Belfast grieves for its ‘pure genius’ working-class hero

IAN HOUGHTON witnessed the grief of customers queuing at his fish and chip van on the Belfast housing estate where the soccer legend grew up.

The people of the Cregagh, who saw Best as a folk hero, were numb.

Pride burned in the eyes of others on the estate, a mile from Belfast’s shipyards and where Best’s father Dickie still lives.

Like so many others David McAuley, 61, confessed to being a Manchester United fan entranced by the slightly built winger who bewitched opposition defences at Old Trafford.

But the now retired machine operator had realised what lay in store years before Best’s rise to fame.

“I remember him growing up here,” Mr McAuley said. “Even when he was dribbling about on that field he could have beaten half of Arsenal or Liverpool on his own. He was a pure genius.”

Amid his sorrow over Best, Mr McAuley focused concern on how his father would cope. “I give him a lift every now and again and he’s had it hard these last few years,” he said.

“He’s a wee gentleman.”

At Dickie Best’s small terraced house on Burren Way, a tiny plaque on the wall tells visitors this is the family home of soccer legend George Best, awarded the freedom of the borough of Castlereagh in April 2002. It is the only evidence that a sporting superstar was raised in the working class neighbourhood.

In the Red Devil bar in west Belfast they raised their glasses in celebration of Best’s life and times.

Dick Forte, 63, hailed the genius of the Manchester United legend.

“He was just magical. The only thing that never happened to him was that he never got to play in the World Cup. He could have won the World Cup on his own if Northern Ireland had got through.

“If he had been in his prime today you would be talking about £100m to buy him. His wages would have been out of this world.”

Barman Jimmy Killyleagh said: “He will be remembered as a pure genius.

“He was a different class. The only disappointing thing about him was that he never played on. He could have played into his mid-30s and had he done so, I would say he could have been the greatest.”

A yellow plaque featuring an iconic image of the winger and the legend ‘The Best’ hangs on the bar cabinet, above a bottle of vodka, bourbon and cognac.