06/01/2003
Pipe bomb defused at Holy Cross school
Army technical officers have made safe a pipe bomb-type device which had been left outside a Catholic primary school in north Belfast.
The suspect object was discovered shortly before 8.30am at the entrance to the Holy Cross Girls' Primary School. The Ardoyne Road from Wheatfield Gardens to Glenbryn Gardens was closed off as ATOs examined the device. Pupils, who were returning to school after the Christmas break, were routed through a rear entrance.
School governor Father Aidan Troy described the attack as a "profoundly worrying and very disturbing" development. He said that whilst some pupils did not attend today, lessons had gone ahead and there was relatively little disruption. The prompt response by the police, added Fr Troy, almost certainly saved life.
Sinn Fein assembly member and north Belfast councillor Gerry Kelly blamed the UDA for the incident, saying it was a "disgraceful attack on children".
The SDLP's Joe Byrne said it was a "regrettable situation" and he went on to condemn paramilitaries for "using children as a weapon".
The school was at the centre of protests loyalist residents of the nearby Glenbryn estate last year.
The protests continued for a number of weeks and at the height of the demonstrations a police officer was injured in a blast bomb attack.
Loyalists finally abandoned their protest in November after meetings between the local communities and police secured increased security measures for the area.
(GMcG)
The suspect object was discovered shortly before 8.30am at the entrance to the Holy Cross Girls' Primary School. The Ardoyne Road from Wheatfield Gardens to Glenbryn Gardens was closed off as ATOs examined the device. Pupils, who were returning to school after the Christmas break, were routed through a rear entrance.
School governor Father Aidan Troy described the attack as a "profoundly worrying and very disturbing" development. He said that whilst some pupils did not attend today, lessons had gone ahead and there was relatively little disruption. The prompt response by the police, added Fr Troy, almost certainly saved life.
Sinn Fein assembly member and north Belfast councillor Gerry Kelly blamed the UDA for the incident, saying it was a "disgraceful attack on children".
The SDLP's Joe Byrne said it was a "regrettable situation" and he went on to condemn paramilitaries for "using children as a weapon".
The school was at the centre of protests loyalist residents of the nearby Glenbryn estate last year.
The protests continued for a number of weeks and at the height of the demonstrations a police officer was injured in a blast bomb attack.
Loyalists finally abandoned their protest in November after meetings between the local communities and police secured increased security measures for the area.
(GMcG)
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