On the streets of Dublin and Belgrade they’ll be crying out for the men from Co Down

The Mourne men have a date with destiny on the hallowed turf this afternoon. Here is a tribute all the way from Belgrade.

The afternoon after the match before

I’m still recovering from yesterday’s loss to Cork.

The snatching defeat from the jaws of victory feeling still lurked heavily in the pit of my stomach when my SDLP Assembly Group colleagues insisted on passing a vote of commiseration with Dublin at our meeting earlier……!

At times like this I am one of those people who seek comfort in words.

Not for the first time in the past fifteen years Tom Humphries came to my emotional resucue.

This from his Irish Times piece today:

…after 73 minutes nobody in the crowd of 82,225 would have begrudged a draw.

After years of knocking, Cork have reached an All-Ireland final which they will be favourites to win by virtue of their experience and the depth of their panel.

They got there yesterday having trailed for most of the game to a Dublin side which looked more accomplished and more confident.

It was Cork’s reward for their own conviction that they were in touch when it got to endgame and Dublin began to lose their sense of cool.

A penalty.

Three bad frees.

A sending off.

Wounds, each of Dublin’s own making, took them out of the game. Cork could scarcely believe their luck as the gifts kept coming.

“Absolutely relieved. End of story,” said Cork manager Conor Counihan when he came in to face the press. “Titanic struggle. Dublin really put it up to us, as we knew they would, and things really didn’t look good for a long time.”

That just about summed things up……

Up Down!

Venga La Roja – Spain’s date with destiny

I played my childhood football on the dirt pitches of Andalucia. La Roja were good then but not great. Defeated by France in the 84 Europeans. Arconada the towering goalkeeper unable to save the day.

In all honesty I never thought I’d see the day when the national team would fulfill this great footballing nation’s potential. The old joke used to be that Andalucia, Catalonia or Madrid could field a more together team then the national one. But that all changed in 2008 when Spain won the European Championship and with a team packed to the gills with Catalan’s, Basques and others reflecting the true diversity of this nation of nations.

Ill be donning my shirt today. Hoping that total football triumphs and that…..

tic a tac a, tic a tac a, tic a tac a, tac

…..is the rhythm of the night.

Viva La Furia. Venga La Roja. Espana para el mundial!

Two wheels two weeks

We got on our bikes at Stormont today to promote cycle to work fortnight .

I was lucky enough to pip the defending champion Roy Beggs in the annual MLA bike race . Our sprint follows a traditional route and has all the elements of any classic stage; nail biting downhill, hairpin corners, a solid flat and a climb to the finish. Epic eh and we can squeeze it all in less then a mile!

So why not join me and take two wheels to work this June. You’ll feel much better for it.

Olympic Games’ Communications Chief to give Belfast lecture

With preparations already at an advanced stage, the London 2012 Olympic Games’ Jackie Brock-Doyle will exclusively outline the experiences and challenges involved in organising the globe’s premier sports occasion with an audience at the University of Ulster on June 18th.

Organised as part of the School of Communication’s Distinguished International Visitors Address, this is a rare opportunity to get the inside track on the biggest sporting event from one of Europe’s most influential communicators.

Jackie has designed and directed communication, media and sponsorship programmes for some of the world’s biggest brands and events, including Visa International, the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Cadbury and the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. She was a leading member of the team that masterminded London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This should be a great event and is free, however places are strictly limited.

To register your attendance or to find out more about the event or please contact Michele Gardiner on 028 9036 8847 or email m.gardiner@ulster.ac.uk

Multi-party runs

I have assembled a motley crew of MLAs to join me at the starting line of this year’s Belfast Marathon.

Don’t worry I’m not asking John McAllister or Barry McIlduff plus a DUPer (Simon Hamilton we know you want to!) to cover 26.2 miles  so we have split it up between us and will be one of the hundreds of relay teams completing in this increasingly popular spring sports for all extravaganza. Concern will be our charity and are providing some very groovy Ts.

Concern also brought Sonia O’Sullivan up the Mary Peter’s track in Belfast this morning to meet some of the Concern marathoners and a group of up and coming local runners who are being coached by Eamon Christie. 

