Tag Archives: belfast

DEFENCE NOT DEFIANCE

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New ICTU Mural Belfast complementing statue of Jim Larkin Photo: © Michael Fisher

New ICTU Mural Belfast complementing statue of Jim Larkin Photo: © Michael Fisher

This was an important occasion for trade unionists in Belfast. The unveiling by the ICTU President John Douglas of a new mural complementing the statue of Jim Larkin at the ICTU (NI) office at Donegall Street Place. The Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir attended the ceremony. The work was commissioned from well-known Belfast muralists Danny Devanny and Mark Ervine. It depicts banners, signs and logos of the constituent unions, including the National Union of Journalists.

Michael Fisher (NUJ), Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, ICTU President John Douglas, John O'Farrell ICTU Photo: © Kevin Cooper Photoline

Michael Fisher (NUJ), Lord Mayor of Belfast Councillor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, ICTU President John Douglas, John O’Farrell ICTU Photo: © Kevin Cooper Photoline

I represented the NUJ at the unveiling in my capacity as Chair of the Northern Ireland sub-committee of the Irish Executive Council. The artwork tells the story of organised labour from the Dockers’ and Carters’ Strike of 1907 and the struggle of women in the factories and mills, up to the current campaigns against austerity and for social justice.

Mural detail with NUJ logo beside BECTU and RMT Photo: © Michael Fisher

Mural detail with NUJ logo beside BECTU and RMT Photo: © Michael Fisher

Afterwards the proceedings moved to the nearby John Hewitt Bar. The Lord Mayor unveiled an item of particular significance for the Belfast Trades Council. It is a bell and commemorative plaque which were presented to Samuel Munro in 1893 when he was President of the Council.

TUC 1893 Congress Belfast

TUC 1893 Congress Belfast

The same year the former Northern Whig employee who came from Lurgan in County Armagh and represented the Typographical Association was elected as President of the Trades Union Congress then encompassing Ireland and Britain. On September 4th to 9th 1893 the TUC held their 26th annual Congress over six days at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. At the time there were 380 delegates from 226 unions, representing 900,000 members.

The Chair of NIC-ICTU Pamela Dooley gave a short speech followed by remarks from Paddy Mackel, Secretary of the present Belfast Trades Council which Munro had led. The story of this committed trade unionist who rose through the ranks and held the top post in the TUC was related splendidly by Francis Devine of the Irish Labour History Society, who finished with a poem he wrote himself in honour of Munro. He explained how Munro came from the old craft section of the trade union movement and was conservative and cautious by character. “Defence not defiance” was his way of operating.

Munro’s address to the TUC on the second day of Congress (September 5th 1893) was illuminating, according to Devine, and demonstrated radical foresight, with demands that were very advanced for their time for the organisation of women, factory reform and protective legislation, labour representation and temperance.

Belfast Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir & Brian Bingham at unveiling of bell at John Hewitt Bar Photo: © Kevin Cooper Photoline

Belfast Lord Mayor Cllr Máirtín Ó Muilleoir & Brian Bingham at unveiling of bell at John Hewitt Bar Photo: © Kevin Cooper Photoline

It was a shade ironic therefore that the memento of Munro should now be displayed in a pub! Brian Bingham from Belfast was present, a friend of Munro’s last known relative, his granddaughter, who lives in London and who presented the bell to the ICTU.

ST ANNE’S CATHEDRAL BELFAST

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St Anne's Cathedral Belfast Photo: belfastcathedral.org

St Anne’s Cathedral Belfast   Photo: www.belfastcathedral.org

St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast city centre has an interesting history. Although the foundation stone was laid in September 1899, its unique ‘spire of hope’ was added in April 2007 during the tenure of  Dean Houston McKelvey. Architect William Henry Lynn supervised the building programme at the cathedral from 1910 – 1915. He designed the baptistry in 1915 (the year of his death) and was a worshiping member of the cathedral community. There is a memorial plaque to Lynn on the south wall of the cathedral which states:-

”His art adorns the city and many others throughout the Empire. He aided Sir Thomas Drew in the original design of this cathedral and watched with ceaseless care the erection of the nave. He was a devout Christian and a generous benefactor of the Church. The Great West window was a gift and he made a liberal bequest to the cathedral building fund.”

I am writing about this landmark building because I have just read another very interesting blog by the Reverend Patrick Comerford. He was in Belfast yesterday for the ordination by the Bishop of Connor Alan Abernethy of a new deacon for St John’s Parish on the Malone Road, close to where I live.

