Diaspora newsletter december2017

Derry~Strabane Connecting with Global our Diaspora December 2017

In This Issue

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

TOP 10 SURNAMES in the Derry/Strabane area

I am delighted to welcome you to the 2nd edition of the Derry~Strabane Global: Connecting with our Diaspora newsletter. The Derry~Londonderry Diaspora project was established by Derry City & Strabane District Council with the aim of connecting with the Derry~Londonderry and Strabane Global Community wherever you may be living around the world.

In this e-zine you will find interesting articles about what is happening in Derry City & Strabane District, bios of Derry~Londonderry Diaspora, human interest stories about Derry City and Strabane District connections worldwide and a snapshot of jobs & key employers recruiting in the area.

I hope you find the e-zine interesting and enjoyable and I look forward to hearing from you about stories that you, our Derry City and Strabane Diaspora, would like to hear about. We encourage you to get in touch!

DIASPORA PROFILE Sarah Friar From Sion Mills to Silicon Valley

LORD MAYOR OF LONDON VISIT

NORTH WEST BUSINESS NEWS

Email: investment@derrystrabane.com

Who we are...

Invest Derry City and Strabane are the official Business promotion agency for Derry City & Strabane District Council.

Our mission is to tell Derry City and Strabane District’s story to an international audience.

Our purpose is to promote Derry~Londonderry & Strabane internationally, as a premier location in the world in which to invest, work, study and visit and to maintain and develop links with those who have a connection with Derry City & Strabane District.

We are here to help companies grow and thrive in the Derry City and Strabane District region.

Supporting Start Up, Growth and Innovative Businesses of all sizes to help fulfil their potential.

We provide free, bespoke and

confidential packages of advice for foreign and domestics companies and potential investors. We use our unrivalled local knowledge of the region to undertake wide-ranging property searches. We can also support your initial recruitment stages to assist with finding core staff, specialists and make relevant recruitment agency introductions for general hiring.

We also offer aftercare support to recent investors. Our services are available to national and international companies that wish to relocate to, export from or expand within the Derry City & Strabane District.

For more information visit

www.investderry.com

What’s in a name?

Can you guess the Top 10 surnames for the Derry~Londonderry area?

An understanding of surname history is an important aid to family history. Exploring the history of your surname is a useful first step on a journey to tracing roots in Ireland.

Surnames, as they are very much connected to place in Ireland, are an integral part of Irish identity and family history. Pride in Irish roots is often reflected, and indeed reinforced, in pride in sumame, or an ancestor’s surname, which confirms a connection with Ireland.

Sumames, or inherited family names, are the building blocks of genealogy; without them, it would be impossible to trace our ancestors back through the generations.

Although only detailed family history research will confirm the actual Irish origins of your ancestors, surname histories can provide clues and insight into family origins.

The 1989 Foyle Community Directory lists 1,860 unique surnames in Derry City. Each of these surnames bears a distinctive history and taken as a whole they are a record of population movements into the Derry area over the past 400 years.

Derry’s dynamic history can be seen in the richness and variety of her surnames. The three most common names have Donegal origins with Doherty heading the way with 469 entries, followed by McLaughlin on 276 and Gallagher with 170 entries. By way of contrast 808 surnames occur only once.

Ireland was one of the first countries to adopt a system of hereditary surnames which developed from a more ancient system of clan and sept names. From the 11th century each family began to adopt its own distinctive family name generally derived from the first name of an ancestor who lived in or about the 10th century.

The surname was formed by prefixing either ‘Mac’ (Son of)

or ‘O’ (Grandson or descendant of) to the ancestor’s name. Surnames in Ireland, therefore, tended to identify membership of a ‘sept’.

A sept can be identified as ‘a group of persons who, or whose immediate and known ancestors, bore a common sumame and inhabited the same locality’.

As a consequence, Gaelic-Irish surnames are still very dominant and numerous in the very districts where their names originated.

By tradition, many of the prominent surnames of Gaelic origin in Counties Derry, Donegal and Tyrone today trace their descent from either Eoghan or Conal Gulbar - two of the sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, King of Tara who was slain in 405AD. Those tracing descent from Eoghan include: Brolly, Carlin, Devlin, Donnelly, Duddy, Duffy, Farren, Gormley, Hegarty, McCloskey, McLaughlin, Mellon, Mullen, O’Hagan, O’Kane, O’Neill, Quinn and Toner. From Conall Gulban: Doherty, Friel, Gallagher, McCafferty, McDaid, McDevitt and O’Donnell.

