Other news stories

Military home page

James Hamilton, 14, whose sister, Julie, 18, was wounded in the bombing, arrived home distraught after being kicked by a group of children for wearing the poppy at school. His mother, Jill, a Protestant, said: "I suppose they associated it with the British Establishment, but that is ridiculous. 

"People from both religions died in the two wars. How is there ever going to be peace in Northern Ireland when children are so bitter and do not understand the facts?"  

Twenty-nine people were killed by the Real IRA bombing in Omagh last year. Mrs Hamilton said: "James had a poppy at school and was walking home when a group of Catholic kids started shouting abuse at him about his poppy. They hit and kicked him and told him to take it off." 

After the attack, she found the culprits and gave them a lecture about the cruelty of sectarian abuse and the real significance of the poppy appeal. "I told them that it had nothing to do with Protestants and Catholics - that it was worn in the honour of people who had laid down their lives for the likes of them." 

Her comments came as record company managers attempted to deflect criticism from Sinn Fein by distancing Westlife from the decision to take part in the 1999 poppy appeal. "RCA Records, on behalf of their pop act Westlife, would like to make it clear that the decision to involve Westlife in the poppy appeal was entirely that of the company," a spokesman said. "RCA Records were following a tradition of involving high-profile celebrities supporting charity organisations."  

Hours earlier Matt Carthy, national organiser of Sinn Fein Youth, sparked a fierce controversy when he said that it was a disgrace for an Irish band to support the Royal British Legion initiative, given the history of the British Army's involvement in Ireland. 

"How can Westlife justify their decision to those relatives whose loved ones have been killed by the British Army?" asked Mr Carthy, a district councillor in the Irish county of Monaghan. He called on the group to withdraw its support for the Royal British Legion event. But Jeffrey Donaldson, the Ulster Unionist MP for Lagan Valley, accused Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, of engaging in a "silly, outdated protest". 

[article truncated]