Thousands bid farewell to Alex "Hurricane" Higgins

THE Hurricane that drew thousands on to the streets of Belfast yesterday was a snooker player beaten by the twin foes of fame and fortune.

• Higgins' coffin was carried through the streets in a carriage. Picture: PA

As thousands lined the pavements for the funeral of Alex "Hurricane" Higgins, the Dean of Belfast said the player, who developed a reputation as a hellraiser, had found it difficult to cope with success.

The former world champion, who earned 4 million during his career but died alone in sheltered housing after a long battle with throat cancer and alcoholism, was celebrated yesterday at St Anne's Cathedral by fellow players such as Jimmy White, Stephen Hendry and Willie Thorne for his skill with a cue.

Addressing the mourners, Houston McKelvey, the Dean of Belfast, said the player had encountered two of the greatest temptations possible - fame and fortune, and had found it difficult to cope with both.

"He was not the first to find this difficult and he certainly will not be the last. When things turned sour for 'Higgy' he came home, to the city in which he was born, to the place in which he was raised, to where he didn't have to say who he was."

Who he was, according to Jimmy White who was so overcome with grief that he asked the Dean to read out his tribute, was a player who energised the game and ran into trouble away from the table but who remained a loyal friend.

White recounted an anecdote from a casino in Southampton where they had been drinking and gambling for a couple of days.

They were in the toilet chatting and White sat on the sink - which came off the wall flooding the place. Higgins confessed to the damage and the pair spent the day in police cells until it was paid for.

"Only a year ago, Alex was talking about playing again and coming on the road with me," said White.

"It angers me that he never listened to anyone, close friends or family but that was Alex. He was an individual, his own man, he was the Hurricane."

For many a fond memory of the man was when he beat Ray Reardon 18-15 in the final of the World Championships, prompting tearful scenes as he beckoned his then wife Lynn and baby out of the audience to celebrate with him.

Yesterday there were more tears when the baby, his daughter Lauren, read out a poem which included the lines: "A million times I will cry. If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died."

A tearful White helped carry the coffin of the troubled snooker genius who was found dead last month. A floral tribute read: "The People's Champion."

His coffin was taken from the family home in Roden Street through the centre of Belfast to St Anne's Cathedral in the south of the city in a horse drawn carriage. Hundreds who had gathered in the Sandy Row area, where Higgins grew up and died, applauded as the procession passed.

He was buried at Carnmoney Cemetery on the outskirts of north Belfast.