(PRWEB) June 06, 2012
On Wednesday 6th June, the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung will travel 124.97 miles through four communities on its way from Dublin to Belfast.
Today the Relay will travel 124.97 miles
91 Torchbearers will carry the Flame
Evening celebration to take place at City Hall, Belfast
Images from today can be downloaded here
The Relay will travel through the communities of Dublin, Newry, Lisburn and Belfast. 40 Torchbearers will carry the Flame in Dublin, where the Relay will start at 9.08am.
The first Torchbearer of the day will be Irish sportsman Henry Sheflin, 33, from Kilkenny, who will carry the Flame along the Skywalk at Croke Park. Henry plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999. He was the All-Ireland winning captain in 2007 and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Torchbearer Alva Nolan will visit the Taoiseach with the Flame in front of the Government building gates. Alva, from Dublin, has volunteered with Special Olympics since 2007. She has qualified as a match official in Basketball and referees and coaches athletes with Blackrock Flyers Special Olympics Club. She has also officiated at regional events and has organised fundraising events for Special Olympics Ireland.
The last Torchbearer in Dublin will be Sonia OSullivan, who will carry the Flame to the Community Festival at St Stephens Green. Sonia won a silver medal in the 5000m at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She also competed in Barcelona Olympics Games 1992, Atlanta Olympics Games 1996 and subsequently the Athens Games 2004. She will be the Chef de Mission for Team Ireland at the London Olympic Games 2012.
Other Torchbearers who will carry the Flame in Dublin include:
Olympic boxer Michael Carruth, 44, from Naas. He won a boxing gold medal at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He is the only Irish Boxer to have won gold at the Olympics. Michael turned professional in 1994 and retired from the sport in 2000. Michael is now a Boxing Development Officer with Dublin City Council.
John and Edward Grimes, who are better known as pop duo Jedward. They finished 6th on X-Factor in 2009 and are now managed by Louis Walsh who was their mentor during the show. They represented Ireland this year for the second time in the Eurovision song contest.
Irish rugby player, Shane Horgan, 34, from Bellewstown. He recently retired from rugby due to injury, following a superb career as a centre and winger that included 65 caps for Ireland, being part of three Triple Crown winning sides and gaining a British and Irish Lions tour spot. Now a media pundit, he is one of the most popular figures in Irish sport and a legend in Leinster rugby, where he racked up 207 caps for his province including a European Cup victory.
Irish rugby player, Denis Hickie, 36, from Dublin, was selected to carry the Flame by Samsung. He is one of the great names in Leinster and Irish rugby and has earned 51 caps for Ireland as an explosive winger. Now retired from the competitive game, he is one of the top Irish try scorers of all time and has toured with the British & Irish Lions.
Robbie Lyons, 17, from Laois, was selected to carry the Flame by Coca Cola. He has had a rare condition from childhood. He received a kidney transplant in 2009 and joined the Irish Kidney Associations Transplant Team Ireland in 2010. Since then he has represented his country at the World Transplant Games in Gothenburg, Sweden, winning two silver and one gold medal.
Pamela Lacken, 34, from Ennis, was selected to carry the Flame by Lloyds TSB. Pamela is one of 200 winners from over 1,700 nominations in the Lloyds Banking Groups Making a Difference Awards campaign in the UK. She travelled to Athens in 2011 as part of the Special Olympics Ireland team of volunteers at the World Summer Games and also volunteers with the Ennis Eagles Bowling club.
Following the Community Festival at St Stephens Green, the Torch Relay will return to Northern Ireland. The Relay will start in Newry at 1.29pm and finish in Belfast at 7.20pm. 51 Torchbearers will carry the Flame including:
The first Torchbearer in Newry will be Laura Quinn, 12, from Newry who will start with the Flame at Newry Town Hall. Laura was nominated for being an excellent role model in school. Laura is a very good sports girl and has already represented the school at cross country at a number of local events. She is a keen gaelic footballer and always participates with enthusiasm in PE lessons and has shown a lot of interest in the Olympics. What makes Laura stand out though is her willingness to contribute to her local community and at the young age of 12 has already made an excellent contribution by helping out at her local youth club every week, working with primary school children organising equipment and refereeing games.
Evie Dornan, 15, from Lisburn, will carry the Flame to the Lisburn Civic Centre before the lunchtime stop. She was selected dedication to sport and for promoting the Olympic ethos.
Martin Mcneil, 43, from Banbridge, will carry the Flame from Lisburn Civic Centre after the lunchtime stop. He was nominated for being inspirational to others by the way he has dealt with his injuries that he sustained in a motorbike accident in 2004 which has left his paralysed from the waist down.
The last Torchbearer of the day in Belfast will Laura Mccann, 28, from Belfast, She was selected for the time and dedication that she gives to her job as a PE teacher at St Dominics Grammar School.
The evening celebration will take place in at City Hall, Belfast and will feature a variety of entertainment staged by LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay – Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – with support from Belfast City Council.
The line-up includes music from General Fiasco, a dance troupe who will provide a unique fusion of street performance, theatre and sport and dance act Twist and Pulse. There will also be entertainment from local acts staged by Belfast City Council.
Towards the end of the two-hour show, the last Torchbearer of the day in Belfast Laura Mccann – will light a celebration cauldron on stage at the event which will enable the Olympic Flame to be seen by the audience.
Other Torchbearers on the Newry to Belfast journey include:
Olympian Dame Mary Peters, 72, from Dunmurry, will carry the Flame in Belfast. During the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, Mary provided a welcome distraction to the political issues when she ran, jumped and threw her way into the record books to win gold in the Pentathlon. It was a remarkable achievement, with the addition of setting a world record points total and beating the local favourite into second place the icing on the cake. Having lived in Northern Ireland since the age of 11, Mary calls herself an ‘Ulsterwoman’ and her achievement in Munich resonated back to Belfast where the terrorist troubles were at their worst. There was temporary calm as rivals all celebrated together the countrys greatest sporting success. Mary is still involved with sport, most notably with The Mary Peters Trust which helps young people in Northern Ireland achieve excellence in sport. Without the funding from the Trust many athletes would not go on to achieve such success.
Olympic boxer Wayne McCullough, 41, from Belfast, will carry the Flame in Belfast. He won a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He then turned professional in the USA and stood toe-to-toe with 11 World champions. He now divides his time being a TV pundit, writing for Sky Sports and a range of online boxing magazines around the globe.
TV and radio presenter, Colin Murray, 35, from Belfast, will carry the Flame in Belfast. He was
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