Paisley and McGuinness congratulate the Irish cricket team

The future First Minister and deputy First Minister today sent a letter of congratulations to the Ireland cricket team on their achievements in the Cricket World Cup.

The Rt Hon Dr Ian Paisley MP, MLA and Mr Martin McGuinness MP, MLA have also issued an invitation for the team to attend a reception in Parliament Buildings, in recognition of their performances in the West Indies.

Wishing them all the best in their final game, Dr Paisley said: “This is a marvellous achievement. I warmly congratulate the team and pay particular tribute to the Northern Ireland players and their manager, Ulsterman, Roy Torrens. They have firmly put local cricket on the map. Qualifying for the tournament itself was tremendous, but making the Super Eight stage was nothing short of remarkable. This is a real boost for grass roots cricket locally and a big encouragement for young people to take up the game.”

Mr McGuinness said: “Irish teams and their supporters are world renowned for their willingness to celebrate our sporting successes. When these are achieved against the odds and confound all expectations it makes them all the sweeter. I am of course particularly delighted to have seen the contribution made to the teams success of local players Jeremy Bray, Peter Gillespie, Kyle McCallan and Andrew White.”

The Ministers said they would very much welcome the team, managers and officials to Parliament Buildings and look forward to more success in the future.

In conclusion they added: “While this is a time for celebration for local cricket, we should remember that the time in the Caribbean was tinged with sadness, as a result of the tragic and untimely death of Mr Bob Kerr, a leading light in North West and Irish cricket, over many years.”

Notes to Editors

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