Reverend Rod Smyth

Reverend Rod Smyth Photo: St John’s Malone

Rod is from St Gall’s, Carnalea near Bangor in County Down. He was a chorister in St Anne’s and also a Bass Lay Clerk whilst studying music at Queen’s University. He served as Parish Organist in St Gall’s for some twenty years. For the last 33 years he has worked in education, recently leaving the post of Head of Senior School at Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College. Here is how Patrick Comerford described the occasion and he took the opportunity to get some great photographs:

                    An afternoon filled with light in Saint Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

Saint Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast: a cathedral for one city and two dioceses                           (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

I was in Saint Anne’s Cathedral in Donegall Street, Belfast, yesterday afternoon [Sunday 15 September 2013] for the ordination of the Reverendd Roderick Smyth as deacon to serve in the parish of Saint John the Evangelist, Malone Road. There was a very warm welcome from the Dean of Belfast, the Very Reverend John Mann, and we walked around the tour for some time before the Ordination Service.

Saint Anne’s is an unusual cathedral for it serves two separate dioceses (Connor, and Down and Dromore) which have their own cathedrals (in Lisburn, Downpatrick and Dromore), yet it is the seat of neither bishop, although they both have seats in the chancel. Belfast received its first charter in 1613, but remained a city without a cathedral for centuries.

Bishop Jeremy Taylor’s ‘chair’ in the north ambulatory                                                (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

The first proposal for a cathedral in Belfast came from the Dean and Chapter of Connor in 1860. At the time Connor and Down and Dromore were united as dioceses, ever since the saintly Jeremy Taylor was bishop after the Caroline Restoration in the 1660s. So the scheme was not as geographically difficult as it now appears.

After the proposal for a cathedral in Belfast was presented to the Diocesan Council by Bishop Thomas Welland, the project was taken up enthusiastically by Henry Stewart O’Hara when he became Rector of Belfast in 1894.

Sir Thomas Drew (1838-1910) was chosen as architect, and the foundation stone was laid in 1899 by the Countess of Shaftesbury in the presence of the Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin.

The Good Samaritan window survives from old Saint Anne’s                                           (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

The old parish church of Saint Anne continued in use while the new cathedral was being built around it and the old church was not demolished until the end of 1903. Today, the the only remaining feature from the old church is the Good Samaritan window in the sanctuary. The nave of the cathedral was completed in 1904 and was consecrated by Bishop Welland that June.

On the north side of the nave, running from the West Doors to the Choir, the following corbels are set above each column or respond: the Archangel Gabriel, Bishop George Berkeley, Dean Henry Stewart O’Hara, Archbishop William King, Provost George Salmon, Bishop Jeremy Taylor, and the Archangel Michael.

On the south side of the nave, running from the Choir to the West Doors, the figures in the corbels above each column or respond are: the Archangel Raphael, Archbishop James Ussher, Bishop Thomas Percy, Bishop William Bedell, Archbishop William Alexander, Cecil Frances Alexander and the Archangel Uriel.

The West Front of the cathedral was built in the 1920s                                       (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

The west front of the cathedral was built in the 1920s as a memorial to the men and women of Ulster who died in World War I. The central crossing was built in the early 1920s. The Baptistery was dedicated in 1928. The Chapel of the Holy Spirit, with mosaics depicting Saint Patrick, was dedicated on 5 July 1932, the 1,500th anniversary of the arrival of Saint Patrick in Ireland.

  Mosaics depicting Saint Patrick’s missionary journey to Ireland                                               (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

The only tomb in the cathedral is that of the Unionist leader Edward Carson, who was given a state funeral in 1935 and buried in the south aisle.

The ambulatory, at the east end of the cathedral, was built in the 1950s. When Bishop Jeremy Taylor’s old church at Lower Ballinderry was restored some years ago, portions of its ancient oak furniture were made into a chair. The chair is now placed beneath his portrait on the north side of the ambulatory, providing a link with the great Bishop of Down and Connor and Dromore who is commemorated in the corbel above the Pillar of Music on the north side of the nave.

Work on the north and south transepts began in the 1960s. The south transept, with the Chapel of Unity and the organ loft, was dedicated in 1974; the north transept, with the Chapel of the Royal Irish Rifles, was completed in 1981. A 40-metre stainless steel spire, the “Spire of Hope,” was installed on top of the cathedral in 2007.

Belfast Cathedral is probably best known for the “Black Santa” sit-outs at Christmas, first organised over 30 years ago by Dean Samuel Crooks. The tradition has been continued by successive deans, including the present dean, the Very Revd John Mann, and the chapter members.

