Dame Mary Peters

Mary moved to Ballymena in County Antrim with her family when she was 11 years old and Northern Ireland has been her home ever since. Mary lives in Belfast, although she has spent most of her life travelling the world, competing or working. She has been an inspiration to people throughout Northern Ireland, her sporting triumphs helping to bring them together during the Troubles. Now renowned as an ambassador for sport, Mary achieved international fame when she won the gold medal in the Pentathlon in the 1972 Olympic Games.

My first memory of Belfast was visiting my father who worked in the city and stayed in a B&B on the Antrim Road opposite Alexandra Park. The Liverpool boat would make its way up Belfast Lough and on the right I could see the magnificent Cave Hill and Belfast Castle and later I would get the opportunity to visit Belfast Zoo.

As a student in 1958 I attended Belfast Tech and had digs on the Antrim Road. The Waterworks off the Antrim Road became a natural area to train and run and I also swam in the Grove swimming pool down on the Shore Road. I would catch the trolley bus down the Antrim Road into town and visit Smithfield market or gaze into Lunn’s jewellers in Queen’s Arcade.

After my success I took great pride in raising funds for the development of the athletics track in the Lagan Valley(the City of Belfast Mary Peter’s Track) and to this day I enjoy visiting the Lagan Towpath, the rose gardens at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park or even playing a round of golf at Malone Golf Club. Finally, a trip to Belfast would not be complete without visiting the beautiful Lanyon building at Queen’s University where I received an honorary doctorate in 1998.