Best immortalised on bank notes

Soccer hero George Best is to be immortalised on a million commemorative £5 bank notes, it was announced today.

The Ulster Bank is to issue the limited edition notes as a tribute to the footballing genius next month to mark the first anniversary of his death.

The celebration of one of the North’s best-known sporting heroes will feature George Best in both his Northern Ireland and Manchester United strips.

Finalised artwork for the note was unveiled at the bank’s Belfast headquarters by chief executive Cormac McCarthy.

There to see it before anyone else were members of the Best family and representatives of the George Best Foundation – the star’s father Dickie Best and sister Barbara McNarry.

Mr McCarthy said: “At the outset of this project we wanted to ensure that, in celebrating the life of this legendary footballer, we paid fitting tribute to his contribution to football in Northern Ireland and beyond.

“We wanted to make it possible for fans throughout Northern Ireland and further afield to own their very own piece of unique George Best memorabilia.”

He added: “By selecting the most affordable note denomination, five pounds, we have tried to make the notes as widely accessible as possible.

“This is the first time that Ulster Bank has commissioned a commemorative bank note and by limiting the print run to a million notes, we feel this makes the initiative even more significant.”

At the same time, the bank said that in keeping with its continuing community investment programme, it was making a donation to the George Best Foundation to support the promotion of cross-community contact through participation in football.

The Best family was thrilled with both the unique tribute and the donation.

Mrs McNarry, company secretary of the foundation, said: “When Ulster Bank approached us with the idea of creating a commemorative bank note, we had no hesitation in supporting the project.

“The unique tribute to George and the fact that so many people will be able to ‘own’ this special memento is a welcome and fitting accolade at this particularly poignant time.”

Mrs McNarry thanked the bank for their contribution to the foundation, which promotes healthy living through participation in sport.

The £5 George Best notes will be available from mid-November and are expected to be snapped up by fans – with few actually going into general circulation.

Application forms will be available from Ulster Bank branches in the North and the Republic of Ireland from November 13 or online at www.georgebestfive.com/.co.uk.

The notes will then be available to purchase at any Ulster Bank branch in Northern Ireland from November 27.