Hurling prize named after unionist
Monday, 19 July 2010
The statue of Edward Carson on the Stormont estate
A new Gaelic games challenge has taken its name from a rather unlikely source - the founding father of Ulster unionism.Competitors in the first ever hurling event in the Stormont estate in Belfast - a place steeped in the historical trappings of British rule in Northern Ireland - will be playing for the Edward Carson trophy.
On face value, the Dublin-born barrister who led the campaign against Irish independence a century ago is an unusual choice for anyone looking to christen a prize for the quintessentially nationalist sport.
But Sinn Fein MP Gerry Adams, who has helped organise the inaugural "Poc ar an Cnoc" (puck on the hill), which will take place below Carson's famous statute in Stormont next month, thought otherwise.
"I discovered, much to my surprise, that Carson was a hurler in his days at Trinity College (Dublin)," he explained at the launch of the event in Parliament Buildings.
"So this man who is arguably the father of unionism was also a Gael and I thought that was an interesting concept."
He added: "When Carson was playing for this hurling club at Trinity he got an honourable mention in the Irish Sportsman (journal of the day) as having distinguished himself on the field so we thought it would be a great idea to have an Edward Carson trophy.
"This notion of Gaelic sports being in any way for one section of people here, I think once you just lift the lid of it (that's not the case) and hopefully one of the good things that may come out of all of this is that it will be received positively and favourably and people will embrace it."
The Poc Fada (long puck) will see hurlers young and old hitting sliotars (hurling balls) up the mile-long Prince of Wales Avenue that leads to Parliament Buildings.
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