Queen’s Baton visits Northern Ireland ahead of Commonwealth Games

The Queen’s Baton relay will tour Northern Ireland over the next four days as part its journey ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The baton was presented by Queen Elizabeth in London in October 2021 and is nearing the end of its 294 day journey across the 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth.

The ‘relay’ refers to the passing of the Baton from country to country as it calls on athletes and spectators to join the sporting spectacle in Birmingham, which begins on 28th July.

The baton will journey from the north coast to the Mourne Mountains and from Belfast to the lakes of Fermanagh.

It will visit a range of community organisations, shining a light on individuals and groups who are making a difference within their areas.

In particular the baton is being brought to groups that are promoting mental health and wellbeing projects.

The first person to receive the Baton in Northern Ireland was John McErlane, one of the founders of Dementia NI.

64 year old John from Toomebridge who was a deep-sea fisherman, was diagnosed with dementia in his early fifties in 2011.

He went on to set up Dementia NI along with four other people with dementia in 2015 to challenge the stigma of a diagnosis of dementia and to help people with dementia.

“I am pleased and privileged to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent people with a diagnosis of dementia across Northern Ireland,” John said.

“Our mission at Dementia NI is to help make this a better place for people with dementia.

“I want to send a message to people that you can live a good quality of life and continue to achieve things with dementia, even if you have to make a few adaptations.

“I would also like to reach out to those people and families who may be finding a dementia diagnosis difficult to accept and encourage them to come forward to Dementia NI for support.”

The Baton contains a message from Queen Elizabeth inviting athletes to participate in the Games.

The message will be removed from the Baton and read aloud during the Games opening ceremony next month.