For the first time since June the girl pupils of Holy Cross primary school in Belfast arrived in class without having to suffer the shouts of protest and the verbal abuse of the Protestant inhabitants of the district, infuriated by the presence of a Catholic school in their neighbourhood. Over the last three months the situation has deteriorated, with eight squadrons of armed police, deployed between the pupils and the local inhabitants to ensure that the girls arrived at school safe and sound. The protesters have now decided to suspend their hostilities after a meeting with David Trimble, the prime minister of Northern Ireland and his deputy who promised a packet of measures to the benefit of the district.
