The Magnificent Seven

Peters 1972, Seville 1982, McGuigan 1985. Ulster has had its fair share of sporting victories to celebrate over the years.

Barry McGuigan v Eusebio Pedroza, Loftus Road, 1985

In 1981 Barry McGuigan turned professional under the guidance of his new manager Barney Eastwood. In subsequent years we would come to know and joke about McGuigan's recurring reference to the manager in his "Thank you Mr Eastwood" postmatch stream of consciousness.

With the Belfast millionaire, the Clones boxer quickly climbed up the professional ranks, finally meeting and beating Juan Laporte on points in February 1985 to become the number one contender for the WBA featherweight crown.

While McGuigan did not endear himself to everyone, he did illustrate a strength of character that was to last him throughout his career. Crossing the religious divide to marry a protestant woman, McGuigan was the target of constant jibes, very often from people from his own community.

On Saturday, June 8th, 1985 the young fighter finally got the chance he had dreamed about when he entered the Queen's Park Rangers ground at Loftus Road as it reverberated to the sound of "Here, we go, here we go," from 25,000 McGuigan fans.

The excitement was carried on through the pubs and clubs of Ireland as Eusebio Pedroza, the WBA featherweight champion, entered the ring. The fight was a classic. The first six rounds proved to be close before the Irishman struck in the seventh catching Pedroza with a crunching right. Pedroza, showing his own class, came back in the eighth before McGuigan staggered the champion in the ninth round.

As the pace of McGuigan's attacks increased, Pedroza began to falter. The 13th round saw the champion's legs buckle under a barrage of lefts from McGuigan, but he held on to the end.

When the referee finally announced that the unanimous decision had gone in favour of the Irishman, the crowd erupted. Barry McGuigan, world champion, was typically gracious in victory, remembering the young boxer who had died following a fight against him three years earlier.

"I want to dedicate this win to the young man who died after he fought me in 1982," he said. "It was not just any fighter who beat him but the world champion."

Mary Peters, Olympic Gold Munich, 1972

Her smile was the first part of Mary Peters to make an impact. The Belfast woman, who had travelled to Tokyo for the 1964 Olympics, where she finished fourth, and to Mexico City four years later, where she came ninth, arrived in Munich in 1972 as a 33-year-old secretary for her final attempt to win an Olympic medal in the pentathlon.

The previous year the 80-metre hurdles had been replaced by the 100 metres hurdles, necessitating a change in the scoring tables and a re-evaluation of any records in the five-event discipline (100m hurdles, shot putt, high jump, long jump and 200m).

Peters was clearly experienced in her event but having teamed up with Buster McShane, a local Belfast fitness expert who ran a gym in the city, her physical condition was better than ever.

During the first day of competition Peters recorded personal bests in two of the three events - the 100m hurdles and the high jump. The high jump was particularly magical as the German crowd got behind her despite the fact that local woman Heide Rosendahl was also in the competition.

At the end of the first day Peters was 97 points ahead of her nearest rival and 301 points ahead of Rosendahl. But the next two events were the German's favourites - the long jump and the 200m. Sure enough, Rosendahl jumped one centimetre short of her own world record. But, in the 200m, Peters ran a personal best - the final 50m with her legs turning to jelly.

To the delight of Ireland and particularly those from Belfast, the run clinched the gold medal for Peters ahead of Rosendahl and East Germany's Burglindie Pollak. It was the first time that a Belfast woman had achieved such an honour. Although the medal was for Britain it was an occasion in which the whole of the country shared.

N Ireland v Spain, World Cup finals, Seville, 1982

Ten years before Northern Ireland met Spain in Seville the sides had played in Hull, England in the European Championship and it finished in a 1-1 draw. That score, however, bore no indication of what was to happen when the World Cup hosts met them in their own back yard in the 1982 World Cup finals in Seville.

Detachment was difficult for everyone in Ireland on that day of June 25th, 1982 when Northern Ireland, one of the so called journeymen teams in the World Cup, went on to defeat the hosts by a goal in a nerve jangling game. Remembered so well for its uncompromising commitment laced with individual flourishes of skill, the historic victory put Northern Ireland into the next phase of the finals.

It was a game in which an exclusion zone had been declared around every Spanish player. Any effort of physical contact from the Irish was met with such inventive Spanish stagecraft that some of it befitted Oscar nominations.

From the 30th to the 37th minute, during a lull in full hostilities, the fraught match took on a complexion that showed some degree of skill from the Spaniards. But the three yellow cards in the first half, two to Northern Ireland and one to Spain, showed how uncompromising the game had become.

It was just after the break that the breakthrough came. Gerry Armstrong took the ball and made a run at the Spanish goal. He found Billy Hamilton with a pass before gratefully accepting the return to shoot past the bemused Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada.

There after the minutes seemed to lengthen to hours as Spain offered a massive offensive against some stout Irish defence.

Joey Dunlop, Isle of Man TT, record 23 wins

A lot has been said about Joey Dunlop, which is just as well as the man from Ballymoney is about as reticent a sports figure as anyone can imagine. Peerless around the roads at the world famous Isle of Man TT course, Dunlop has become legendary for his successes in the world's most dangerous motor cycle race.

