A LOCAL cross-community group has highlighted how the success of two Fermanagh rowers at this year’s Paris Olympics was all brought about by turning tragedy into hope.
Kinawley’s Ross Corrigan and Nathan Timoney from Enniskillen finished a brilliant sixth in the men’s pair final in the French capital but for UISCE Director, Keith McNair, the catalyst for their success took place many years before this during the height of the Troubles.
“In November 1987, on Remembrance Sunday, an IRA bomb exploded at Enniskillen cenotaph. It was to kill 12 people, physically injure sixty-five, and devastate an entire community,” Mr McNair said.
“As a consequence of this tragedy, a teacher and headmaster at Enniskillen’s Portora Royal School wanted to do something that could help heal the trauma and divisions surrounding the Remembrance Day bomb.
“They approached two local Roman Catholic Schools, St Michael’s and Mount Lourdes neither of which, at the time, had access to Portora Royal’s Boat Club. Portora went on to divest itself of the Boat Club to form Enniskillen Royal Boat Club, open to all schools and rowing clubs in Fermanagh.
“Funds were raised to develop the club’s facilities, and since then rowing in Fermanagh is racing ahead in both men and ladies rowing, competing in all the major Irish, UK, European and wider competitions; winning many medals, with this year, the two local lads, Ross and Nathan competing in the Paris Olympic finals.”
UISCE stands for Understanding Ireland: Socially, Culturally & Economically. It is an international, multi-cultural, community of volunteers, interns and scholars based in Enniskillen at The Clinton Centre.
Its aim is “to secure, by 2031, the ongoing engagement of 3.5 per cent of the population in Northern Ireland in creatively and sensitively exploring resistances to peacebuilding as resources of transformation.”
To this end, the development of rowing in Fermanagh is a shining example of the progress that can be made despite religious and political differences here.
“Ross and Nathan’s success is a cause for celebration for all the people of Northern Ireland, Ireland and the UK, and also because, from the dust and the mourning of the Remembrance Day bomb, a way was found to actually build peace and create opportunities for all,” Mr McNair said.
“Some might object that the two lads, from Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, chose to compete as an Irish team. Yet this is another cause for celebration. Under our Peace Agreement, the people of Northern Ireland have the legal right and personal freedom to identify as British, Irish or both; and a person’s political preference does not need to interfere with our celebration of another’s success.
“This is one example of opportunities we can and should look for that can emerge from tragedy, where ‘the gift is in the challenge’.
“The key to this transformation is the trust, courage and commitment of individuals to identify what we each can do, in real terms, to actually build peace and not simply remain as passive observers of current affairs.”
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