Coleraine’s cup parade is restricted by potential policing bill

Rules: Colin McKendry THE chairman of Coleraine FC has voiced his disappointment that the club’s victory cavalcade after winning the Irish Cup will not follow the route the club had hoped for — as it would have led to a hefty bill for policing.

Coleraine won the Irish Cup last Saturday for the first time since 2003.

Large numbers are expected tocomeouttoseethevictorious team show off the silverware on an open top bus.

It will leave New Road Presbyterian Church at 6.30pm tomorrow before making its way through the pedestrianised area of the town.

The club has agreed to a route proposed by the PSNI — otherwise it would have faced a significant bill to cover the cost of putting a traffic plan in place and for policing the event.

Colin McKendry said the club will comply with the rules, which will still allow fans to see the trophy and team.

He said: “The parade will start in the middle of the town, go aroundthetownalittleandthen up to The Showgrounds where we are playing a game for one of our long serving players, David Ogilby, who has decided to retire.

“It would have been great to get the road closures but this is thelawandwewon’tcontravene any laws.

“We have to accept that there are rules and we have accepted that.

“We would have liked to come up the Railway Road but it is not possible because we would be going against the flow of traffic, which is something I didn’t think about, but we are making the best out of it.”

While the parade may not be what Coleraine FC had hoped, a second victory parade on the day of the North West 200 has been offered to the club.

Mervyn Whyte, director of the road races, has put an open top bus at the disposal of the team for a lap of the course.

He said: “I am born and bred in this part of the world and I recognise this is a tremendous achievement of the club to win the cup.”