Opinion

Game for Anto inspirational

Anto Finnegan walks off the pitch at Ravenhill after the historic Game for Anto. Picture by Hugh Russell 
Anto Finnegan walks off the pitch at Ravenhill after the historic Game for Anto. Picture by Hugh Russell  Anto Finnegan walks off the pitch at Ravenhill after the historic Game for Anto. Picture by Hugh Russell 

THE argument that sport and politics should not mix was turned on its head in east Belfast on Saturday evening.

Several leading politicians attended a Gaelic football match in the Kingspan Rugby Stadium at Ravenhill.

Their attendance reflected wide support for the occasion from across our society and it offered a practical insight into what a shared future might look like.

The occasion was the Game for Anto, a Gaelic football match in honour of Anto Finnegan, who is suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Mr Finnegan's career as an Antrim senior footballer has shown him to be a model sportsman and an inspirational character, both on and off the field.

Although it took place in a state-of-theart sports stadium, the event's significance extended far beyond the world of sport.

The game was about the human values of friendship, kindness and caring.

It was about fellow Gaelic footballers honouring one of their own, not in a traditional GAA setting, but in the home of Ulster rugby.

While proceeds from the event will help to fund research into MND, the game raised more than funds.

It raised the role of sport as a positive influence in society here.

It raised hopes that perhaps sports men and women can carve out the more tolerant, enlightened and integrated future which appears to be beyond the ambition of the current political talks.

It even raised the prospect of our politicians trying to catch up with political progress in wider society.

The event challenged the commonly expressed belief that intransigent politics here merely reflect an intransigent people.

It was an exhibition of all that is best in our society and a demonstration of what can be achieved by focussing on what unites us, rather than what divides us.

In competitive terms, The Irish News Ulster All Stars team won what was a relatively unimportant match.

However, in terms of its wider sporting significance, everyone involved emerged victorious from this hugely inspirational game. There were no losers at Ravenhill.

Inspired by Anto Finnegan's courage and by the positive attitude of those who organised the event, all of those present were there to give.

Sadly, the increasingly negative culture of politics here is often more about refusing to give.

It was therefore encouraging to see the wide range of senior politicians who attended the event.

If they can learn from it, the Game for Anto will have been more than a charitable fund-raising event and more than an occasion which broke the mould of sporting division here.

If our politicians would care to follow the leadership of our sports men and women, Saturday night's event could be remembered as a game-changer for Northern Ireland politics.