February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Stephen McKinley
Throwing caution to the wind, the Free Presbyterian Church founded by DUP leader Rev. Ian Paisley has condemned line dancing as sinful and immoral, obviously confident that DUP candidates can afford to lose the Northern Irish line dancing vote on June 7.
According to a church statement read out by Paisley, line dancing "clearly caters to the lust of the flesh."
The statement continued, "The church regards the country and western style of dance as sinful as any other type of dancing, with its sexual gestures and touching."
A Northern Irish line dancing fan, Rose Kilmartin, responded to the announcement by saying, "Line dancing’s very name suggests that everyone is dancing in a line. As far as it being sensual, that is not a word you would attribute to country music."
One woman stopped on the street in Belfast by a reporter wondered if the Free Presbyterians had simply confused line dancing with lap dancing.
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BERTIE FOR DONEGAL
Letterkenny residents will get a chance to clap their eyes on the Taoiseach next Thursday, May 31, when Bertie Ahern will be in their town to officially open the £12.5 million Holiday Inn at the Dry Arch.
The posh hotel has actually been open for several months and is already seen as a trend-setting development for attracting tourists and conferences to Donegal.
The taoiseach will be staying overnight in the county and on June 1 will open the Clar-Barnes Road and officiate at the opening of An Chuairt hotel in Gweedore, reports the Tirconaill Tribune.
CALF SLAUGHTER
Sobering news in County Clare: 90 calves were slaughtered in a precautionary cull against the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The cows were under suspicion because they had been imported from Northern Ireland. None of the animals showed disease symptoms, but the Clare district veterinary office was following the better-safe-than-sorry policy of recent months.
NORTH FMD AID
As in the Republic, so in the North: businesses hit by foot-and-mouth disease can now avail of an aid package coordinated by the Stormont executive. The Help for Business program is specifically aimed at alleviating rate bills — the tax levied on business and property owners by local councils.
Firms which have suffered hardship due to foot-and-mouth disease will be eligible to apply for a grant to cover their rates for the three-month period March 1-31.
Announcing the measure, First Minister David Trimble told reporters, "The executive has developed a coordinated strategy for providing support and assistance to those businesses worst affected by the crisis."
Deputy Minister Seamus Mallon said: "A special unit has been established within the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to handle queries and process claims under the scheme. We believe this is a comprehensive package of measures which will provide tangible support to local businesses."
SLIGO DIAMOND
A Sligo woman is celebrating her election to the position of president of the Irish Postmaster’s Union, the first woman to ever hold the position.
Kathleen Diamond has been postmistress at Ballintogher Post Office for the last 30 years, and said she would get right to work by considering the report on sub-post offices commissioned recently by the government.
Diamond has been secretary of the local branch of the union for the past 25 years and represents Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan on the executive.