Terror, nature, and Hobbs: what they missed

TERRORISTS brought grief to London, nature’s forces terrorised New Orleans, while Eddie Hobbs threw the Government into panic over Rip Off Ireland.

The IRA announced a ceasefire in July, all its weapons were finally decommissioned this week and terror suspects the Colombia Three slipped quietly back into Ireland.

Cork and Tyrone claimed the GAA’s most prized silverware, but the Euro Millions’ €115 million pot of gold was seized by lucky Limerick mum Dolores McNamara.

As the Rossport Five languished in prison, here are some of the national and international stories they missed:

July:

07-07-05, the day al-Qaida supporters sent 52 innocent rail and bus commuters to their deaths and left hundreds injured in four bomb blasts.

Bob Geldof put the world’s poor into the spotlight with several international Live 8 concerts as G8 leaders met in Edinburgh.

On July 28, the IRA publicly declared the end of its armed struggle. Although General de Chastelain announced two months later that IRA weapons were put beyond use, unionists remained sceptical.

Summer weather sizzled to 29 degrees Celsius as Ireland left Paris, Barcelona and Rome in the shade, but a Turkish holiday ended in tragedy for Waterford Leaving Cert student Tara Whelan after terrorists blew up a bus.

August:

The Colombia Three sneaked back into the country causing embarrassment for international police trying to track them.

Former secretary of state in the North, Mo Mowlam, lost her cancer battle at the age of 56.

Israeli families and extremists, despite biter resistance, were forced to evacuate Gaza.

The Government took a hammering as RTÉ provided a platform for Eddie Hobbs’ runaway ratings series, Rip Off Republic.

September:

Hurricane Katrina brought the US to its knees as hundreds died and over 25,000 homes were destroyed in New Orleans.

Weeks later, Hurricane Rita roared in but its bite was not as fearsome.

President Bush faced his own trauma after handing a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requesting a toilet break during the 2005 World Summit and the 60th General Assembly of the UN.

Angry consumers saw petrol hit 137.2 cent per litre in Limerick as fuel reached a record average high of 117.7 cent at pumps countrywide.

With the Dáil recess longer than the Rossport Five’s incarceration, an Irish Examiner /Lansdowne Market Research poll last week showed the Government’s voter satisfaction rating is at its lowest since June 2004.