During coffee in the side aisles after the ordination service, Dean Mann pointed out a number of features in the cathedral that I had missed earlier in the afternoon. By then, the sun was lowering in the west, and its rays were shining brightly through the West Door, filling this modern cathedral with light.

Light fills Saint Anne’s Cathedral Belfast through the West Door                               (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)


FAREWELL TO SEAMUS HEANEY

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Swans at Lough Murree beside Flaggy Shore, Co.Clare Photo: © Michael Fisher

Swans at Lough Murree beside Flaggy Shore, Co.Clare Photo: © Michael Fisher

I began my daily blog on New Year’s Day with a report that included this picture of swans at Lough Murree, beside the Flaggy Shore at New Quay in the Burren area of County Clare. I had just completed the loop walk along the limestone rock of the shoreline, looking out at Galway Bay. It was a lovely day in the company of friends, having welcomed in the New Year in Kinvara.

'Curtain call' at the Lyric Theatre Belfast for the late Seamus Heaney Photo: © Michael Fisher

‘Curtain call’ at the Lyric Theatre Belfast for the late Seamus Heaney Photo: © Michael Fisher

Memories of that afternoon came flooding back as in front of a packed house at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, the poet Damian Gorman read ‘Postscript’ from Seamus Heaney’s collection ‘The Spirit Level’ (published 1996, the year after he won the Nobel Prize in Literature). Jean Tubridy has reproduced it on her Social Bridge blog:-

Postscript

And some time make the time to drive out west

Into County Clare, along the Flaggy Shore,

In September or October, when the wind

And the light are working off each other

So that the ocean on one side is wild

With foam and glitter, and inland among stones

The surface of a slate-grey lake is lit

By the earthed lightning of a flock of swans,

Their feathers roughed and ruffling, white on white,

Their fully grown headstrong-looking heads

Tucked or cresting or busy underwater.

Useless to think you’ll park and capture it

More thoroughly. You are neither here nor there,

A hurry through which known and strange things pass

As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways

And catch the heart off guard and blow it open.

(from The Spirit Level) 

Seamus Heaney: Lyric Theatre

Seamus Heaney: Lyric Theatre

Heaney had been associated with the Lyric theatre since the days of Mary O’Malley and the literary periodical ‘Threshold‘ fifty years ago. He was present at the foundation stone laying ceremony in 1965 when the Lyric Players built their own theatre at Ridgeway Street, and recited a poem written especially for the occasion, Peter Street at Bankside. 44 years on in September 2009 a stanza from the poem was engraved on the threshold stone as the foundations were laid for the new Lyric Theatre. He said he was honoured and commented that “The  renovation of the Lyric Theatre is a reminder of the vital artistic  achievement in the past and the promise of ongoing creative vigour in  the future. The renewal of the fabric of the building stands for the  kind of social and psychic renewal that the entire community aspires to.  The Lyric has engaged with the life of its society and performed the  classic Shakespearean task to provide ‘the abstract and brief chronicles  of the time’.”

 It was therefore highly fitting that a special  commemoration of the life of Seamus Heaney was organised at short notice by the Lyric Theatre and the free tickets were snapped up quickly. Ten people including his friend and fellow poet Michael Longley took part in an hour-long celebration that included poems, stories and music.

With Ard-Mhéara Bhéal Feirste Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and Mairead 7 Michéal Martin at Lyric Theatre

Michael Fisher with Ard-Mhéara Bhéal Feirste Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and Mairead and Michéal Martin at Lyric Theatre

The Nobel Laureate made his last public appearance in Belfast at the Lyric on 23rd April 2012 where he addressed a sold-out audience to mark the new building’s first anniversary. The theatre’s close association with Heaney is reflected throughout the new building which contains a bust of the poet by sculptor, Philip Flanagan and a Louis le Brocquy painting at the entrance steps.

Seamus Heaney: Louis le Brocquy at Lyric Theatre Belfast

Seamus Heaney: Louis le Brocquy at Lyric Theatre Belfast

Lyric Chairman Mark Carruthers paid tribute to the distinguished poet:-

“Seamus Heaney was a long-time friend and supporter of the Lyric Theatre and we are all therefore deeply saddened at his passing. He was a man of enormous talents – easily the greatest Irish poet since Yeats. His loss will be deeply felt beyond the arts world. As Lyric Chairman we would like to offer our sincere condolences to his wife Marie and family. He will be greatly missed.”