In the 17th century substantial numbers of English and Scottish families settled in the northern part of Ireland during the socalled Plantation of Ulster.

Hence surnames such as Anderson, Arbuckle, Armstrong, Barr, Beattie, Bell, Buchanan, Burns, Campbell, Carruthers, Colhoun, Craig, Cunningham, Dunlop, Elliott, Ferguson, Finlay, Fleming, Frazer, Gillespie, Graham, Grant, Hamilton, Hanna, Haslett, Henderson, Holmes, Houston, Irvine, Irwin, Johnston, Kennedy, Kilgore, Lindsay, McAllister, McCartney, McClean, McClelland, McClintock, McCorkell, McCormick, McDonald, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moore, Olphert, Orr, Parkhill, Patterson, Patton, Rankin, Robb, Rosborough, Ross, Scott, Starrett, Stewart, Thompson, Wallace, Wilson and Young have been established in North West Ireland for well over three centuries.

Surname

Rank

No. of Entries

Foyle Community Entries 1989

Doherty

1

469

McLaughlin

2

246

Gallagher

3

170

Kelly

4

142

Moore

5

125

Coyle

6

116

Harkin

7

114

Bradley

8

110

Campbell

9

110

McDaid

10

105

More recent arrivals from outside the British Isles have also contributed a small but interesting collection of surnames in the Derry area. An Italian community with surnames such as Battisti, Caffola, Cassoni, Centra, Corrieri, Del Pinto, Fiorentini, Forte, Macari, Vaccaro and Yannarelli settled in Derry in the 1920s.

A Jewish community with names such as Schenkel, Szllagyi, Spain and Watchman settled in Derry and worshipped in a synagogue in Kennedy Place, and a thriving Indian Community, represented by surnames such as Chada, Singh, Vig and Vij has been established in the city since the 1930s, most of whom originate from the Punjab in northern India.

Written by Brian Mitchell.

Contact us at:

genealogy@derrystrabane.com

Diaspora Profile

Sarah Friar From Sion Mills to Silicon Valley

Growing up in Sion Mills, Sarah Friar’s introduction to engineering consisted of dismantling and reassembling her mum’s vacuum cleaner and her introduction to digital technology was a Commodore 64 home computer.

She’s come a long way from that Tyrone childhood and now, based in Silicon Valley, is one of the most powerful women in the technology industry. She recently became the first independent board member of Slack, a business communications platform. Her day job is Chief Financial Officer for Square. She led Square’s stock market flotation in 2015 and it now has a market capitalisation of more than $8bn (£6.2bn).

Sarah, along with other members of Northern Ireland’s tech diaspora have funded the conversion of Belfast Ormeau Baths building into a co-working space for freelancers and small businesses. She hopes it will allow for “the serendipity of bouncing ideas off different people. It’s about creating that nugget of an idea that really works. You’re going to get a bunch of folks with an entrepreneurial streak all in the same place, digging deep to push their own companies forward but they’re going to be talking to one another.”

She works alongside one of the world’s best known tech leaders, Jack Dorsey, the founder of both Square and Twitter.

“Jack is a phenomenal entrepreneur, what’s special about working with someone like that is you see their creative process in action, you see how spontaneous it is,” she

said. “Seeing something in action in is what gives him his next best idea or gives me my next best idea so my hope is that Ormeau Baths can become that little catalytic point.”

Her route to the top took her through corporate heavyweights McKinsey, Goldman Sachs and Salesforce after an engineering degree at Oxford, but at the root of that are her school days at Strabane Grammar.

“I was lucky in that I was very interested in math and science at school and that was really encouraged,” she said. “You hear a lot today about how girls maybe don’t get involved in those sorts of subjects. I never found that at school and in fact with all my best friends we were all mad about maths and science. There was never a sense that there was no job we shouldn’t aspire to.”

Square’s main business is helping small firms to take payments through a card reader and app. Its largest market is the United States and it has been operating in the UK for just over 2 months now.

“So far, so good,” Sarah said. “This has all the hallmarks of a market which should work for Square. A vibrant small business economy, very technology forward compared to the US and a very innovative spirit. That’s usually the sort of business which will embrace all the products that Square will bring to market.”

For more information on Square point of sale visit: squareup.com/gb

Successful Trade Mission strengthens relations with U.S

The travelling delegation includes companies from the digital tech, education, agri-food sectors and creative industries who are aiming to source business in US export markets.

