BOMB VICTIM TO LEAD OUT IRISH RUGBY TEAM
Bomb victim to lead out Irish rugby team
IRISH rugby will salute the courage of one of the boys injured in the Omagh bomb when he leads the Ireland team onto the pitch for their Five Nations Championship match against England in March.
Twelve-year-old Alastair Hall will stride out along-side Irish captain, Keith Wood, in front of an expected 50,000 fans at Lansdowne Road, Dublin on Saturday, March 6.
Alastair, a pupil at Omagh Academy where he was a key player on the school team before he was injured in the Real IRA bombing, lost his right leg below the knee.
He showed bravery and extraordinary courage to struggle through long hours of therapy to get back to normal life.
Wearing his newly fitted artificial limb under his tracksuit, he smiled broadly as he explained how Ireland manger, Donal Lenihan, had invited him to be the team mascot.
The Irish management and some members of the team visited Alastair in November at the school when they presented him with an Irish shirt and a signed ball, as well as other goodies.
Now Alastair will travel with the players in their coach and then, dressed in Ireland's green strip, lead them onto the pitch for the game with England.
His mother, Gwen, who was also badly injured in the blast, said Alastair never once complained about his injuries.
"He just seems to accept it," she said.
IRISH rugby will salute the courage of one of the boys injured in the Omagh bomb when he leads the Ireland team onto the pitch for their Five Nations Championship match against England in March.
Twelve-year-old Alastair Hall will stride out along-side Irish captain, Keith Wood, in front of an expected 50,000 fans at Lansdowne Road, Dublin on Saturday, March 6.
Alastair, a pupil at Omagh Academy where he was a key player on the school team before he was injured in the Real IRA bombing, lost his right leg below the knee.
He showed bravery and extraordinary courage to struggle through long hours of therapy to get back to normal life.
Wearing his newly fitted artificial limb under his tracksuit, he smiled broadly as he explained how Ireland manger, Donal Lenihan, had invited him to be the team mascot.
The Irish management and some members of the team visited Alastair in November at the school when they presented him with an Irish shirt and a signed ball, as well as other goodies.
Now Alastair will travel with the players in their coach and then, dressed in Ireland's green strip, lead them onto the pitch for the game with England.
His mother, Gwen, who was also badly injured in the blast, said Alastair never once complained about his injuries.
"He just seems to accept it," she said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0592
Published Date: 07-Jan-99
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