Dublin Lord Mayor Visits Belfast

Dublin Lord Mayor Christy Burke has paid a visit to Belfast.

During his trip to the city, he met Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Nichola Mallon. The meeting is one of a series of events the Lord Mayor is taking part in across the city and aims to build on the relationship that exists between the two cities.

As part of today's schedule (8 December), both Lord Mayors took time to visit some charitable and social enterprise projects across Belfast, as well as a civic reception held in City Hall.

The visit commenced with a trip to FabLab in the north of Belfast, where both Lord Mayors took part in technology workshops with local school children. FabLab is run by the Ashton Community Trust which offers local people the opportunity to turn their own ideas into a reality using various pieces of software equipment.

They also met with DePaul, a charity that helps support people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. The Lord Mayors also visited Crumlin Road Gaol and took part in a guided tour of the former prison, and the From Bolshoi to Belfast exhibition currently taking place at the venue.

Belfast Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon said: "I'm delighted to welcome Christy to Belfast, to share with him my main goals during my term in office and to hear and learn from his own initiatives.

"I think it's very important to build on the strong link we have with the city of Dublin, particularly after the success of the Belfast to Dublin economic corridor project earlier this year."

Dublin Lord Mayor Christy Burke added: "I was delighted to accept the invitation from Nichola to join her on a day of engagements across Belfast.

"It has been a privilege to experience at first hand the technological innovations that young people in the city can learn about and to meet many inspiring leaders that are doing such great work to give people a second chance in life.

"The relationship between Belfast and Dublin continues to grow and I look forward to sharing the experiences of today with my colleagues back in Dublin."

(JP/CD)