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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Is the Olympic torch coming to Dublin or not?

There has been a lot of speculation over the last few months as to whether the Olympic flame would come to Dublin or not. When the route was announced at the start of November, there was no mention of a Dublin event and it looked as if it wasn't going to happen.

This week however in a submission to the British House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the London 2012 Olympic chairman Sebastian Coe said..."I don't want to go into particular details. I have spent a lot of time on this both in Northern Ireland and in conversations with the Republic. From a personal perspective I would like to see a small visit south of the border but, as you can understand, these are complex discussions but it is our ambition to do this."

The torch is being taken to four places in Northern Ireland - Belfast, Derry, Coleraine and Newry.
If the southern leg goes ahead, the torch could be brought to Dublin on June 6 after a symbolic border crossing at Newry marking the peace process.

Listening to a recent radio interview, the Minister of State Michael Ring said that he was hopeful and that it was up to the Olympic Council of Ireland. Reading between the lines, it certainly sounded as if the chances were a lot higher than 50:50  and that the Olympic Council of Ireland were the body in charge and would be the ones making the announcement.

It's probably safe to say that it will be the first and only time the olympic flame will ever be in Dublin.

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