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.