Isn’t Rio Great?

I guess many of us have been watching the Olympics?  Congratulations must go to everyone who has made it so memorable, especially Matt McGovern (Ballyholme YC) & Ryan Seaton (Carrickfergus SC) who finished 10th in the 49er Class, and to Annalise Murphy from National YC who won Silver in the Laser Radial Class.  Fantastic performances!  We’re proud of you all.  And of course to Annalise’s coach, Rory Fitzpatrick, who must have learned all there is about coaching, and drinking, when he took a group of us to the European Laser Masters in Spain a few years ago!  The Rio boys didn’t make it…#Tokyo.

Well done also to the athletics team and good luck to the local athletes still to compete this weekend @ppmarathon

Rio has not been without its controversy, that continues today with ticketing allegations and funding issues surrounding the Paralympics.  The most controversial aspect though, must be where some of those from the Favelas were allegedly forced from their homes to make way for the Olympic Park.  For us, the houses were ramshackle, the people were living in poverty compared to anyone living here, however they viewed them as their homes.  Who knows how long that contentious story will rumble on for?

A similar situation could potentially have taken place a while back right on our doorstep.  A local guy who owned this fairly worthless piece of land, wanted to make something of it.  It too had a few people living there in ramshackle houses.  However, he had a vision and needed the site cleared to allow that vision to be realized.  He invested heavily in developing the land and, well, let’s just say I don’t think there’s any ramshackle houses there anymore. 

That was back in the 19th Century.  And Helen’s Bay is the result.  However, history tells us that Frederick Hamilton-Templeton-Blackwood, First Marquess of Dufferin & Ava (1826-1902), did things right.  He has a great ‘name’ or reputation, so we can be assured that he looked after his tenants during the period.  He must have been quite the lad as well, because part of the investment was the building of a railway which he personalized with his own Coat of Arms, he named the development after his Mum and he built a tower for her.

So what does that all tell us? 

There are many people in the world in many walks of life, however it’s only those with a vision and dedication to doing things right, even if they are harder, that become Olympians.