fresh appeal for information and intend to launch a new advertising campaign about the murder. | Police have made a fresh appeal for information and intend to launch a new advertising campaign about the murder. |
| Mr Ahern donated £2,700 to help build a memorial on the estate to soldiers from both sides of the Irish border who died in the two world wars. | Mr Ahern donated £2,700 to help build a memorial on the estate to soldiers from both sides of the Irish border who died in the two world wars. |
| Ms Holloway said: "It is wrong that this money from the taoiseach is being used to give the impression this community has changed. | Ms Holloway said: "It is wrong that this money from the taoiseach is being used to give the impression this community has changed. |
| "We wrote to him because we felt the taoiseach was legitimising the actions of some of the people in Mount Vernon, who are hiding, protecting and harbouring Thomas's killers." | "We wrote to him because we felt the taoiseach was legitimising the actions of some of the people in Mount Vernon, who are hiding, protecting and harbouring Thomas's killers." |
| But loyalist spokesman Billy Hutchinson, who works on the estate, insisted people had co-operated with police in the murder inquiry. | But loyalist spokesman Billy Hutchinson, who works on the estate, insisted people had co-operated with police in the murder inquiry. |
| He said he rejected any suggestion that local people were withholding information. | He said he rejected any suggestion that local people were withholding information. |
| Sympathy | Sympathy |
| "The Devlins have had a lot of sympathy from this community," he told the Nolan Show. | "The Devlins have had a lot of sympathy from this community," he told the Nolan Show. |
| "I assure you it has been worked on - I've met police and they've said they were satisfied they had made a number of enquiries and it was leading nowhere, and they were satisfied that people here did not have information." | "I assure you it has been worked on - I've met police and they've said they were satisfied they had made a number of enquiries and it was leading nowhere, and they were satisfied that people here did not have information." |
| Police said forensic examinations of items including dog hair and other physical evidence were being carried out. | Police said forensic examinations of items including dog hair and other physical evidence were being carried out. |
| They said they wanted to encourage what they called a small group of people who know who killed Thomas to come forward. | They said they wanted to encourage what they called a small group of people who know who killed Thomas to come forward. |
| In a statement, the Irish government said Mr Ahern had approved a grant for 4,000 euro under the Commemoration Initiatives Fund in 2006 for an art piece to commemorate the link between the 16th(Irish) and 36th(Ulster) Divisions who fought in World War I. | |
| "The grant was approved in the context of the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme," he said. | |
| "The grant was made to the Mount Vernon Community Development Forum." |