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Closing Sectarian Gulf with Golf
25th August 2010
The Suffolk Lenadooon Interface Group (SLIG) is using the game of golf as a fair- way of closing the sectarian gulf.
A cross-community golfing competition involving people from Suffolk and Lenadoon took place at the Colin Valley Golfing Centre on Monday 16 August.
Ewan Suttie was the overall winner, while Kevin Mc Ilvenny was”nearest the pin,” according to Joe Hamill, the SLIG Intercultural Worker who organised the event. Brendan Sadlier took the best back nine trophy while Mark Wilton took the best front nine prize.
SLIG was linked to another golfing event the day before also aimed at reducing sectarian tensions. This was the Brooke and Suffolk Cross Community Golf Classic, organised by community workers from Brooke Park and Suffolk in memory of local community worker, Harry Hagan, who died earlier this summer. Highly respected by all communities lying along the Belfast – Lisburn boundary, Harry Hagan was one of the innovators of interface telephone networks.
The competition was held on Sunday 15 August from 8am - 4pm at the Colin Valley Golf Centre, close to where rival gangs have often clashed. The organisers of the cross-community event invited various sporting personalities along with Miss Northern Ireland, Lori Moore, who comes from Suffolk. May Mc Fethridge played a round or two and provided free entertainment afterwards at the presentation and buffet dinner in the Balmoral Hotel, one of the main sponsors of the event.