Ulster Scots tribute to 'Oor Alex'

Ulster Scots scribe, Wilson Burgess, an established and published exponent of the 'hamely tongue' has been commissioned by the Ulster Scots Agency to put pen to paper in honour of the legendary cueman.

And, the poem 'Oor Alex' will find a permanent home in the favourite south Belfast watering hole of Higgins, The Royal Bar on Sandy Row, where a resplendent mural has been painted on the outside of the premises in memory of its most renowned patron.

In life Higgins cut a dash not only through the game of snooker but the sporting world as a whole, bringing the world title to Northern Ireland on two occasions in 1972 and again in '82. In death a great outpouring of sorrow akin to the passing of his Belfast compatriot George Best was seen as his cortege passed through his native streets.

Renowned also for his flamboyance on and off the snooker table, as well his as ill considered verbal tirades, temper and fondness for life's vices, the poem 'Oor Alex' will forever record this.

Great honour

Wilson Burgess said that it was a great honour to be asked to do this. A lifelong fan of the 'People's Champion', the poet and author said he considered it a great honour to be asked to compose the piece in memory of Higgins.

"The Royal Bar is packed with paraphernalia linked to Alex Higgins so to have a poem of mine in there is a great honour. The thing people should remember is that Higgins' exploits reached across the community in the 1980s.

"Also, even people who knew nothing about snooker stayed up into the late hours to watch him. There was a sense of danger about him-what was he going to do next? Let's face it, snooker was dying a death until Higgins came along, even the Steve Davis's of the world admit that."

Wilson Burgess also recalled recalled that Higgins made an almost instant impact on the game when he turned professional in the early '70s.

"I remember working in England, in Swindon in the 70s and Higgins was booked to play an exhibition. And, of course he never turned up and all the newspapers turned on him, so he was causing controversy even then.

"He had his foibles and was very ill at the end, but that's not how people will remember him. I have an image of him walking into the Crucible in a green shirt and one of those big Fedora hats. If you look at the footage of him playing Jimmy White in 1982, it just seems like it was yesterday. People will be interested in this not because of my poem, but because it's about Alex Higgins."

Wilson also revealed that several hundred laminated copies of the poem will be placed in The Royal Bar for anyone who wishes to have a copy of the piece as a keepsake.