Priest urges Holy Cross parents to use cars

A priest at the centre of the Holy Cross school dispute in north Belfast has suggested parents should consider using cars or buses to take their children to school.

Father Aidan Troy, chairman of the board of governors at Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in Ardoyne, said he would be enhancing efforts to find a resolution to the dispute.

In a BBC interview on Monday October 15, Father Troy said: “I think the parents, as the weather gets colder and wetter, should begin to take their cars. If the school wishes to provide a bus to ensure the safe return of children, then I think we should use the bus. If some parents say, ‘We must still walk up the road’ then that number of parents and their children are quite entitled to walk up the road. We must have the security backing to allow that. So in other words, instead of closing the road, let’s open the road.”

It is the seventh week of the protest by residents of the Protestant Glenbryn estate, over alleged attacks on their homes by republicans and the route the Catholic children take to school.

Protestant residents say they are protesting because of attacks on their homes by republicans from the larger Catholic community in Ardoyne.

The Northern Ireland Office has been trying to broker talks between the Catholic and Protestant residents of Ardoyne but have so far failed to resolve the issue through dialogue. Security Minister Jane Kennedy last week announced the peace line wall in the area would be extended to try to create a feeling of security in the two communities. (AMcE)