Call for Northern Ireland's Olympic athletes to get open-top bus treatment as Stormont reception planned
While fans today celebrated the homecoming of Coleraine Olympian Hannah Scott, the government was being urged to put on a fully-blown public celebration of the Province’s triumphs at the games.
The gold medal-winning rower got a rapturous reception from fans in her native town yesterday, two days after the Team GB and Team Ireland athletes arrived home from Paris.
The News Letter can now reveal that some kind of event is planned at Stormont to mark the seven medals won by competitors from Northern Ireland – but it could be weeks away, and it is not clear what form it will take.
Former Ireland rugby international Trevor Ringland has instead urged Stormont to act now and stage an open-topped bus tour – or some similar large-scale event open to the public – to mark their major sporting success.
Team GB athletes got a warm welcome from crowds at London’s St Pancras station on Monday as they returned, and in Dublin a public meet-and-greet event was staged for Team Ireland’s Olympic squad.
Gold-winning swimmer Daniel Wiffen toured his native Magheralin in Co Armagh on Tuesday, and today Hannah Scott made a public appearance at Bann Rowing Club, where she has been a long-term member, to cheers and club members holding up oars for her to walk through.
Later crowds lined the streets of her Co Londonderry town as she made her way to the Diamond for a reception at the Town Hall.
She said she “almost can’t quite believe that it actually all happened”.
But Mr Ringland stressed that there should be some unified event for all of the athletes from Northern Ireland.
The Department for Communities has told the News Letter: “We are planning a reception in Parliament Buildings for all our Olympians and Paralympians following the Games.”
But it is not clear if this will be open to the public, or will be a mere photo opportunity for politicians.
Added to which, the mention of the Paralympics suggests that this event is still weeks away, since those games don’t start until August 28.
Mr Ringland said: “Certainly if there is a reception at Stormont I can understand that. But that'd be a relatively select few that'd get access to them.
"What would the ordinary people want? Open top buses for all the athletes, and particularly those that won medals obviously…
"Is it that we have a bigger public reception in the grounds of Belfast City Hall or Hillsborough? Up in Derry they'd love to have an opportunity to recognise it I'm sure as well.
"There's a number of options – one of which absolutely would be the reception at Stormont.
"But I think it has to be a bit more than that. We want the ordinary people, basically the rest of us, to get an opportunity to congratulate them and recognise their success.”
He suggested an open-topped bus tour, a big public reception, then something similar after the Paralympics too.
The idea of a bus tour could be “done very easily in the next week or two – and that could be replicated around the Province too which would be good… it’s a very easy one – there’s no real expense involved”.
Speaking today in Coleraine, Hannah Scott: “I’d consider it [competing at the 2028 Olympics]. It’s a long slog so I think I just need to take it one step at a time and enjoy this moment first.”
Scott was part of the celebrations in Coleraine in 2012 when Alan Campbell and Richard and Peter Chambers won Olympic medals.
“All the support we get from home is really special. I’m really lucky in terms of the close community here,” she said.
“It was my dream in my head, so for that to be happening now is amazing. It’s just been really special that I’ve had the support from home, because I’ve been down, I’ve been up. It’s not an easy journey in sport.”
Scott described Lady Mary Peters as an inspiration to her.
“I haven’t talked to her yet but I want to soon as she’s been a name and a legend in Northern Ireland my whole life,” she said.
She also said she hopes others may be inspired by her medal.
“We’ve got a really special rowing club here which meant a lot to me growing up. The people who are volunteering there clearly know what they are doing,” she said.
“Rowing is a really positive thing for this community and I think we should really encourage that and sport in general for everyone. It’s a really good life lesson for kids growing up and also just in terms of our health.”
The last Olympic gold medal won by an athlete from Northern Ireland was in 1988, when Stephen Martin was part of the Team GB hockey team.
The last individual gold Olympic medal won by an athlete from Northern Ireland was Lady Peters in 1972.
The medal-winners from Northern Ireland this year were split evenly between Ireland and Team GB.
The Irish ones were:
Rhys McClenaghan of Newtownards (aged 25, gold, pommel horse), Daniel Wiffen of Magheralin, Co Armagh (aged 23, gold in 800m freestyle, bronze in 1500m freestyle) and Philip Doyle of Banbridge (aged 31, bronze, double sculls).
The Team GB ones were:
Jack McMillan of Belfast (aged 24, gold, 4x200m freestyle relay), Rebecca Shorten of Belfast (aged 30, silver, coxless four rowing) and Hannah Scott of Coleraine (aged 25, gold, quadruple sculls).