United in tragedy - Sporting tributes to lives lost

More often than not, sport tends to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, be it the use of performance enhancing drugs, match fixing or violence on the pitch, and so it is refreshing to see sportsmen and women play a leading role in commemorating victims of two appalling disasters.

Sadly, by sheer coincidence, the name Hillsborough is stamped on tragedies which have drawn communities together across the decades and were recalled in sports grounds across Ireland and Britain over the weekend in moments of shared emotion.

Reflecting the national sense of sorrow, especially among farming families, a deeply moving memorial service was held for 22-year-old Ulster rugby player Nevin Spence at Ravenhill in Belfast and which, significantly, was attended by people from across the sporting, religious and political spectrums. Tragically, he died in an accident on the family farm in Co Down last week, along with his father and brother when they were overcome by poisonous slurry fumes.

Fittingly, the emphasis of the service led by Presbyterian minister Reverend Andrew Thompson, chaplain to the Ulster Rugby team, was one of celebration rather than grief. It was, he said, a time to recall the “life and sporting career of one of Ulster’s most talented and committed players”.

Illustrating the significance of the cross-border nature of the game of rugby, Ireland and Ulster hooker Rory Best paid tribute to the young player whose life and sporting career ended so tragically. The feeling of shared grief was echoed at sports grounds up and down the country, including Thomond Park in Limerick where black armbands were worn and a minute’s silence was observed by the Munster team.

In a countrywide display of unity with the Spence family, the deep sense of shared loss was marked in silence before other games around the country. Hundreds of thousands of people who watched yesterday’s All-Ireland football final between victorious Donegal and Mayo were reminded of the Spence family by commentator Ger Canning who added their name to the list of those being commemorated by the GAA in the pre-match minute’s silence.

Yesterday was also an emotional time of reconciliation at Liverpool’s Anfield ground where 96 football supporters who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were commemorated before the match between Manchester United and Liverpool. Silence was observed and balloons released in memory of the victims who were finally vindicated by the truth about the outrageous smear campaign designed to blame the catastrophe on innocent Liverpool fans.

Despite the natural rivalry between every sport, the meaningful manner of remembrance of the two tragedies of Hillsborough will hopefully send out a clear message and set an example, especially for young people, of the importance of sharing and uniting in the face of overwhelming adversity, and of the incalculable value of basic human qualities in coping with the deeper challenges of life.