The funeral of Seamus Heaney takes place on Monday: 11:30am Requiem Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart, Donnybrook in Dublin, followed by burial after 5pm in his native parish of Bellaghy, County Derry. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

Seamus Heaney Portrait: Colin Davidson Photo: Michael Fisher

Seamus Heaney Portrait: Colin Davidson Photo: Michael Fisher

WPFG: CLOSING CEREMONY

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Red Arrows over Titanic Quarter Photo: © Michael Fisher

Red Arrows over Titanic Quarter Photo: © Michael Fisher

The Red Arrows having just taken part in an air show in Newcastle, County Down, flew low over the Titanic Quarter in Belfast leaving behind a trail of red, white and blue smoke in a spectacular start to the closing ceremony of the 2013 World Police and Fire Games. In the background the cruise ship Silver Cloud was berthed on a one-day stopover.

Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir with WPFG President Mike Graham and NI Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín Photo: © Michael Fisher

Lord Mayor of Belfast Máirtín Ó Muilleoir with WPFG President Mike Graham and NI Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín Photo: © Michael Fisher

This year’s event in Northern Ireland has been hailed as the friendliest and best games ever, taking place in 41 venues with nearly 7000 competitors from 67 countries. WPFG Federation President Mike Graham said “the organisation and professionalism of the WPFG delivery team has been exemplary, the warmth and welcome of the many thousand volunteers has been outstanding, the support of the local people has been second to none and even the weather has been fabulous. The WPFG Federation is absolutely delighted with what has been the pinnacle of our games to date and we are indebted to Belfast and Northern Ireland for making it happen.” Mind you, there was a heavy shower of rain just before the ceremony got underway!

NIFRS aerial ladder platform at Titanic slipway

NIFRS aerial ladder platform at Titanic slipway Photo: © Michael Fisher

Sports Minister Carál Ní Chuilín said the games had brought a significant boost to business and tourism. The Minister said the closing ceremony had officially lowered the curtain on a remarkable ten days in the North. “It is appropriate to look back on an event, the likes of which we have never seen before,” she said. “That we could host the World Police and Fire Games might have been unimaginable a few years ago. Yet we have confidently welcomed thousands of competitors from across the globe to join in a sporting spectacular. The games have further opened the eyes of the world to the north, they have come and experienced the best of what we have to offer”, she added.

The closing ceremony featured music from the Open Arts Choir, the PSNI Pipe Band and the Northern Virginia Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe Band.

PSNI Pipe Band & Northern Virginia Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe Band

PSNI Pipe Band & Northern Virginia Firefighters Emerald Society Pipe Band Photo: © Michael Fisher

A special tribute was paid to the 3,500 volunteers known as the ‘spirit of the games’ for their friendly and enthusiastic contribution.

The spirit of the volunteers is evident as a double rainbow appears

The spirit of the volunteers is evident as a double rainbow appears Photo: © Michael Fisher

The formalities included a parade of flags from the participating countries, the handing over of the WPFG flag to next host city, Fairfax, and the final journey of the Flame of Hope.

Sandy Row Falcons cheerleaders: a touch of US razzmatazz Photo: © Michael Fisher

Sandy Row Falcons cheerleaders: a touch of US razzmatazz Photo: © Michael Fisher

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable and Chair of the 2013 WPFG Board, Judith Gillespie, said the games were a prime example of why Northern Ireland was “renowned for its warm and friendly welcome”. “I feel very proud, of all of our serving and retired colleagues as they stood shoulder to shoulder with fire service and prison service colleagues in Team Northern Ireland. But I am also extremely proud to have been part of this wonderful event that has brought such colour, vibrancy and enjoyment to so many and which I hope will leave a lasting legacy for Northern Ireland for many years to come”, she added.

Confetti cannons explode and the games flame is shrouded in colour Photo: © Michael Fisher

Confetti cannons explode and the games flame is shrouded in colour Photo: © Michael Fisher

WPFG: ICE HOCKEY DAY6

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Gold Medallists: Toronto Courts

Gold Medallists Toronto Courts: Photo © Michael Fisher

Celebrations on the ice at the Odyssey tonight as the Toronto Courts ice hockey team received the first gold medals of the 20th World Police and Fire Games 2013 in Northern Ireland. With over 15,000 spectators passing through the Odyssey Arena in Belfast over the past six days, perhaps the organisers should have  started the games officially with the ice hockey tournaments. In fact the games will not be opened until Thursday when a special ceremony will be held at the King’s Hall, close to where I live in South Belfast. The games then run from Friday 2nd August until Saturday 10th.

