President Mary McAleese had a good day in Belfast yesterday. That was down to an odd combination of formidable school headmistresses, the UDA and that match - not the va-va-voom-Henry game, the va-va-voom-Healy one.
The President had several engagements in the city, and wherever she went the story of that wonder winning goal by Northern Ireland's David Healy against England on Wednesday night cheerfully intruded.
First she met the PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde yesterday morning. Sir Hugh had to take so many calls of "commiseration" from "sympathetic" Northern Ireland fans that the "phone wires nearly melted", said the President. She was thrilled that the goal lifted so many hearts, but "I don't think [ Orde's] heart lifted when he saw that goal".
Her second engagement was with more than 20 children from Edenbrooke primary school in the loyalist Shankill. For well-reported reasons that encounter took place in the Wellington Park Hotel in south Belfast.
She was treated to a warm welcome, but not as warm as that accorded to the North's manager, Lawrie Sanchez, who was in the audience. Reporters' notebooks rapidly diminished in size as children and adults grabbed pages for Lawrie to autograph.
"Fáilte romhat, a Uachtaráin," said Betty Orr, principal of Edenbrooke school after the excitement died down a little. She praised Sanchez and his footballers, and also noted how both she and the President were John Wayne fans.
In a powerful metaphor about strength and good neighbourliness, she recalled the film The Quiet Man. "There's a lovely scene of John Wayne filmed in a bar where the men of Inishfree discover who he is. They say to him, 'The men of Inishfree bid you welcome'," she said.
And she added: "Then it comes to Squire Danaher, who is not a bit best pleased, who says: 'There is one man in Inishfree, the best man in Inishfree, who doesn't.' Well, let me tell you, we are the best of the Shankill, and we bid you welcome."
Then it was on past the Union Jacks and Red Hand of Ulster flags of "Loyalist Taughmonagh" to the local primary school, where the first to greet her with a big hug was Jackie McDonald, head of the UDA in south Belfast. No protests here.
The mood was easy and relaxed, reflecting the feelgood factor caused by the match. Another strong woman, Jackie Douds, principal of the school, was delighted with the visit.
One day the President and her husband Martin might be welcomed on the Shankill, said Jackie McDonald. "The people of the Shankill have been through an awful lot and that will be a decision for them. But hopefully Mary's personality and Martin's sincerity will work wonders for us all to move in the right direction," he said.
