Trevor Maxwell Ringland, (born 13 November 1959) is a Northern Irish solicitor, former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player and politician. From June 2013 to July 2014, he served as Co-Chairman of the NI Conservatives. After attending Larne Grammar School, he read law at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Rugby career

Ringland made 31 competitive appearances for , scoring nine tries. The majority of his appearances came in the Five Nations, with the remainder coming in the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. He also represented

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and Ballymena. In 1983 he toured New Zealand with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

. Since retirement, he has coached at Ballymena and been a committee member of the Irish Rugby Football Union. In his later years he joined Belfast Club CIYMS where he played for the golden oldies 4th xv, known as the Dream Team, consisting of former senior players. The team was managed by Tommy Andrews the former hooker and current club chairman. Another notable player on the team was Rab Irwin who went on to win the European Cup with Ulster.

Career outside sport

As rugby was an amateur sport during his career, Ringland is also a full-time solicitor for Macaulay and Ritchie. In 2006 he was appointed as a member of the new Northern Ireland Policing Board. His Policing Board profile states he is a director of Independent News & Media, Mediation Northern Ireland and The Ireland Funds. Ringland is also active with

Peace Players International PeacePlayers International is a non-profit organization which uses the game of basketball to unite and educate children and their communities. Goals PeacePlayers International has four main objectives: * Bridge social divides * Develop future ...

, an organisation devoted to promote inter-religious unity in Belfast through sport. Ringland and David Cullen won the 2007 ESPY

Arthur Ashe for Courage Award The Arthur Ashe Courage Award (sometimes called the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage or Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award) is presented as part of the ESPY Awards. It is named for the American tennis player Arthur Ashe. Although it is a ...

. Ringland was awarded an MBE for services to the community in Northern Ireland in the New Year Honours 2009.

Political career

Ringland was Vice-Chairman of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule ...

's East Belfast Branch. On 24 February 2010 Ringland was adopted by the

and Conservative Party as their joint candidate in East Belfast for the 2010 General Election. In September 2010, Ringland became involved in a controversy over the new leader of

Tom Elliott Thomas or Tom Elliott may refer to: * Thomas Elliott (footballer) (1890–?), English footballer * Thomas Elliott (Australian cricketer) (1879–1939), Australian cricketer * Thomas Elliott (New Zealand cricketer) (1867–?), New Zealand cricketer ...

. Upon Elliott's election as party leader, Ringland publicly asked the new leader if he would be prepared to attend a

Gaelic Football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

All-Ireland Final in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

if an

team were to take part; Elliott refused, stating that attending a sporting event on a Sunday would conflict with his religious views. On 4 October 2010, Ringland resigned from the

, he later joined the NI Conservatives.

NI Conservatives

In 2012 he was appointed vice-chairman (Political) of the NI Conservatives, and as the Party's spokesperson for social development, culture and leisure. At the Party's AGM in Belfast on 28 June 2013, it was confirmed he was appointed as Co-Chairman of the NI Conservatives, serving alongside Irwin Armstrong, and primarily responsible for the Party's political brief.

References

External links

Ringland accepts Arthur Ashe Award 2007 video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ringland, Trevor 1959 births Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Ballymena R.F.C. players Living people Solicitors from Northern Ireland Rugby union players from Belfast British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union wings Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Larne Grammar School