Gold Medallist: Toronto Courts

Gold Medallist Toronto Courts: Photo © Michael Fisher

BBC Northern Ireland will bring full live coverage of the opening ceremony. Live pictures will be beamed across the world through online streaming from the King’s Hall complex: Log on to bbc.co.uk/ni. Coverage will begin from 6.30pm. BBC NI cameras will also be recording at the opening event for a special one-hour highlights programme. The programme is on BBC2 Northern Ireland on Saturday August 3rd at 7.30pm and repeated on Tuesday, August 6th on BBC2 at 7.00pm.

Presented by Gavin Andrews and Claire McCollum it will look back at the colour and spectacle of the opening ceremony as well as meeting up with some of those who have travelled from far and wide to take part in some of the events over the ten days. BBC Newsline will also report live from the opening ceremony. There will be further coverage of the games on BBC Radio Ulster including a number of outside broadcasts from across some of the different events.

Talkback will resonate to the sound of leather on willow as the World Police and Fire Games get under way. Wendy Austin will be live at the Stormont estate on Thursday, August 1 from 12-1-30pm, where the cricket competition will be in full swing. Later that day, Alan Simpson will bring his afternoon programme from the King’s Hall complex between 3 and 5pm looking towards the opening ceremony of the games in the evening.

Anne-Marie McAleese and the Your Place and Mine team will head to Donard Park in Newcastle on Saturday, August 3 from 8.05 to 9.05am – the location for the WPFG mountain running event, while Hugo Duncan will be at the Titanic Slipway on Wednesday, August 7 from 1.30-3pm, where the WPFG Ultimate Fire Fighter competition will take place.

Tonight the PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie and Dame Mary Peters arrived at the Odyssey to present medals to the winning teams in the Novice division of the ice hockey. Toronto Courts won gold, defeating North America Blue (silver medallists) 6-4 in a thrilling game. South West Finland Emergency Services received bronze medals.

Dame Mary Peters and Judith Gillespie at the medals ceremony

Dame Mary Peters & PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie  Photo © Michael Fisher

My day as the match announcer started with a high-scoring contest in which the Russian Home Affairs Ministry heavily defeated Trondheim Fire Department from Norway 11-0. This was in the 45+ division, as was the second game between Service Incendie de Montréal (Montreal Fire Service) and Finland Police. The team from Québec won 7-2.

Service Incendie de Montréal

Service Incendie de Montréal: Photo © Michael Fisher

Then came the final games in the Novice section. The dancing ladies from Finland got behind their team, South West Finland Emergency Services and they ran out easy winners over UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados. The Finns even lent their standby net minder to the Tornados, who had one of the smallest squads in the group and lost their net minder through injury. The ladies were in such great form afterwards that I called them down and gave them the microphone and got them to perform their song for the rest of the spectators. They also had a party piece that sounded very like “Glory, glory Norn Iron”, so I got them to perform that as well and asked the audience to join in, substituting their version accordingly!

Gold medallists Toronto Courts congratulate North America Blue (silver medallists)

Gold medallists Toronto Courts congratulate NA Blue (silver medallists): Photo © Michael Fisher

Having stood in the control box for three games it was time for me to have a break and I got to see the final period of the Gold Medal game in which Toronto Courts were the victors. After that it was time to help the team whatever way I could. I ended up being a goal judge for the third period of the game between the local side NI Tridents and Reykjavik Ice Falcons, whose warm-up was always preceded by the singing of a song in the dressing room. One Tridents goal came in at my end but it was not enough against the mighty Icelanders, who won 6-2. Two Gardaí are members of the Tridents team. The local fans really got behind the Tridents and hopefully the thrilling atmosphere will have given them a boost as they prepare to return to their day jobs.

Medal Ceremony at the Odyssey Arena

Medal Ceremony at the Odyssey Arena: Photo © Michael Fisher

Scores:

Russian Home Affairs Ministry  11  Trondheim Fire Department   0  (45+)

Service Incendie de Montréal  7  Finland Police  2  (45+)

UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados  1   South West Finland Emergency Services  11   (Novice)

Toronto Courts  6   North America Blue  4   (Novice Gold Medal Match)

NI Tridents  2   Reykjavik Ice Falcons  6   (Novice)

There will be more action tomorrow (Wednesday), my final day at the Odyssey Arena to bring a busy week to an end. Four matches will be held there and remember, they are all FREE! So drop in to see some fast and exciting action on the ice!

