Northern Irish Connections

NORTHERN IRISH 02 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

CONTENTS Demystifying

04 06 08 10 15 16 18 20 22 25 26 30

Bronagh Waugh

THE DIASPORA

New York Stories

Ralph McLean

North America

Enterprise Minister

Chef Clare Smyth

Food and Drink

Jim Clerkin

Tourism

China

Tech Future

Euro 2016 PUBLISHED BY Belfast Telegraph 124-144 Royal Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim BT1 1EB ADVERTISING Jackie Reid – Senior Advertising Manager Tel: 028 90554685 j.reid@belfasttelegraph.co.uk EDITOR Yvette Shapiro CONTRIBUTORS John Mulgrew, Rachel Martin, Ralph McLean, Symon Ross DESIGN Robert Armstrong – INM Design Studio, Belfast PRINTING INM, Newry

O

ur world has never been more connected, which means there has never been a better time to reach out and engage with our diaspora network.

What is a diaspora, you might ask? It’s a term that comes from two Greek words – dia, meaning ‘over’ and spiro, meaning ‘scattering’ and has now been adopted to describe people from a country living elsewhere.

It’s estimated that worldwide there are at least 240m million people living in a country they weren’t born in – and that number is rising every day with populations on the move in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

To us at Northern Irish Connections “the diaspora” means the Northern Irish abroad and those with a strong connection to this part of the world, whether through birth, marriage, ancestry, education, business or who just have a particular affinity with our actors, artists, musicians or sports stars.

Over 10m first and second generation

BY ANDREW COWAN Chief executive, Northern Irish Connections Northern Irish live away from our region, a number that increases to 20m if we look to those with third generation connections.

You’ll find the Northern Irish diaspora in over 50 countries around the world including the US, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and China.

I myself have been one of them. After growing up in Newry in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, I lived away from home for 21 years. Through education and my career I’ve met lots of Irish and Northern Irish people in many different countries.

I’ve now moved back home with my family but my experience of living away, of being in their shoes, has given me a real insight into how important it is to so many people to still be connected with home.

There are many people still living away

Northern Irelands’ Brightest and Best They may be big stars in the worlds of sport and media, but they’re closely connected to the place where their journeys began. Rachel Martin heard from three of our brightest and best expats

who may never think about coming back to live but still have strong connections to home. Some visit once a year, others once a month, but you can bet that call to mum and dad still happens every Sunday, like an umbilical cord connecting you to the news from the street you grew up on.

Of course we are not the first country to recognise the power that our diaspora network holds. People have, for centuries, been connecting back and contributing to their home countries from their new homes abroad.

In fact, there are now more than 450 initiatives happening around the globe.

Some countries have ambassadors or ministers for the diaspora, and perhaps we need to ask whether the time is now right for us to have an official policy to really make the most of the opportunity.

Rostrevor-born Jim Clerkin, president and chief executive of Moet Hennessy USA, makes that case very powerfully in this magazine.

You might ask why we should put effort into engaging with the Northern Irish abroad. The simple answer is the diaspora equals jobs. The diaspora means opportunity. The diaspora can help us raise the tide for the whole of Northern Ireland through the economy, the arts, education and tourism.

The talented and influential Belfast-born Stephen Colvin, chief executive of the Robb Report in New York, uses his interview in this special edition to call for an international summit to bring the Northern Irish diaspora together here at home.

Something I am also passionate about.

This magazine is about shining a light on some of the people from here who are doing great things around the world and to get you talking about the diaspora – whether you’re at home or abroad.

When you read their stories, the question really becomes, why would we not engage with them? And how do we best harness their talents and, importantly, their desire to help Northern Ireland grow?

And finally, if you haven’t been home for a while now is the time to do it, with 2016 The Year of Food and Drink and The Open Championship coming in 2017. I’m inviting you.

We hope you’ll get involved and in the meantime, enjoy the magazine.