Council led a successful trade mission to the US in November, working in partnership with Donegal County Council to support local businesses and promote the NW region as a first class location to do international business.

Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council, Councillor Maolíosa McHugh, presents the Golden Bridges Award for Education to Professor Neil Gershenfeld on behalf of The Nerve Centre’s John Peto

Work begins on building on strong connections made in Boston and Philadelphia. Ireland North West Delegation members from Derry City & Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council attending a lecture at Boston College by Ireland’s Ambassador to the US, Dan Mulhall

The busy itinerary for the week included meetings with the President of the Worcester Chamber Tim Murray, members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Irish Ambassador of Ireland to the US.

The delegation was joined by 15 local enterprises from the NW, and took in both Philadelphia and Boston Massachusetts during the week-long visit.

The mission is part of the Council’s wider international relations programme to promote the City and District globally and enhance its reputation and capacity to attract investment, generate business opportunities, and establish meaningful connections within the spheres of culture and education.

During the visit local businesses had the opportunity to network with a number of industry figures leading the way in global business, and carry out valuable market research to benefit their specific ventures.

Economic Development Memorandum of Understanding signed with Ireland Northwest Regional Development Group and Economic Development Boston Team to promote innovation and investment

The mission is the latest in a series of annual trips to the US, strengthening historic trans-Atlantic relations and also fortifying the North West’s regional position based on the partnership working between Derry and Donegal.

Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, Seamus Neely, presents the Golden Bridges Award for Commerce to Vice President of Campsie based Bemis Company Inc, Marty Scaminaci.

Networking opportunities included an Ireland North West Showcase event, an Invest NI Breakfast event, and culminated in the Golden Bridges conference at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Centre on the final day.

Council Chief Executives present the best of the North West in Boston in advance of the company presentations

Look out in the next edition for details on the Trade & Investment Delegation in Philadelphia June 2018

International Relations

Lord Mayor Of London Discusses Brexit & Business Opportunities

Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development Visit Derry~Londonderry

Deputy Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council, Councillor John Boyle, warmly welcomed the Lord Mayor of London Dr Andrew Parmley to the Guildhall on 10th October, describing the visit as ‘important and positive’ which has helped to strengthen business ties between both cities.

Business representatives from Pennsylvania have said there could be major opportunities for Derry-based businesses to expand into what has become one of the world’s largest economies. Talks have also been taking place around partnership work with Ulster University about trans-Atlantic collaboration. Joseph Burke, Deputy Secretary for International Business Development at the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Neil R. Weaver, Executive Deputy Secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development, Gene Barr – President & CEO Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Richard Kilner, Managing Director, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania European Investment Office, visited the city on their 2nd visit this October (previously visited in March).

During their visit the delegation received a tour of the expanding Fleming Agri products site and a visit to the Centre for Engineering, and the Intelligent Systems Research Centre (ISRC) and Renewable Energy at Ulster University (Magee Campus). A member of the delegation also delivered a presentation on potential trade and investment opportunities available in The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to a packed room local companies looking to export and do business in the USA. Engagement with Derry & Strabane Council and local companies has been ongoing since with plans to strengthen ties between the two regions.

As part of the visit, which marks the end of the Lord Mayor’s term, Andrew Parmley met local business leaders to discuss how both London and the North West can continue to thrive post-Brexit, and how to strengthen key areas of technological collaboration.

Deputy Mayor, John Boyle said: “It is important to acknowledge that the Lord Mayor of London, Andrew Parmley has made positive commitments to, and engaged positively with people and businesses throughout the City and District. It is also important that we continue to forge new relationships between both cities – focusing on the here and now, as well as the future.“ This was a very welcome and positive visit by the Lord Mayor of London. Local business leaders in particular will have left with positive ideas and ambitions after a real sense of commitment from Andrew Parmley. I hope that we will continue to be constructive partners who contribute in very positive ways to one another’s cities – not just in terms of interests and connections, but by encouraging investment and positive engagement by business.

As well as meeting the Deputy Mayor in the Guildhall and local business leaders, the Lord Mayor of London also visited the Ulster University’s Intelligent Systems Research Centre at Magee: “I was delighted to visit both the Guildhall and the Ulster University’s Intelligent Systems Research Centre. It is now more important than ever that our two cities continue seamless and regular dialogue to ensure shared prosperity. As my term draws to a close, I know just how determined the City of London is in maintaining a strong bond with Derry~Londonderry. I am also confident that our close collaboration will continue for years to come, to the benefit of the whole UK.”

