Dissidents not affecting Derry culture bid - envoy

DISSIDENT REPUBLICAN activity will not affect Derry’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2013, US economic envoy to Northern Ireland Declan Kelly has said.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will today formally back the city’s bid, in which Mr Kelly said the issue of dissident republican activity would be addressed directly. There was no point in pretending it was not an issue, he said. “I believe that one of the compelling reasons to give Derry this opportunity is to send a message to these people, these cowards, if they think they’re going to derail the peace process they’re wrong,” he said.

Derry is competing with Birmingham, Norwich and Sheffield, and a decision will be made in June. Speaking at an event to promote the bid in Dublin yesterday, Mr Kelly said he was highly optimistic Derry would win. If the city was successful, up to 2,000 new jobs and up to £300 million (€352 million) would be brought to the region, he said.

He thanked Seamus Heaney, John Hume, Paul Brady, Feargal Sharkey and others for their support. Gabriel Byrne, Brendan Gleeson, Moya Doherty and John McColgan also back the bid.

Mr Cowen said he had no doubt Derry would prove itself an extremely worthy winner. It had a rich cultural history and the people of the city demonstrated real spirit and a drive to overcome adversity in troubled times.

“That spirit has been harnessed by the entire community in supporting the City of Culture bid,” Mr Cowen said. “If the bid is successful, Derry and the wider North West region will have a golden opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of its cultural life”.