Ulster Rugby vs Munster

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19 ULSTERRUGBY
NEVIN SPENCE CENTRE
NEVIN SPENCE CENTRE
RUTH HARPER //
VISITOR SERVICES MANAGER
Having studied a degree in Hospitality
Management at University of Ulster, Ruth took up
a position with Thistle Hotels in Edinburgh before
managing the launch of the Hilton Templepatrick.
She then moved to Parliament Buildings where
she looked after the Northern Ireland Assembly
with reference to food, beverages and events.
Ruth then joined W5 were she spent 12 years as
Visitor Services Manager, welcoming a quarter of
a million people annually. In March, Ruth joined
the team at Ulster Rugby as Visitor Services
Manager for the Nevin Spence Centre and this
week we caught up with her to find out more…
“As Visitor Services Manager my plan is to open
up the centre fundamentally for the educational
market, we will deliver workshops, stadium tours
and focus our concentration on the history of
rugby and its heritage, but overall our aim is to
grow the business by opening up to families and
the tourism market. This summer will be very
much a trial and test period whereby season
ticket holders will be invited to come along, DCAL
representatives, staff groups, the players etc.; will
all get the opportunity to experience the centre
before we open up to the public.
“For me, the goal of the centre is to make it
profitable so that it will stand on its own two feet. It
is critical to grow visitor numbers whether that is in
education, the general public or rugby supporters
– we have got to make the visitor experience to the
Nevin Spence Centre, world class so people will
want to return. We hope to open the doors at the
beginning of September following a test period
over the summer, I have still got some recruitment
to do in terms of additional support for the centre
but the contractors will be handing everything over
to me on Monday and that is when I will start to
take over the operational side of the Nevin Spence
Centre, getting things ready for the launch.
“Throughout the creation of the centre Nevin has
very much been at the forefront. The design is
tasteful, there is a wall dedicated to Nevin and his
sister has provided us with a beautiful painting of
him. There is also video footage of Nevin playing
the game and his family kindly donated his scrap
books from when he was a young boy which are
showcased in a digital vault in the centre to give
an insight into his life. It is a great legacy and I
think he would be very proud.”
CLAIRE McAULEY //
EDUCATION OFFICER
Whilst completing a chemistry degree and then a
PGCE at Queen’s University, Claire held numerous
positions at W5. Upon graduating Claire worked
full time as a demonstrator at W5 and then moved
into the role of an educator, undertaking big events
and partnerships with schools. In September
after 10 years at W5, Claire joined Ulster Rugby as
Education Officer and has since been researching
and getting to grips with her new found love of
rugby…
“For the past seven months I have been
undertaking a huge amount of research and
learning all about the history of rugby and the
heritage of rugby in Ulster. I have spent a lot of time
in the public records office and the newspaper
archives, sifting through information. My role as
Education Officer includes running workshops
which schools can book into, I have to ensure that
they fit seamlessly into the curriculum, that they
are interesting and engaging for both pupils and
teachers. I also have to ensure that the history of the
game is preserved in the most tasteful way so that
when supporters and families visit the centre there
are special collections that they can look at that are
all connected to rugby.
“My main focus has been to develop a
comprehensive timeline of every important date
from when rugby first began in Ireland through
to the present day. I have spent a lot of time
collecting artefacts which match up to the dates
on the timeline. I have also met up with all of our
contractors, carried out bespoke filming for the
centre screens, signed off on the graphics for the
walls and have even polished the trophies which
will be on display. The museum designer, Mather
and Co. who also designed the Springbok museum
were a great help when it came to deciding on
which items to include in the Nevin Spence Centre.
We had a lot of items in storage and a lot of people
including past players offered items for display. We
have minute books from clubs in the 1800s, the
original Lion from Willie John McBride’s Tour in 1974
and Jack Kyle’s family have been so kind to offer us
items from his collection.
“Rugby was not part of my live before now so it’s
funny that I get really excited when someone brings
me a new item which could go on display!”
The Nevin Spence Centre will open in
September 2015 from 9am to 5pm.
To keep up to date with Centre information please
visit:
TheNevinSpenceCentre or email