Reception honours GAA football stars

Players and officials from GAA’s Tyrone Senior and Down Minor football teams were honoured at a reception celebrating their success in the All-Ireland Football Championships on Thursday.

Welcoming players, officials and senior representatives from the GAA to Parliament Buildings, Sports Minister David Hanson said: “It is a great honour to have both the famous Sam Maguire cup and the Tom Markham cup here tonight. The fact that the Sam Maguire has been here on three previous occasions and the Tom Markham cup twice within the past four years is testimony to the determination of both teams to bring the cups home.”

The Minister said that the GAA had made a tremendous contribution to sport in Northern Ireland and to local communities. “Sport has an increasingly important role in society, economically, socially and in terms of the personal fulfilment of individual sportsmen and women. Government also recognises that sport can help deliver a number of its key objectives, such as improving the health of the nation and reducing obesity.”

David Hanson continued: “It is because sport is a priority issue that I am leading the development of a new Sports Strategy for Northern Ireland which I hope to publish next Spring. The Strategy will deal with issues of great importance to all sports including support for volunteers, grass roots development, talent development and sport in the community.

“It will also reflect the fact that 30 governing bodies of sport are constituted on an all-island basis and our discussions with the Irish Sports Council will be key to shaping the Strategy to reflect all-island priorities.”

The Minister said that sport in Northern Ireland was at a critical juncture and that the new Strategy would establish a vision for the future that would take account of emerging opportunities such as the possibility of a multi-sports stadium and the London 2012 Olympics.

He said: “Against this background I am giving serious consideration for a new multi-sport stadium on the Maze/Long Kesh site. In many ways the stadium can become a symbol of reconciliation pointing the way to a new, shared future involving as it does sports from different traditions – soccer, rugby and Gaelic Games.

“There are important practical issues to be resolved in the establishment of a major facility of this nature but I remain confident that by working closely with GAA, rugby and football a satisfactory resolution can be found.”

In conclusion, David Hanson said: “Tonight is about celebrating the success of two great teams - Tyrone and Down. You are great examples of what can be achieved through sport and I wish both teams and GAA every success in the future.”

(SP/MB)