Belfast City Council has voted in favour of holding a joint civic reception for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland teams.
The full council has yet to vote on the motion but the strategic policy and resources committee, which met to discuss the proposition, last night endorsed it by a vote of 12 to 7. The whole council is to vote on the matter this evening.
The protests envisioned by PUP leader Billy Hutchinson didn't materialise on the scale predicted - at least, not last night. Five loyalist demonstrators turned up to protest the proposal.
Speaking at the meeting last night, Hutchinson insisted he had not called a protest but said he feared the presence of one Republic of Ireland player could spark protests. His worry lay not with the entire Republic of Ireland team but with that one player.
PUP Cllr Billy Hutchinson says he did not call a protest, says he said he fears the presence of one ROI player cld spark protests
— Rebecca Black (@RBlackBT) January 5, 2016
Cllr Billy Hutchinson says he was complaining about one player, not the entire ROI team.
— David McCann (@dmcbfs) January 5, 2016
The UUP's Jim Rodgers, who was one of the first to raise objections to the proposition, remarked that the Republic of Ireland had stolen Northern Ireland eligible players.
Ald Rodgers says the ROI team "stole our players" as some we eligible to play for NI.
— David McCann (@dmcbfs) January 5, 2016
Another PUP member, John Kyle remarked that the proposal was merely a political gimmick and that politics should be kept out of sport. He said that football could learn from rugby. At this point, some nationalist councillors muttered an unsurprising riposte - 'Yeah, one team'.
.@cllrjohnkyle says football should not be a political issue. We should learn from rugby. Nat Cllrs mutter "yeah one team"
— David McCann (@dmcbfs) January 5, 2016
Sinn Fein's Niall O'Donnghaile asserted that it was not sectarian to hold an allegiance to the Republic of Ireland team but it was enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. He pointed out that Sinn Fein had supported the hosting of a reception for the Northern Ireland team.
Sinn Fein Cllr Niall O Donnghaile says it is not sectarian and not wrong to have an allegiance to the Irish football team
— Rebecca Black (@RBlackBT) January 5, 2016
The two biggest unionist parties tabled their own amendments, both of which were knocked back.
The DUP proposed an amendment saying that the council 'welcomes the attendance of the Northern Ireland team' at a civic reception on 9th November and proposed that instead of inviting the two teams on the island to a joint reception the council should instead write to the four football associations of the British Isles congratulating them on their qualification.
The UUP proposed that the council should host a reception for the England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland teams.
Both amendments were defeated. Together, the nationalist parties and the Alliance Party enjoy a majority on the council and are backing the idea.
Belfast City Council is set to join Dublin in holding a joint reception for the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland teams.
It remains to be seen whether the Republic of Ireland player with whom Billy Hutchinson has a problem will be in attendance.
[H-T : Slugger O'Toole + Belfast Telegraph]
Read more: Warning That Belfast Reception For Republic Of Ireland Team Will Spark Loyalist Protests
