Warrington back historic handshake

Evo-Stik Northern Premier League side Warrington Town have more reason than most to welcome Her Majesty The Queen's historic handshake with Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness.

The monarch's gesture of reconcilation in Lisburn on Wednesday reinforces the Non-League club's own bridge building efforts in staging the now annual Peace Cup with a team from Northern Ireland in memory of the two children killed and 56 people injured, including a policeman who was shot, during two IRA bombings in the Cheshire town in February and March 1993.

The memorial match was first staged in the mid 1990s and was resurrected four years ago. The event now alternates between Crewe United from Lisburn in Northern Ireland and the Evo-Stik NPL's First Division North club's Cantilever Park, where it takes places again this year on Saturday 4 August, kick off 3pm.

The fixture aims to back up the work of the town's pioneering Peace Centre which supports worldwide victims of politically motivated acts of terrorism and was set up by Colin and Wendy Parry, whose 12-year-old son Tim was killed along with three-year-old Johnathan Ball in the second bombing in Warrington's Bridge Street on March 20 1993.

Warrington Town Chairman Gary Skentelbery, who reported on the 1993 attacks as a local journalist, is a long standing patron of the peace centre and helped resurrect the fixture, which this year will be one of the lead up events to next year's 20th anniversary of the bombing.

Special guests at the game will include Colin and Wendy Parry and the event is also being supported by Warrington Borough Council and local accountants Styles & Co, with proceeds from the match going to the Peace Centre.

Warrington's chairman gary Skentlebury said: "The Warrington bombing proved to be a major milestone and turning point in the peace process which has steadily gained momentum leading up to the Queen's historic handshake."