1pm  New York Fire & Ice  v  Trondheim Fire Department   (45+)

3pm  Russian Home Affairs Ministry  v  Service Incendie de Montreál

5pm  Boston Police Emerald Department  v  New York City Fire Department

7pm  Windsor 45s  v  Jyvaskyla Fire

The matches will continue from Friday 2nd until Friday 9th August, but I will not be involved with them as I have other work to do. A full schedule of ice hockey games at the Odyssey Arena and at Dundonald Ice Bowl can be found here. I will be back in action as a volunteer on August 9th and 10th and you will be able to read my blog about my experiences.

WPFG: ICE HOCKEY DAY5

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First win for NI Tridents 4-2 against UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados

First win for NI Tridents 4-2 against UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados

A great win tonight (their first in the round robin tournament) for the home team, Northern Ireland Tridents and their coach, Beni McAllister. The crowd at the Odyssey Arena cheered them on to a 4-2 victory over UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados. Their last match in the world police and fire games ice hockey will be tomorrow at 7pm against Reykjavik Ice Falcons from Iceland. I had time to take a break during this game but saw the third period and the team afterwards were delighted with their victory.

I was the announcer at the other four games today, arriving at the Arena at 9:30am and arriving home after 9:30pm. In the last match at 7pm Las Vegas Guns and Hoses who had proved a big hit with the locals defeated Reykjavik Ice Falcons 7-4. It was the last game for the Vegas side, who have now finished their participation in the games before the official opening ceremony on Thursday!

Las Vegas Guns & Hoses bid farewell with victory over Reykjavik Ice Falcons

Las Vegas Guns & Hoses bid farewell with victory over Reykjavik Ice Falcons

This morning the action stepped up a notch or two, with two games at division two level. Both featured teams from Finland. Fire Department New York beat Jyväskylä Fire. In the second match at 1pm, Tempere beat Boston Police Emerald Department. The third game at 3pm saw the return of the dancing Finnish ladies in support of SW Finland Emergency Services. It went to a penalty shootout against North America Blue, resulting in a thrilling win for NAB.

For those five and a half hours I was operating under the guidance of an expert resident team and the help of a few fellow volunteers in the small control area at the audience side of the ice. You have to remember not to try to attempt to cross the ice while the Zamboni resurfacing machine is at work. The ice is flooded after every two periods and the process takes at least 12 minutes, during which time the two goal nets have to be moved and then put back into place: one job I did not try to tackle!

Monday’s five games at the Odyssey (there were also two in the 45+ division at Dundonald Ice Bowl, Trondheim Fire Dept 4  Service Incendie Montreal 11 and Finland Police 4  New York Fire & Ice  3) :-

FDNY (New York)  4   Jyväskylä Fire 5

Tampere Police Dept  8  Boston Police Emerald Dept  5

SW Finland Emergency Service  4  North America Blue 3  (after penalty shootout)

NI Tridents  4   UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados  2

Las Vegas Guns & Hoses  7   Reykjavik Ice Falcons  4

Tuesday’s schedule at Dundonald Ice Bowl sees two division 2 matches:

Windsor 45s  v  FDNY and an all-Finnish clash between Jyväskylä Fire and Tampere Police Dept. The schedule for the Odyssey is:-

11am   Russian Home Affairs Ministry v Trondheim Fire Department (45+)

1pm  Service Incendie Montreal v Finland Police (45+)

3pm  UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados  v  SW Finland Emergency Service  (Novice)

5pm  North America Blue  v  Toronto Courts  (for the gold medal in the novice section)

7pm  NI Tridents v Reykjavik Ice Falcons  (Novice)

WPFG: ICE HOCKEY DAY4

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NI Tridents (5) v Las Vegas Guns and Hoses (6) Photo: © Michael Fisher

NI Tridents (5) v Las Vegas Guns and Hoses (6) Photo: © Michael Fisher

It was a great night at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, with nearly 2000 people managing to create a special atmosphere in the stadium. Local team NI Tridents put on their best performance so far in the round robin ice hockey tournament at the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast. In a closely contested match against the experienced Las Vegas Guns and Hoses, they lost by a single goal, 5-6. The crowd really got behind the Tridents, which I’m sure encouraged them. At one stage the match was at level pegging, 3-3, but Vegas scored again soon after the Tridents got their equaliser in the second period.

All this action is FREE and FUN! Tell your family and friends and get down to the Odyssey to follow the NI Tridents!

