Friends and fellow players are remembering and mourning the loss of one of Ireland’s top lawn bowlers after a tragic death following an accident involving her own car at home in north Belfast.
Marie McCord (72), an Ireland international for more than a decade, died following the accident despite the initial efforts of neighbours in Innisfayle Gardens, and then the emergency services, to save her life after she became trapped under the car.
Ms McCord, who in recent years successfully battled cancer, was remembered as an “absolute character” by her friend and fellow international Sandra Bailie.
“It’s just unreal,” Ms Bailie said following the sudden and unexpected death. The pair were part of the Ireland senior fours team that triumphed against the best of Britain at the international series in Ayr last June, a “competition about as far as it goes” in competitive bowling, Ms Bailie added.
She was a character on and off the green, with Ms Bailie remembering one winning game. playing in her signature peaked sailor-like cap, when she began jumping up and down against the rules of the green. She just could not help herself, her fellow player, a friend for 25 years, said.
Irish Women’s Bowling Association (IWBA) chair Jennifer Dowds added: “She was the life and soul of any party, always smiling and happy.”
The PSNI are continuing to investigate the accident, which happened shortly after 5pm on Tuesday, but said there are no suspicious circumstances.
One neighbour on Friday described how people came running from the homes to try and help after becoming aware of the incident. The street was quickly swamped by emergency services, personnel attached to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Services and three fire appliances.
The accident happened after she returned home and was removing items from her car.
Family and friends will gather next Thursday to remember Ms McCord at a funeral service to be held at Antrim and Newtownabbey Crematorium.
“She will be greatly missed by all those who met her and loved her,” a death notice said.
Ms McCord had just returned to Belfast after spending three months in Tenerife, where she was planning to move, at least on a semi-permanent basis.
Ms Bailie joined her on the island in the Canaries for a week and they flew back together to Belfast. “We played bowls together. That’s the last games we will ever play together,” she said.
She was still working for Clanmill Housing Association but had planned to retire entirely in April, said Ms Bailie.
Ms McCord spent many years in South Africa, where she was also a noted bowler, before returning to her native Belfast in the 1990s. She won her first Ireland cap in 2010 and since has consistently played at the highest level.
Her tragic and sudden death has shocked the bowling community across the island, said IWBA chair Ms Dowds.
She said: “It was a total shock and she had gone through so much in battling with cancer,” The north Belfast woman, originally from Glencairn, was in remission.
Tommy Smith, secretary of the Irish Bowls Federation, said he was talking to one young player who was out a European tournament in Tenerife recently and that Ms McCord was a fixture watching the games and supporting the players.
Cliftonville Bowling Club, in a social media post, added: “A wonderful woman who lit up the room and the green every time she entered it.”