Paralympic Torch Relay: Northern Irish Flame to be created by Scouts at the top of Slieve Donard

·         Bernie Sloan and Pat Shields, along with a group of Scouts, will climb mountain on foot

·         Flame will be created by scouts at the summit

·         Northern Irish Flame is one of four Flames being created across the UK

·         Images will be available here

At dawn on Wednesday 22 August, a group of Scouts and mountaineer, Bernadette Sloan and Pat Shields, will climb Slieve Donard, Northern Ireland’s highest peak, to create the Northern Irish National Flame as part of the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay.

At the mountain peak, they will use a ferrocerium rod and strike it against a rough steel surface to create the sparks that will create the Flame. The Flame will then be placed in a miner’s lantern and brought back down on foot. It will then be transferred to Belfast for a day of Paralympic celebration on Saturday 25^th August.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: “The combination of teamwork and human endeavour being used to create the Northern Irish Flame is a very fitting start to the Paralympic Torch Relay celebrations. This group of inspirational individuals will be lighting the way to a fantastic ten days of sport.”

Sport Minister, Carál Ni Chuilín said: “The flame lighting ceremony at the top of Slieve Donard marks the start of the Paralympic Flame Events in Ireland. There is a number of exciting events taking place on Saturday 25 August I would like to encourage everyone to get involved in the events and to get behind all the athletes from Ireland who will be competing in the Games.”

The climb is expected to take in the region of four hours and will be led by local mountain guides. The four Scouts selected to take part in the Flame creation are Daniel O’Mahony, 16 years old, Rachel Nicholson, 15 years old, Matthew Dorrian, 13 years old and Josh Morrison, 13 years old. They were all chosen from communities local to Slieve Donard.

Rachel Nicholson said “I am really excited about taking part in the Paralympic Flame creation. It’s a fantastic opportunity and such an honour to be involved. The Paralympics are an inspiration to everyone and I wish all the competitors good luck with their games.”

The group will also include Bernie Sloan, from Warrenpoint and Pat Shields from Newry who are part of a group of 15 blind and partially sighted people training to climb Ben Nevis. Both of them were nominated by the Royal National Institute of Blind People Northern Ireland.

Bernie lost her sight in her early twenties but has always had active lifestyle. She loves the outdoor life and will grasp every opportunity to be involved which includes archery, tandem gliding and mountain climbing. She loves to write short stories and articles for the local health trust newsletter and local magazines. Her latest piece of literary inspiration is entitled 'Climb every Mountain'.

Bernie Sloan, said “I feel so lucky to be included in this once in a lifetime opportunity. Climbing Slieve Donard will be a challenge but I can’t wait to get to the top for what will be a historic occasion.”

Pat is registered as partially sighted as he has Age Related Macular Degeneration. He worked as a nurse before he trained for professional social work where he worked with disabled persons in the Disability Directorate of the Southern HSS Trust in Northern Ireland. Following retirement he took up hill walking through the RNIB which has facilitated him to engage in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.     

Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland at an altitude of 850 metres above sea level and is located in County Down. Across the United Kingdom, three other National Flames are to be created on Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa (Wales), Ben Nevis (Scotland) and Scafell Pike (England).

The four individual Flames will then be transferred to the nations’ capital cities where they will each become the focus for a day of Paralympic celebrations. The Northern Irish Flame will light a ceremonial cauldron at Stormont on the morning of Saturday 25 August. Followed by various community visits and a Flame festival that evening outside City Hall.

For information about media accreditation to the various moments in Belfast, please click here.

From the Paralympic celebrations in London, Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the four National Flames will be taken to Stoke Mandeville, the spiritual home of the Paralympic movement, where they will be united during a special ceremony on Tuesday 28 August to create the London 2012 Paralympic Flame.

At the end of the ceremony, the 24-hour overnight relay route will see the Paralympic Flame carried 92 miles by 580 inspirational Torchbearers, working in teams of five, from Stoke Mandeville to the Olympic Stadium to officially open the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

For further information about the London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay, please visit http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/torch-relay/

The London 2012 Paralympic Torch Relay is presented by BT, Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s.

Suzi Williams, Director, BT Group Marketing and Brand, said: "At BT we understand the power of Paralympic sport to inspire people, that's why we're bringing teams together to run with the Paralympic Torch. It’s fantastic that this group of people have the opportunity to work together to start the Flame’s journey - this is their moment to be at the heart of a once in a lifetime experience."

Sally Hancock, Director, London 2012 Partnership at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We are looking forward to the National Flames being lit on Wednesday marking the beginning of the Paralympic Torch Relay. Lloyds TSB will be bringing the excitement of the Paralympic Games to Flame Festivals around the UK and communities along the 24 hour Paralympic Torch Relay route to London. We are immensely proud of our inspirational Torchbearers who will be running in teams of five celebrating their phenomenal achievements within the community. We are calling on everyone to come to the Flame Festivals to see their National Flame arrive in their capital and line the route to cheer on our Paralympic Torchbearers as they make their way to London in this unique relay."

Jat Sahota, Head of Sponsorship, Sainsbury’s commented: “As proud partners of the Paralympic Torch Relay and the Flame Festivals, we have already taken the Torch into Sainsbury’s stores right across the country. We now look forward to sharing this once in a lifetime experience with our Sainsbury’s customers, colleagues and Torchbearers as the National Flames begin their journey to the Olympic Stadium”