Ballysillan Belfast Trip

As you know, we have sponsored the fantastic Ballysillan football camp again this year and for the last 4 years I have travelled over to Belfast for the final Friday and made a weekend trip of it.

If we do the same again this year it will be on 18/19/20 July. Even though I have been so often I always come away full of admiration for the fantastic work Peter Thompson and his team do and always inspired, touched and in awe of something I see or hear at the footy camp. It is also an opportunity to see what KitAid is about closer to home. Rather than just hearing it from me I asked Lesley Giddins to write a few lines, as she went on the trip last year. Here are her comments

"I was aware that KitAid had sponsored the Ballysillian tournament for a few years and had wanted to go in 2011 but just couldn't make it. In 2012 I decided to go along and my husband came along for the ride. We'd never been to Belfast in spite of living in the North West for most of our lives. We had a day in the city centre sightseeing, dinner with Derrick and a full day at the tournament. To any KitAid coordinators considering going along – I couldn't recommend it too highly. The tournament is great fun, the coaches and boys welcoming, and some pretty good football skills on display. We had a guided tour of the area and the Youth Centre, and some pretty eye opening stories of life for some young people in Belfast. I was very convinced that this is a good cause for KitAid to support.

We managed to squeeze in a tour of the political murals (of both sides of course), a chat to a few locals, and finished with dinner with the leaders of the youth group and tournament. They were truly inspiring and a lot of fun. I certainly plan to go back."

If you would like to be a part of Ballysillan 2013 could you let me know asap as flights will start to increase in price beyond April.