The Prince of Wales visited the historic village of Caledon, in County Tyrone, to view how businesses have been given a new lease on life for the local community.
Hosted by Lord and Lady Caledon, Prince Charles toured the sites of development projects that will revitalise the town space, including an old wool store that will be renovated and turned into a day care centre; and outhouses that will be transformed into Men’s Sheds.
Per Clarence House, the town’s name, Caledon, was initially ‘Kinaird’, which meant ‘High Head’ or ‘Top of the Hill’, and its settlement dates back to the late Medieval period.
Prince Charles also took time to visit the football pitches to meet with the schoolchildren and coaches of the Caledon Rovers, the village’s cross-community football club.
Students from the Churchill and St Joseph’s Primary Schools were on hand to greet Prince Charles as he arrived, and when they later taught him how to dribble a football, he thanked them profusely.
In a moment of levity, Prince Charles was asked by the Rovers’s chairman, Kevin O’Connor, where his football boots were. When he indicated that he didn’t have a pair with him, O’Connor said, “I’ll have to write a letter to your mother telling her you didn’t bring them.”
“I see you haven’t got yours on either,” Prince Charles replied.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, O’Connor said: “It’s fantastic to see him come here and see it happening. We are back playing friendlies now in a pre-season tournament and we’re in the final on Saturday at Stangmore Park.
“This is a great way to get the season going again. Hopefully it keeps going because the pandemic is still in the air.”
Prince Charles later officially opened the newly-renovated Church Hall at St John’s Parish Church by unveiling a plaque.