NI Tridents v Las Vegas Guns & Hoses: Photo © Michael Fisher

NI Tridents v Las Vegas Guns & Hoses: Photo © Michael Fisher

I began my day as a volunteer giving a lift to several members of the UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados team, who must have thought they were being kidnapped when I spotted them on the Malone Road! But I recognised a couple of them from watching them in action since Thursday. When we got to the Odyssey, I was told it was the birthday of the net minder, so the team organised a little present for him: as the announcer, I got the crowd to join me in singing Happy Birthday to Roger Hemming. His teammates then doused him with a bucket of water which had been hidden in the penalty box! The Tornados went down 11-2 to Toronto Courts, who have emerged as one of the top teams in this tournament.

It was an almost similar scoreline in the second match, with South West Finland Emergency Services seeing off their Nordic counterparts from the Reykjavik Ice Falcons 11-1. Before the game I mingled with the crowd and went up to where the Finnish ‘dancing ladies’ were sitting and greeted them with the only word in Finnish I could find this morning: ‘tervetuloa’, or welcome, and I got the crowd to applaud them.

So the results of today’s three games:

Toronto Courts  11   UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados  2

SW Finland  11   Reykjavik Ice Falcons 1   (1st period: 5-0)   (2nd period 8-1)

NI Tridents  5   Las Vegas Guns & Hoses  6

NI Falcons 5 Las Vegas Guns & Hoses 6

NI Falcons 5 Las Vegas Guns & Hoses 6 Photo: © MIchael Fisher

The NI Tridents Ice Hockey Club was formed in 2010 and originally comprised members of Northern Ireland’s three main emergency services; the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) and the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The team now includes members of An Garda Siochana, giving the Tridents a unique first as the only all-Ireland joint emergency services sporting team on the Island. When Dundalk Ice Rink was open, they played some of their games there.

Tomorrow there will be two matches at Dundonald Ice Bowl. In the 45+ competition, Trondheim Fire Department from Norway take on Service Incendie Montreal (Fire Service) at 1pm and Finland Police take on New York Fire & Ice at 3pm. At the Odyssey the first two games will be Division 2 standard, with New York City Fire facing off at 11am against another Finnish team, Jyvaskyla Fire and at 1pm, Tampere Police Department also from Finland take on Boston Police Emerald Department. SW Finland take on North America Blue at 3pm, followed by NI Tridents against UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados at 5pm, so please turn out in support of our home team. The final match at 7pm will see Las Vegas Guns & Hoses pitched against Reykjavik Ice Falcons.

Good crowd at the Odyssey Arena for the ice hockey

Good crowd at the Odyssey Arena for the ice hockey

WPFG: ICE HOCKEY DAY3

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Ice Hockey Fans at Odyssey Arena for WPFG 2013: Photo WPFG

Ice Hockey Fans at Odyssey Arena for WPFG 2013: Photo WPFG

The busiest day so far for me as a volunteer at the World Police and Fire Games, working at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast from 8am until 9pm. But I enjoyed being back at work again and having the opportunity to do some narrowcasting rather than broadcasting as an announcer in the stadium for the ice hockey. Thanks to the regulars who usually work at the Belfast Giants games for giving me some much needed guidance and support and helping me to say the right things (time of goal scored, for example) at what I hope was the right time.

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Finland fans enjoying the ice hockey action: Photo WPFG

With six ice hockey matches running from 9am until 9pm there was much to be done. The ‘regulars’ were great in bringing on board those of us with little or no ice hockey experience (apart from watching the Belfast Giants!). Even Finn McCool dropped in to encourage the support for the home team, Northern Ireland Tridents in the last match at 7pm.

One group of supporters who seemed to be enjoying every second were the dancing ladies from Finland, who moved into action once the music got going! Even when their team was behind in their second match, they remained vocal throughout the proceedings and if I had a prize to give out to visitors from outside Northern Ireland, it would surely go to them. I acted as announcer at the first two matches, took a break while the third was on, acted as a goal judge at the next and announcer at the fifth. I remained over on that side of the ice to take charge of one of the penalty boxes for the last match, so it was certainly a busy day.