C-Tric Hosts 8th International Annual Translational Medicine Conference On 20th – 21st September the City Hotel was the venue for the TMED8 Conference. Celebrating its eighth successful year, the event is recognised as a leading international conference in translational medicine and healthcare innovation, previously drawing clinicians, academics and businesses from UK, Ireland, Europe and the USA. The theme for this years conference is “Making the Right Decision, for the Right Patient, at the Right Time”. Local and international delegates drawn from Academia, Business and Clinical professions combined at TMED8 to explore how clinical decision making can

be optimised to improve care for not only the individual but also the wider population. Delegates were also provided with an overview of the €10.0m “Centre for Personalised Medicine, Clinical Decision Making and Patient Safety” (funded by SEUPB). TMED continues to target academics, clinicians, researchers and bio-industry R&D managers, with the aim of encouraging collaboration and communication, and to inform research and clinical interventions.

For more information on TMED8 and The Centre for Personalised Medicine, Clinical Decision Making and Patient Safety please see: http://www.investderry.com/ e10m-centre-for-personalised-medicine-clinical-decisionmaking-and-patient-safety-to-establish-at-ulster-

university/

Business News Lithe IT chooses Derry~Londonderry for team Lithe IT has set up a sales and marketing function in Londonderry to grow its business across Europe and North America, providing a wide range of business process services and solutions targeted at improving a business’s effectiveness and efficiency.

It specialises in providing process based software solutions aimed at addressing key business challenges across a number of industries. Customers include Transport for London and global businesses such as Canon, and Swiss Post Solutions.

Its new Derry based team of four will include a Sales Director, Sales Executive, Marketing Executive, and a Software Engineer. The new roles have salaries in the £25k-£50k range and the company hopes to increase employment further in the future.

Brendan McNabb, Chief Business Development Officer said: “This is an exciting time for Lithe IT in our ongoing global growth. We continue to invest in the business in response to the demand for our services and solutions primarily in the North America and EMEA regions.” Brendan is from the North West region and was a strong advocate for locating the project in Londonderry. “When we were considering where to place these new roles I was keen for Derry to be considered. As a local, I am very aware of the strong skill set here. We will be skilling up the team on new technologies and they will be working closely with me to identify new opportunities and provide support to our existing and new customers.”

€10m Centre for Personalised Medicine, Clinical Decision Making and Patient Safety to establish at Ulster University Ulster University is to establish a Centre for Personalised Medicine, Clinical Decision Making and Patient Safety which aims to dramatically improve clinical decision-making and tailored patient care in five priority disease areas. The research project, which will be a crossborder collaboration between the academic, clinical and commercial sectors, will focus on heart disease, emergency surgery, acute kidney injury, diabetes and dementia. The research institutes and companies that will be partnering with Ulster University in the new Centre are the University of Highlands and Islands, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Donegal Clinic Research Academy, National University of Ireland Galway, Letterkenny University Hospital, the Clinical Translational Research and Innovation Centre, Western Health and Social Care Trust, NHS Highlands Scotland, United Healthcare Group/Optum, Clinishare Ltd, Advanced Research Cryptography Ltd, Randox Laboratories Ltd and Northern Ireland Clinical Research Services Ltd. For more information please see: http://www.investderry.com/ e10m-centre-for-personalisedmedicine-clinical-decision-makingand-patient-safety-to-establish-atulster-university/

For more information: http://www.investderry.com/lithe-it-chooses-londonderry-fornew-sales-and-marketing-team/

Turley “plans ahead” with North West office Planning consultants Turley have announced plans to open a second regional office to serve the City of Derry and North West, and the creation of three new jobs in Northern Ireland. The national planning and design consultancy currently has offices in 12 locations across the UK, including an office in Belfast led by Office Director, Michael Gordon. The new City of Derry~North West office is to be led by fellow Director, Brian Kelly a native of Donegal and the lead planner on several major projects including the Titanic Quarter, Odyssey Millennium project and Altnagelvin Hospital’s Radiotherapy Unit. He said: “As a resident of the North West, I am delighted Turley is investing in a new office. This demonstrates a further commitment to our clients operating in the North West cross border region. We are responding to their demand, and a recognised opportunity to use planning to catalyse investments and deliver projects. Our own investment builds on a track record of high profile projects in the region, including the Radiotherapy unit, regeneration of Fort George and Ebrington Barracks, several social and private housing schemes, retail and other major employment & leisure schemes, including the Three Rivers development in Strabane.

