The Irish Football Association has created a Memorial Wall at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park.
It has been introduced after clubs, groups and individuals lobbied the association to ask for a dedicated area where they could commemorate loved ones who were Northern Ireland fans.
The association says the wall will be a place where people can reflect and pay their respects to fans who have passed away.
The Memorial Wall will feature granite tiles bearing the names of deceased fans, their dates of birth and the dates of their deaths.
To maintain permanent access for the families of fans who have passed away and for visitors it is being installed just outside the stadium perimeter adjacent to the North-West gate close to Olympia Leisure Centre.
A ceremony took place at the stadium on Friday, prior to the Northern Ireland-Belarus match, when the first two tiles on the wall were unveiled.
The tiles feature the names of Aaron Ferguson and Ivan Gillespie, who were founders of the Holywood Northern Ireland Supporters’ Club and served as the club’s first chair and treasurer.
Relatives of the two deceased fans, Irish FA President Conrad Kirkwood, Irish FA chaplain Richard Donnan and members of Holywood NISC attended the unveiling.
“It was an honour and a privilege to be there for the inauguration,” said the President, who knew the deceased fans.
Holywood NISC has helped to take the project forward along with the Irish FA and the President thanked its members and Marc Vannucci in particular for their co-operation.
For further details about the process of adding the name of a relative to the Memorial Wall please email memorialwall@irishfa.com
The Unveiling Ceremony