Now for the results:-

9am     Toronto Courts  4  Las Vegas Guns & Hoses 5 (after penalty shootout)

11am    NI Tridents 1  SW Finland Emergency Services 15

1pm      North America Blue  7  Reykjavik Ice Falcons  1

3pm      UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados  3  Las Vegas Guns  Hoses  8

5pm      Toronto Courts 7   SW Finland Emergency Services 4

7pm      NI Tridents 1   North America Blue 5    wpfgpuck

There are three more matches on the schedule tomorrow, at 3pm (Toronto Courts v UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados), at 5pm (SW Finland Emergency Services v Reykjavik Ice Falcons) and the final one at 7pm when the NI Tridents take on Las Vegas Guns and Hoses. Remember, admission is FREE! Come and support the local team!

WPFG: ICE HOCKEY DAY2

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SW Finland Emergency Services on way to 8-0 win over Las Vegas Guns & Hoses Photo: WPFG

SW Finland Emergency Services on way to 8-0 win over Las Vegas Guns & Hoses Photo: WPFG

My expertise as a broadcaster was out to good use at the ice hockey competition of the 2013 World Police and Fire Games when I was asked to fulfil the job of announcer. Only problem was I read out the names of both teams at the beginning and by that stage the face-off had already taken place! Maybe my timing will be better if they ask me to do another game. I did my best at the start to welcome all visitors, local and otherwise. At the end I encourage the fans of SW Finland Emergency Services to congratulate their team with their chants of ‘Suomi’. They finished 8-0 visitors over Las Vegas Guns and Roses, who I mentioned in my blog yesterday.

Toronto Courts v Reykjavik Ice Falcons

Toronto Courts v Reykjavik Ice Falcons


Taking a meal break, I was able to watch a bit of the action in the second game when Toronto Courts won 10-0 against Reykjavik Ice Falcons. In the third and final game I took on a new role of goal judge and needed to switch the red light on six times: four goals for North America Blue in the second period and then against the run of play, two goals for UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados. Good support from the crowd when they scored but the result was a comprehensive win for Toronto Courts 10-2 over the Tornados. So the spectators were well rewarded with thirty goals in total.

WPFG 2013: ICE HOCKEY

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WPFG Volunteer Michael Fisher with Kim Harper, Las Vegas Guns & Hoses Picture: © Kelvin Boyes, Press Eye

WPFG Volunteer Michael Fisher with Kim Harper, Las Vegas Guns & Hoses Picture: © Kelvin Boyes, Press Eye

The 2013 World Police and Fire Games have started in Belfast with the preliminary rounds in the ice hockey tournament, which are being played at the Odyssey Arena. Day One of my week as a WPFG volunteer was taken up with meeting other members of the team including the event controllers and the other volunteers. The Odyssey staff were also very helpful and I am now more familiar with the layout of the complex.

The first sign: Registration

The first sign: Registration

There were three games at the venue today, starting at 3pm. Reykjavik Ice Falcons from Iceland took on the UK Firefighters/HMP Tornados and ran out 6-2 winners. The second game saw North America Blue defeat Las Vegas Guns and Hoses (among them sharpshooter Kimberly Harper, pictured above) by 5-3. Kim is a patrol deputy with Bonner County Sheriff’s Office in Las Vegas.

The crowd which had been around 500 for the first two games almost doubled when the local team NI Tridents took to the ice against Toronto Courts. The Canadians were a much stronger outfit and there was a great cheer from the crowd when the Tridents scored their first goal in the second period, when they were trailing well behind. Toronto won 11-3 but it was a gutsy performance by our local representatives who will be back in action on Saturday at 11am against SW Finland Emergency Services. Anyone who wants to watch can come along. Entrance is FREE. So get behind the Tridents!

Dame Mary Peters arrives at the Odyssey

Dame Mary Peters arrives at the Odyssey

One of the jobs I found myself doing was to meet the games patron Dame Mary Peters as she arrived to see the NI Tridents in action. ‘Thank you for volunteering’ was her message to myself and a colleague at the entrance. Other important guests included the First Minister Peter Robinson and the Northern Ireland Minister for Culture Carál Ní Chuilín.

Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín and First Minister Peter Robinson interviewed by BBC News

Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín and First Minister Peter Robinson interviewed by BBC News

Mr Robinson said he was proud to have such an event in Northern Ireland. In an interview with BBC News he said: “It has been a long time in the planning indeed for the lads who are out on the ice at the moment, three years they’ve been working up to this, so this is the pinnacle for them, at a top class event, to be able to participate and it’s the start of a whole long period of top class events.” Ms Ní Chuilín said there would be something at the games for everyone. “It’s mostly free and that’s what it’s about,” she told reporter Chris Buckler. I will be back at the Odyssey complex tomorrow afternoon.

Odyssey Arena, Belfast

Odyssey Arena, Belfast