It is 37 miles of snaking country roads, with dry stone walls, leaves on the road and mist on the mountain stretches. Lamposts, postboxes and kerb stones - Dunlop has mastered them all. Last year, racing his Honda, he produced an exceptional win, typical of the man and despite a painful and disfiguring injury.

In May, Dunlop had crashed heavily during the Tandragee races breaking his collar bone as well as bones in his hip and right hand. He also injured his left hand to the extent that his wedding ring finger had to be amputated.

But Joey Dunlop, who had begun racing on the island in 1976, turned the summer's bad weather to his advantage and ignored his injuries to win the lightweight race by almost 42 seconds. Initially the race started as a three lap event after it was decided that conditions were unsuitable for a longer race.

Dunlop opted for the right tyre choice, making the decision that traction rather than speed would win him the race. As the weather worsened the race was reduced further to two laps.

The Ulsterman didn't have to make a pit stop and as his opponents scrambled to change tyres as the rain fell, all Dunlop had to do to continue his reign as the most successful rider in the history of the event was negotiate the course without mishap.

That win in the lightweight race, broken bones and all, extended Dunlop's record to 23 Isle of Man titles and proved that the 46-yearold still has plenty to offer the sport.

Gaelic Games, Railway Cup, Six victories

Historical moments in Ulster GAA have been many since Cavan became the first Ulster county to win the All-Ireland in 1933. Moving through the years to when Antrim became the first Ulster county to appear in an AllIreland hurling final (lost to Kilkenny) in 1943 and to 1960 when Kevin Mussen carried the Sam Maguire across the border for the first time (when Down won the championship), there has been no shortage of significant days for Ulster GAA.

More recently Brian McEniff, along with Art McRory, has provided Ulster with a glorious sequence of wins in the Railway Cup, running from 1989 through to 1995 - there was no competition in 1990.

Six victories in succession is a record, but McEniff's provision of that rich vein, along with the success of Ulster colleges in the Sigerson Cup - Queens, Jordanstown and St Mary's teacher's training college in Belfast - and clubs Burren (Down) and Lavey (Derry) was seen as a scene setter for the domination of Ulster counties in the early 90s. Players who featured prominently in the subsequent All-Ireland-winning sides had already made their mark in the Railway Cup programme. Down in 1991, Donegal, under McEniff, in 1992, Derry in 1993, Down again in 1994.

Dennis Taylor, World champion, The Crucible, 1985

Born in Coalisland, Dennis Taylor turned professional in 1971, the year before Belfast's Alex Higgins won his first World Championship. To many people in the game, Taylor's fretful and prolonged 1985 final against Steve Davis was one of the greatest finals in the history of the tournament. It kept a television audience riveted right up until the last pot, one that finally gave the Ulster man his one and only Crucible title.

In the final frames it looked as though it was beginning to drift in favour of the highly consistent Davis. The English player led 1715 with three frames to play in the 35-frame final and, with his ability not to make errors, Taylor looked to be struggling.

But he was not about to give up, having come so far. In a fantastic fightback he brought the match to a shoot-out over the last frame as the players sat poised at 17-17.

After a series of safety shots between the two with the game sitting 52-59 in favour of Davis, Taylor was offered a long pot on the black after a kiss opened up a winning opportunity. But the Ulsterman missed the chance leaving the reigning champion with a cut into the top corner pocket for the match. It was a shot that Davis would have pocketed 99 times out of 100 even under pressure, but inexplicably he missed leaving the black sitting tantalisingly over the same pocket.

Up stepped Taylor in his specially designed glasses to try and sink the black at the seventh attempt. This time even nerves could not prolong the match as Taylor potted the black to end the nervous agony.

Alex Higgins, World champion, The Crucible, 1972 and 1982

If ever there were spiritual sons of Ulster they were George Best and Alex Higgins. Loved as much for their wreckless charge through life as for their mercurial skills on the football pitch and green baize, it was with a huge swell of emotion that Higgins reached the pinnacle of his sport twice within a 10-year span in 1972 and 1982.

Higgins started playing snooker when one of his haunts in Belfast was the Jampot Club. He won the Northern Ireland amateur championship in 1968 and turned professional in 1971.

Higgins made an immediate impact on the game and even now top professional players like Ken Doherty and Jimmy White claim that it was the inspirational and idiosyncratic Higgins that they aspired to become when they were starting out on their careers.

In his first world championship in 1972 Higgins faced up to and eventually defeated such notable players as Jackie Rea, John Pulman and Rex Williams before he met John Spencer in the final. But the 23-year-old Higgins won the match becoming the youngest player ever to do so.

While remaining the biggest attraction in the game in the 70s the Ulster player was forced to wait until 1982 to regain the title when he beat Ray Reardon 17-15 with a memorable final clearance of 135.

As Higgins clutched the trophy for the second time in his career he tearfully beckoned wife Lynn and daughter Laura down into the arena to share in his moment of glory and emotion.