Displaying items by tag: Freedom of Belfast

31st January 2018

Sir Kenneth Branagh On Board HMS Caroline Surprises Movie Fans in Belfast

Sir Kenneth Branagh on board HMS Caroline, Belfast Port where the actor film director yesterday introduced a screening of his Oscar nominated film 'Dunkirk' to unsuspecting guests. The Belfast-born actor who received the 'Freedom of Belfast' in the Ulster Hall is seen in the port above with Jamie Wilson from The National Museum of the Royal Navy and Belfast Lord Mayor Nuala McAllister.

#BelfastLough - A surprise visit by Sir Kenneth Branagh was made to HMS Caroline in Belfast Harbour on Tuesday - surprising a group of movie-goers who were on board to watch his turn in the Oscar nominated Dunkirk.

The actor reports The Belfast Telegraph is in the city to be awarded the Freedom of Belfast at a special ceremony at the Ulster Hall.

Ahead of the event, the Belfast-born star visited the historic vessel which was screening the movie as part of the pop-up Branagh in Belfast film festival.

Mr Branagh enjoyed a short tour of the HMS Caroline, before giving a very special welcome to those on board for the movie screening.

Jamie Wilson, General Manager for HMS Caroline, The National Museum of the Royal Navy spoke of the team’s delight to welcome Mr Branagh to the WW1 vessel.

He said: “It has been a pleasure welcoming Mr Branagh to see this piece of living history, and of course, give our visitors today a fantastic surprise ahead of their special Dunkirk screening.”

The celebration event at the Ulster Hall will highlight Branagh’s long and productive artistic and charitable connection to the city, where he was born and lived until the age of nine.

Writing in the programme for the ceremony, Branagh said: “My Belfast childhood was characterised by Freedom. Here was a city, a big city to my child’s eyes that always felt like a village.

“It seemed like you couldn’t get lost. Everyone knew you or someone who knew you. In the landscape, the Cavehill seemed to wrap itself around you protectively from one side, and the shipyard raised the strong arms of its cranes from the other.

“You could see and feel the limits of where you lived, and you knew exactly who you were – Belfast, working class, proud.”

To read much more on the visit by the actor and film director to his beloved city, click here.

Published in Belfast Lough

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The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.