"Training has been going very well, we're in top shape right now, so super happy about that," said Firus. "We just want to skate to the best of our abilities and make the top 20. Anything higher than that is even better." Their dream is both inches away and miles out of reach. Firus and Soucisse, both Canadian-born, switched allegiance to Ireland in 2023. Now a married couple, they qualified via Rule 109 and his Gorey-born grandmother Dorothy, all of which is enough to allow them compete on the European and World stages. But that isn’t enough for the Olympics. To be eligible for Italy next year, Firus and Soucisse both need to be Irish citizens. For Soucisse to qualify, she needs to live in Ireland. Now here’s the problem: there is just one ice rink on the island and it isn’t suitable for their needs. So … they can’t live in Ireland. This isn’t something they foresaw. Soucisse grew up just beyond the island of Montreal, an area roughly equal to Cork City, and on which there are over 50 ice rinks. Firus is from North Vancouver over on the west coast. Rinks aren’t as ubiquitous there, but there is no shortage either. So, what they didn’t expect when preparing for their first Irish national championships two years ago was that the event would actually be held in Dundee. In Scotland. Soucisse summed up her surprise at this succinctly. “If Africa has one, you would think…” In terms of ice rinks, Ireland is a black hole. Other European countries without one? Albania. And Liechtenstein. And Liechtenstein is a dot on the map surrounded by countries that are more than adequately equipped. There are rinks in Kuwait and in Mongolia. In Singapore and Thailand. The one permanent facility on this island, a council-owned operation just east of Belfast in Dundonald, has been a commercial success for decades and is undergoing a facelift to keep up with demand. These things work. Efforts to get one off the ground down south have come to nothing, even with the interest of at least two US-based investor groups willing to pump millions in and the backing of some of the biggest names and institutions in the wider winter sports world. It is an open goal in terms of sporting, economic and cultural gains, a win-win for everybody. That’s what makes it all the more frustrating: for Firus and Soucisse, for winter sports and for the wider population that would benefit from a multi-purpose facility. The SSE Arena in Belfast doesn’t just host the Belfast Giants. André Rieu, the Sugababes and Olly Murs are all playing there next month. Bryan Adams, Katy Perry and the Belfast International Tattoo will take over for shifts later in the year. “I haven’t heard of any ice rinks in Canada, even with the volume of them, going bankrupt,” Soucisse offered. “Then you look at the seasonal ice rinks they open around Christmas in Ireland and they are fully booked up with long waiting lists. The demand is there.” All of which leaves them in this Catch-22 situation. Lack of available time on the ice means Dundoland doesn’t suit their needs given the huge amount of footfall generated by the public, and there are, in fact, no Irish international skaters currently based at home for this very reason. So, what to do? Discussions with lawyers reached a dead end. There is no escaping the fact that Soucisse needs to reside in Ireland for a time to gain citizenship. That leaves them relying on a special exemption from the powers-that-be. Other countries have done it in the past but there is a painful irony in the fact that the pair made the switch from Canada to Ireland precisely because of the fact that they were finding their progression to the sport’s highest levels blocked. Fourth at the Four Continent Championships in 2018, they represented their country of birth at the Worlds that same year, since which their opportunities had constricted despite still being ranked well inside the world’s top 20. It was their coach who put the Irish idea in their heads at first, but that was a big call. Crossing that Rubicon would mean sitting out a year of international competition from their last event as Canadians. It felt like either that or retire. “We were like, ‘you know what, we’re at a breaking point here’,” said Soucisse. Bedding in this new life took time. Not just for them and a world ranking that inevitably slid with their 12-month absence. When they pitched up at their first Europeans there were judges puzzled at the presence of ‘Canadian’ skaters on the programme. “It was strange the first year competing for Ireland. Although we had the same skills and the same faces, people didn’t recognize us,” Soucisse explained. “It took a few months. It took time for people to realise that they knew who we were so there was an adaptation phase.” That was helped by trips around the island. They have taken in Dublin, eaten the strawberries in Wexford, fallen in love with Dick Mack’s pub in Dingle and topped it off with an engagement at a fittingly sunny Cliffs of Moher. They are already the first ice dancers to represent this country at Europeans and at Worlds, but to qualify a place for Ireland at Milan Cortina would be a “pinnacle” for Firus. Soucisse echoed that, her drive heightened by the support they have received from these shores. “So even though it isn’t home, it does feel like home for us,” she said.