Member's statement: Belfast Harlequins Hockey Club: 25th Anniversary
Member's statement by Ms Paula Bradshaw on .
- MLA
- Ms Paula Bradshaw
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 20 May 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Belfast Harlequins Hockey Club: 25th Anniversary
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4963726
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On Saturday night, I had the privilege of attending the 25th anniversary gala ball of Belfast Harlequins Hockey Club for both the men's and women's sections. Many of you who are familiar with south Belfast will know that the club was originally based at the North of Ireland Cricket Club ground on the Ormeau Road, which was subsequently developed into a successful housing scheme. The club then moved to its current site in Deramore. It is a multi-sports club that provides not just hockey for men and women but rugby and GAA. A quarter of a century on, the hockey side is embarking on a push for an upgrade of its pitch, a tender for which is out at the minute. In just 25 years, the club has enjoyed considerable success, including providing two Women's Hockey World Cup finalists, an accomplishment that would have been unthinkable on the club's foundation. This season, the women's 1st team won the President's Cup, and the women's 2nd team won the junior league. The club was represented on the Irish masters team in New Zealand last year, as I referenced in a previous statement. In fact, first team player Katie Larmour is the latest Quins player to be called up to Ireland's senior international squad, which is perhaps apt, given the fact that her mum, Roisin Walsh, has led the club's thriving junior section for two decades. What was striking about the event was the focus not on silverware and caps but rather on the lifelong friendships that flow throughout the club. It was pointed out that, across the club's mix of teams of different levels and maturity, you find that the youth team interacts with the veterans and the ones who are there just for fun are great friends with the elite players. Saturday night very much reflected that there is no hierarchy in the club. That, in the end, is what sport is all about. I wish Belfast Harlequins well in the future and look forward to their continued success.
338 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.93 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.02 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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