Antrim couple go back to where it all began - at the Floral Hall

ON MARCH 11th 1966, their eyes locked across the dancefloor at the Floral Hall at Bellevue, now part of the grounds of Belfast Zoo.

Two years later, on March 11 1968, Hewitt and Liz Law were married at Greencastle Methodist Church.

And on March 11 2026, 60 years since they first met, their children Stephen, Deborah and Barbara took their parents back to the Floral Hall, thanks to assistance from South Antrim MP Robin Swann.

And lets say, the Laws are looking much fresher than the building where they met!

The couple live off the Seven Mile Straight, with Hewitt a keen member of First Muckamore Scouts and a lifelong member of the cricket club, which he joined at the age of just eight-years-old.

Liz was a student nurse when they met and worked at various hospitals over the years.

Back when he was 18 and she was 19, Hewitt and his pals would flock to dance halls all over Northern Ireland to see acts like the Royal and Miami Showbands and Eileen Reid and the Cadets.

He was also a visitor to the Flamingo in Ballymena, where he saw the likes of Roy Orbison and Tom Jones in their prime.

Back in March 1966, Butch Moore and the Capitol Showband were strutting their stuff on stage at the Floral Hall.

Young Elizabeth lived in Belfast, just at the foot of the hill, and locked eyes with the trainee accountant.

Hewitt said: “The showband era was fantastic in the 60s and we were lucky enough to enjoy it, the Floral Hall was a beautiful setting for dances and I hope it is restored to its former glory.

“There were lots of nurses there that night, and I went across the dancefloor to ask Liz for a dance - it would have been a very long walk back, if she said no!

“I think she looked at me and though, ‘will I or won’t I?’

“And she did, here we are 60 years later and 58 years married.

“The Floral Hall isn’t in a great state at the moment so we couldn’t go inside, but it was brilliant to walk down memory lane. We remember it like it was yesterday, the sun shone the whole time.

“It was a lovely thing for the children to do and we had a fantastic day, it was a brilliant way to mark 60 years since the day we met.

“If they do refurbish the Floral Hall, they need to hold a 60s night with all that music from the era - the place would be packed!”

Belfast City Council has approved funding of £500,000 to help restore the building.

The funding, which was agreed at Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee earlier this month, will be ratified at next week’s full Council meeting.

Built in the 1930s and located in the grounds of Belfast Zoo, the venue was used as a dance hall and later a concert space, but has lain dormant since the early 1970s.

Following its closure, the building fell into a state of disrepair and has been the subject of numerous calls for its restoration.