Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Royal and Ministerial Visits - Giants Causeway, Ballycastle and Rathlin Island
[script and captions to follow - cold house for councillors, Manor House rumpus, abrupt and uncivil civil servant, very low key unveiling]
Added June 14
News came through about 6pm that the Rathlin Express had to return to Rathlin Harbour this afternoon and that its passengers were transferred to the MV Canna for the 5.30pm sailing.
Added June 15
What did the divers discover? Is there a problem with the catamaran skegs once again? Could the Royal party, DRD officials and others have been left stranded last Wednesday? Was this one of the reasons why Conor Murphy, Minister for Regional Development, failed to join Arlene Foster, his Executive colleague, on a splendid opportunity to promote the Giants Causeway and Rathlin Island as important links on the tourism trail?
The Coastguard and a senior Moyle DC official were unaware of this incident and there was no one at the MCA Survey Office available for comment. According to the Grapevine, the problem may have been caused by lobster pots which poses questions about their visibility to a catamaran skipper as well as their positioning adjacent to the vessel's route.