Shortly after nine we headed off for a great run along the tow path, past the Lock Keepers Cottage (yes we told Sonia the story), into Belvoir Forest and back along the South Bank to Edenderry. Took us about 43 min at what I reckon was about a 7:30 pace.

What a way to start the day.

Is it the anthem that makes the green and white army?

The  Newsletter asked me to pen a few lines on the anthem – Northern ireland soccer team debate.

Every weekend kids across Northern Ireland put on their favourite shirt and dream of playing in Croke Park, Wembley or Windsor Park. In their hearts they are Aaron Hughes, David Beckham and Robbie Keane. They don’t know what politics is and do not play football to make a political point.

Windsor Park the home of local soccer is less then a mile from my home. On the night my youngest son Naoise was born, David Healy scored a goal which will live on forever. His boot put England in second place. I remember the roar drifting across the motorway and through the windows of the Royal Maternity Hospital. It was one of those moments when things seemed to change.

The new North is a different place from the old one which divided Irish football nearly a hundred years ago. Football for all is now the by word of the IFA and huge progress which has been made over the past decade to break down barriers to participation.

The next step must surely be to make the Northern Ireland team and squad capable of commanding the support of all in this region. Adopting a shared song would surely be a good step towards breaking down the obvious barriers which playing God Save the Queen puts up.  

I would love to see an all island soccer team but I would be also happy to go watch a Northern Ireland team which is reflective of this shared region and projecting a positive image about our home on the global stage.

Politics should have no place in football.

It’s not God Save the Queen that makes the Green and White Army famous. It’s the changes that have taken place in the past ten years and the passion the genuine fans have for the beautiful game.

Let’s have a mature and respectful debate about making Football for All the mark of our region on the global stage as it is on the youth pitches every weekend.

No 2012 elite training facilities for NI

I asked the Minister for Culture Arts and Leisure earlier about the lack of any plans to progress elite training facilities in advance of the 2012 Olympics. My question and his reply is at 11:08.

Earth system change needed says Prof Iain Stewart

I was able to sneak in the back at last night’s Belfast Geologists Society Annual Lecture by BBC star and earth science professor, Iain Stewart.

His new series ‘How the Earth Made Us’ starts tonight at 9pm on BBC2. Iain uses the elements, Earth, Wind, Water and Fire to explain the complex and interdepent relationships between each of them and us.  

Complete with the latest clips such as the one above he is always a pleasure to listen to.

But last night there was an additional message. 

Earth science must change and geology must start thinking about the earth as a complex interconnected system. Time for the ice pick to stop cracking open old rocks and start cracking a few heads to meet the challenges presented by climate change, depleting resources and over-population. Iain wants to see social scientists in earth science department building a  greater understanding of the complex relationships between mankind and our planet and he wants earth scientists to play a greater role in political discourse. 

What I heard was a manifesto for change. A call to governments and science to start investing in this complex adaptive system which is our earth and for earth scientists to become part of the debate in an interdisciplinary and new way.

One which can begin to tackle the serious dilemma at the heart of humanity.

Is our future to be built on economic profit or the sustainability of our civilisations?

Edward Carson the Trinity Gael and the removal of Craigavon

Edward Carson hurls again!

The Trinity Gael will be surrounded by ash trees being planted on the estate  mark the 125th anniversary of the GAA’s foundation.

For a generation, the GAA has been dragged into the sometimes torrid politics of the North, yet it is not a political organisation nor does it support any political parties. These trees mark a symbolic acknowledgement that those of us who love our national sport have a place in this region’s seat of government.

But the truth is the Stormont Estate is still largely devoid of any symbols of Gaelic Ireland or of the new North for that matter.

There is a big statue of James Craig halfway up the stairs in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings. It’s  a big masculine piece but entirely unreflective of where we are today or what the Assembly stands for. Wouldn’t it be lovely to see Craig moved to another place and a new sculpture reflecting 21st century NI erected in it’s place.

If Carson could be a Gael surely the Great Hall can be a truly shared space!