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Bomb defused as trouble mars N.-Irish celebrations
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Bomb defused as trouble mars N.-Irish celebrations
British Army explosives experts defused a crude bomb left outside a bar early yesterday as outbreaks of violence marred the end of St Patrick?s Day celebrations in Northern Ireland, police said.
The device, made up of several pipe bombs taped together, was left in a car in the university district of south Belfast on Wednesday night, forcing the cancellation of a performance at the venue by former Pogues frontman Shane McGowan.
Earlier on Wednesday there was trouble involving up to 200 people when rival Protestant and Catholic gangs, some armed with baseball bats, clashed on the edge of the staunchly Protestant Shankill district of west Belfast. Police said there were no injuries reported.
There were also minor skirmishes in the centre of Belfast and in the province?s second city Londonderry.
Both communities in the province regard St Patrick as Ireland?s patron saint, but the March 17 celebrations can still provoke tensions between Protestants, who regard themselves as British, and Catholics, who see their identity as Irish.
Protestant ?unionists? on Belfast City Council blocked funding for a free concert in the city centre on Wednesday, arguing the event was not inclusive.
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