“We see this as a next step in our growth at a time when there is new focus on the border region and opportunities that may be created following a ‘city’ or regional deal. There is simply no comparable ‘place-making’ planning offer operating in both jurisdictions in the North West region, and we look forward to working with clients and planning authorities throughout the area.” The office investment will be followed by the appointment of three new posts. Michael Gordon explained: “In recent years we have seen investor confidence returning. Turley has responded by continuing to develop our business to better support development projects. We now combine town planning, urban design, sustainability, economics and engagement expertise to help shape attractive commercially-viable places.

“Our team has grown to 14, the largest professional planning service on the island of Ireland. Market confidence has continued to return and has spurred our growth as we continue to secure significant permissions across commercial, residential and employment developments. We are now seeking to recruit three new positions to continue this growth and service the ongoing client work; with a senior planner in the North West, an assistant planner in Belfast, and a senior engagement consultant.”

Director of Engagement, John Davison added: “We have adapted to a reformed planning system that now sees local councils taking responsibility for local policy, and councillors in control of decision making. Planning has become increasingly local and community focussed. The emphasis now is on being engaged with local communities, locally elected representatives and to deliver economic growth opportunities. Our new office and these three new posts are a strategic response to maintain our growth and to service our clients.”

The new City of Derry~North West office is located at 37 Clarendon Street, BT48 7ER For More Information: http://www.investderry.com/turley-plans-ahead-with-city-ofderrylondonderry-north-west-office/

Dragon Brand Foods In Bid To Drive Export Growth With New Investment Strabane based food manufacturer, Dragon Brand Foods is investing over £1.5m in jobs, innovation and a new factory. The company is due to begin construction on its new factory at Strabane Business Park as part of its business growth strategy. The company is also creating 4 new roles and is using a grant for R&D to develop a new range of Free From sauces, dips and condiments for the more health conscious consumer.

The company’s investment will see it build 7,500 square feet of manufacturing space at Strabane Business Park.

Invest NI developed the park to help address the shortage of available industrial land in the district and play an important role in supporting economic development in the local area. “This investment marks the next step in the company’s journey to achieving faster export growth and reaffirms its continuing commitment to the Strabane area. Strabane Business Park offers potential tenants over 15 acres of serviced industrial land to help meet their immediate business growth needs.

For more information: http://www.investderry.com/ dragon-brand-foods-in-bid-to-drive-export-growthwith-new-investment/

Dupont and Japanese Delegation On 12th October, DuPont hosted an international delegation from Du Pont-Toray Co., Ltd. The 6 person delegation included the President of DuPont-Toray Co. and leading figures involved in the manufacturing and development of Kevlar globally. Delegates had a tour of the DuPont Maydown site and also met with members of the Derry City & Strabane District Council Business team.

Diaspora Events/Connections Come join our highly skilled and professional team of staff!

Enriching lives, building careers and supporting communities. The North West Regional College has been at the heart of life in the North West of Northern Ireland for more than 100 years. Investors in People accredited, the College provides hundreds of jobs across its teaching, support and technical areas.

Across the passing of time it has stood as an important institution renowned for delivering an extensive range of learning and career opportunities for thousands of learners.

As a supporter of the local economy, the North West Regional College has nurtured local enterprise through expert training and skills development. If you are interested in joining our team visit our website at http:// apps.nwrc.ac.uk/web/jobs/ to see our latest vacancies.

Recent jobs included Deputy Head of Department – Health and Sports, Lecturer in Motor Vehicle, Learning

Support Co-ordinator, Administrative Assistants, Administrative Officers and Technicians in Electrical Installation and Carpentry and Joinery. Our Part-time Lecturer’s register is currently open and receiving applications for a range of subject areas.

Our staff are entitled to some of the best employee benefits and support an employer could give making it a prime choice to further your career. See below some of the benefits we offer employees: • • • • • • •

Workplace Pension Scheme Healthcare Scheme Childcare Vouchers State of the Art Gym Cycle to Work Scheme Insurance Discount NWRC Course Discount

For more information please visit our website www.nwrc.ac.uk or contact a member of our recruitment team on 028 71 278 705.

Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards 2018 The nomination process for the Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards 2018 will soon be opening. The Gala Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday September 14th 2018 followed by the Tip O’Neill Donegal Diaspora Golf Challenge at Ballyliffin Golf Course on Saturday September 15th 2018.

Further information to be made available soon at http://irishdiasporaaward.com/

2017 ~ a busy year for local events In the Autumn months, Council has successfully delivered a wide range of events appealing to all audiences, which have drawn thousands of visitors to experience what the City and District has to offer.

September kicked things off with a celebration of all things cultural as Culture Night saw venues right across the city throw open their doors to new audiences with over 40 free events on the programme. There was great feedback from this year’s programme which was both diverse and entertaining, and which now paves the way for an even more eclectic and challenging programme next year.

October saw a packed programme of events, with something on the menu for everyone beginning with the return of the Slow Food Festival. Local foodies flocked to the marquis in the Guildhall Square to sample some of the very best local dishes and sustainable produce, and learn more about their origins.

Fashion Fest made its return this year with a stunning sell-out catwalk event staged in the Guildhall featuring work by the very best local designers showing alongside pieces by established fashion brands, such as Jenny Packham. The festival offers the ideal platform for emerging local talent to showcase their work, and Council’s business development team will continue their work with the local Design and Textile Hub to support designers and promote the textile industry.

The Guildhall has been the stunning setting for so many events this year, taking centre stage at the very first Guildhall Organ Festival which brought together some of the finest international music talent. The programme featured schools workshops, lunchtime recitals and evening performances, and the opportunity for many to hear the newly restored instrument played for the first time.

October finished in a blaze of colour with the annual Hallowe’en Festival. This year over 83,000 enjoyed the events which took place across the District, once again securing our reputation as the Best Hallowe’en Destination in the World. The event has drawn the attention of the Boston Globe, New York Times and Irish Times who this year all dedicated print space to paying tribute to the Festival, and its growing international reputation is evident in the increasing numbers of tourists attending each year.

Visitors travelled from towns across Ireland, as well as more exotic locations including Russia, France, Canada and Hawaii to enjoy the new elements of the programme this year, as well as the usual favourites, and feedback has been fantastic to date.

Last but not least, the Craft Fair filled the Guildhall with Christmas cheer this month as almost 4,000 shoppers flocked to pick up some special hand crafted gifts.

This year the offering was extended to feature some delicious local food produce, which went down a treat with the crowds.

Events to Look Forward to in 2018 The Strabane/Lifford and Waterside Half Marathons will also be back for another year in May and August – the perfect next step for anyone who has completed Council’s Couch to 5k Challenge, or for anyone hoping to improve their general fitness levels.

The ground-breaking Mabel

Colhoun – a North West Pioneer exhibition continues

at the Tower Museum until January 21st, featuring her incredible and inspirational collections relating to her work as a teacher, archaeological surveyor, writer, artist and historian.

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2018 Foyle Maritime Festival returns to Derry~Londonderry in July 2018 and will host the stopover of the Clipper Race 2017-18 as they near the end of their Round the World Journey. Queen’s Quay will once again be transformed into a maritime wonderland full of fun, activities, music, arts and crafts as we prepare to welcome the Clipper Race yachts back!

For more information: www.foylemaritimefestival.com

Hallowe’en 2018 27th – 31st October A welcome like no other awaits you, as the division between this world and the otherworlds is at its thinnest, as supernatural beings and the souls of the dead flood into the City. Join us to celebrate Hallowe’en 2018 with a celebration like no other, filled with ghoulish events and frightful fun for all the family. Voted the best Hallowe’en destination in the world by USA Today.

For more information: www.derryhalloween.com The North West Angling Fair makes its return with another two days of angling activities on the Mourne on Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th April, welcoming back a host of world class fly dressers, casters and angling celebrities.

January is a great time to start a new training regime – so why not set a challenge for yourself with one of Council’s many sports events or programmes? The Staff Couch to 5k will take place from January – March 2018. Or why not Try a Tri (male & female) from March – April offering the opportunity to train towards a mini-triathlon, a great chance to try something completely different.

Home For Christmas?

Check our Christmas Events Council’s Christmas programme is now in full swing following the Christmas lights switch on events.

We can look forward to a series of magical yuletide moments in the coming weeks including: Dec 14th – 17th: Winterland Market, Guildhall Sq. Dec 9th, 16th & 22nd: Wonderland Windows Trail Dec 16th & 17th: Bjorn the Bear