Northern Irish currency banking on Best

Published on Friday 27 October 2006 01:25

FOOTBALL legend George Best will feature on one million bank notes being issued in Northern Ireland next month to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Ulster Bank announced yesterday that it will issue the 5 limited edition note a year after the celebrated Northern Irishman and Manchester United star died from multiple organ failure.

Best, football's first superstar, will feature on the notes in his Northern Ireland and Manchester United strips.

"At the outset of this project we wanted to ensure that, in celebrating the life of this legendary footballer, we paid fitting tribute to his contribution to football in Northern Ireland and beyond," said Ulster Bank chief executive Cormac McCarthy. "By selecting the most affordable note denomination, five pounds, we have tried to make the notes as widely accessible as possible," he said at the unveiling of the note's artwork where he was joined by members of Best's family including his father Dickie.

"This is the first time that Ulster Bank has commissioned a commemorative bank note and by limiting the print run to a million notes, we feel this makes the initiative even more significant."

The notes will be available from mid-November and are expected to be snapped up by fans as souvenirs - with few actually going into general circulation. The Royal Bank of Scotland's issue of a banknote featuring Jack Nicklaus had a similar effect last year.

Best, who underwent a liver transplant in 2002, died in November 2005, at the age of 59 after a lifetime of heavy drinking. He had suffered infection and internal bleeding and had problems with his liver and kidneys, having been unable to give up alcohol.

He once summed up his turbulent life in one memorable phrase: "I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."