Foyle Days
Foyle Days event hailed a success
Derry City Council’s “Foyle Days” maritime festival has been hailed a success after thousands of visitors flocked to the event at Queen’s Quay over the weekend of Saturday June 13 and Sunday June 14.
Organised by Derry City Council, funded by Lough’s Agency and facilitated by Londonderry Port to celebrate the city’s maritime heritage, a wide range of water based activities and exhibitions were held with something for everyone
The Mayor, Councillor Paul Fleming, says that it was encouraging to see such big crowds enjoying ‘Foyle Days’. “It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying themselves at ‘Foyle Days’. It’s very easy to take the river for granted but an event like this, with so many different water based activities and exhibitions, it reminds of just what a rich resource it is for the people of the city,” he said.
In particular, the water-based activities at ‘Foyle Days’ proved incredibly popular with the public and were booked out, with hundreds of children and adults getting to try their hand at scuba diving, canoeing and taking part in Eco-based boat tours. Such was the huge level of interest in the maritime events, that additional sessions were organised to ensure everyone got an opportunity to get involved. The Loughs Agency’s exhibition and water pool proved a big hit, as did the Bio Diversity trail. While a flag-making workshop organised by the North West Carnival Initiative was also a big success.
Of course, one of the big draws was the Royal Navy ship HMS Cattistock, with over 900 visitors getting the chance to come on board and have a look around the vessel which is part of the Second Mine Counter Measures Squadron and is normally based at Portsmouth.
Back on shore the Foyle Days marquee never emptied all weekend with all the attractions proving extremely popular. The Peace Bridge display, featuring a huge scale model of the proposed footbridge across the Foyle, was another exhibition that attracted a big interest.
Away from the quay, there was standing room only at St Columb’s Cathedral for the re-dedication of the Derry-Newfie Bell, which commemorates the crucial role played by the city during World War Two. This ceremony marked the conclusion of the Royal Naval Association’s Annual Conference that took place in the city over the week with over 300 delegates attending including members of both the Royal Navy and the Canadian Navy.
Claire Lundy, Marketing and Communications Officer with Derry City Council commented that event had been a great success. “This years ‘Foyle Days’ has been a tremendous success we were overwhelmed by the positive response we got from the public over the course of the weekend. ‘Foyle Days’ allowed us to highlight just how rich a natural resource the Foyle is for the city. I’d like to thank all those groups and individuals who contributed to the event and also the public who came along and made the Foyle Days 2009 such a success. Foyle Days has quickly become one of the city’s summer highlights and grows from strength to strength every year,” she said.
Click here to view images from the event
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For further press information contact Derry City Council’s Marketing and Communications Section on 028 71376504.
