Catholic parents' relief as school protest ends

Brendan Mailey of the parents’ Right to Education Group said: "We welcome this but we will believe it when we are walking up road and there’s nobody there shouting abuse."

Protestant residents in the Glenbryn estate agreed to suspend their demonstration after direct intervention by David Trimble, First Minister at the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Deputy First Minister Mark Durkan.

Parents and children from the neighbouring Catholic and nationalist Ardoyne area had been subjected to a torrent of abuse from the residents by walking through their area in order to reach the Holy Cross.

The decision to halt the blockade was rubber stamped at a meeting in Glenbryn last night to discuss what had been offered to the residents.

It is understood a number of measures, including the installation of closed circuit TV cameras and speed ramps, have been agreed as part of the arrangement to end the stand-off.

Talks are also likely between both sides.

Community worker Mark Coulter, one of the residents involved in the protests, said he was relieved they had ended.

He said: "It has been suspended to give the measures in place an opportunity to work and particularly to get into dialogue with the nationalist community.

"The long-term solution to this is through dialogue and it has got to happen."

Mr Mailey pledged to play a full role in any discussions following the settlement.

"The parents will do whatever they have to do in repairing relationships between the communities," he said.

"There’s a huge sense of relief but we are still a bit wary of what might happen on Monday morning.

"Will there be any police presence or any loose cannons?"

Several attempts had been made to negotiate some sort of settlement, and much of the violence in north Belfast since mid-June when tensions first erupted has been linked to the dispute.

Mr Trimble and Mr Durkan had stepped in, along with other members of the Stormont Executive, as part of an overall plan to end the trouble in that part of the city.

The two cabinet chiefs hailed the breakthrough as a vital step and looked forward to the Holy Cross girls going to class "unhindered" on Monday.

In a joint statement they added: "The decision will create a climate that will help them address the wider socio-economic problems facing north Belfast."

North Belfast Democratic Unionist MP Nigel Dodds insisted loyalists had not outmanoeuvred the parents.

"I don’t think there’s any question of rewards or victories or anything in this," he said.

"Some of the issues that are now being addressed are long overdue for addressing, they should have been addressed years ago."

Billy Hutchinson, a Stormont MLA with the loyalist Progressive Unionists who has backed the protesters, urged Catholic representatives to meet the residents.

He said: "Hopefully over the weekend there will be a response from nationalists about when and where they get into talks to try and resolve this for good."

Sinn Fein Assemblyman for the area Gerry Kelly warned that other flashpoint parts of north Belfast now needed a similar resolution.

"These things have been going on well before this protest and unfortunately may go on well after it.

"But is it a good sign if we can talk at this part of the interface and can we do it at others? I certainly hope so and that’s what I will be pushing for."

Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid was also swift to respond to the loyalists’ move.

"If this issue can be resolved it will be a welcome and positive move forward."