If you wish to learn more about Northern Irish Connections and connect with the diaspora network, you can visit our website, www.niconnections.com

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EAMONN HOLMES, Broadcaster

Eamonn Holmes is very certain of his identity – and very proud.

“I know I am a Belfast man first and a Northern Irishman second. I intrinsically know what that means.”

Eamonn started his on-screen career as a farming reporter with UTV, and became the youngest presenter on the ITV network at the age of 21. His career has soared since then: he anchors Sky News Sunrise and is a regular host of ITV’s This Morning, alongside his wife Ruth Langsford. He also presents many other TV shows on ITV and BBC. But his Belfast roots run deep. “I miss the people, the sociability, the accessibility, the sense of community there that I don’t have here (in England),” said Eamonn. “We have had a lot of adversity and we have learned to smile through it. I’ve been able to carry

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 03

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

again but now I’ve children and family in England.

“I’m very proud of where I’m from. I’m very proud to be Irish. It’s where I grew up and I have great memories there. I use to love going to Portstewart and Portrush when I was younger. I hope to get back in the next few weeks to play golf.”

Tony praised how much Northern Ireland had changed since he was young.

“It’s really developed as a country and people there should be proud of that. I’m very proud of the togetherness which seems to have come out of the place. It seems like a great place to be.”

He hopes his children Eve and Archie, aged eight and two, will share his love of Northern Ireland, but he joked: “Apparently they’re plastic paddies! My mother always says that and they’d even say that themselves!”

Eamonn Holmes that forward as a professional skill.”

Eamonn cherishes his close connection to Northern Ireland and urges other expats to do the same.

“I don’t think you can underestimate what NI Connections are trying to do. It has to be a good thing to bring people together, to make the best of the background which has forged us, motivated us, educated us, made us canny, shrewd, humorous and sociable.

“Be part of your own, be involved in the diaspora, I think it’s a marvellous thing.”

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AP McCOY, champion jockey

He’s ridden more than 4,300 race winners, won the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and was declared champion jump jockey 20 years in a row.

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BARRY McGUIGAN, Boxing Legend

AP McCoy But retirement doesn’t mean that former jockey Tony McCoy will get to spend much more time in Northern Ireland.

Tony McCoy was born in Moneyglass, Co Antrim, but left Northern Ireland aged just 15 to follow his dreams of becoming a professional jockey. His success in racing has given him legendary status and has his pride in the region has made him a supporter of all things Northern Ireland.

He said: “I’m never going to live at home again. I miss the people I grew up with and my family most of all. I like going home. I thought when I retired I might come home

Northern Ireland’s progress is a source of pride for boxing legend Barry McGuigan. The Monaghan man may have left for England 28 years ago but still considers his house in Ulster as “home”.

He said: “As soon as I touch down in Belfast my state of mind changes and I feel relaxed and content. There are so many great things about Ulster that make me proud. We have incredibly resilient people who have come through so many difficulties in the last 40 years. We have so many high achievers, especially in sport, but also in business, music and in the arts.”

Barry and his wife Sandra have been patrons of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education for over 30 years. He’s

Barry McGuigan an active campaigner for the cause, and urged politicians here to get behind it as the real key to progress in Northern Ireland.

“The Integrated movement have had repeated success in this area for 35 years, they know what they are doing and they have the empirical evidence to prove it.

Despite the fact there may be budgetary issues, the Executive cannot afford the cost of not getting the educational system right in the years to come.

“I mean why would you ignore 35 years of success? It just doesn’t make sense. In any case, I sincerely hope the integrated education people get all the help they need to prove that the more integrated schools that are built in Northern Ireland the more solid and secure our future is, because our future is our children.”

NORTHERN IRISH 04 CONNECTIONS

Bronagh and actor Richard Clements, her co-star in A Christmas Star

Northern Ireland is the star attraction in the

movie business The actress Bronagh Waugh stars in one of Britain’s top rated dramas, The Fall. As Yvette Shapiro reports, she’s a passionate ambassador for Northern Ireland’s film industry

B

ack in 2002, Bronagh Waugh made a very big decision.

Unable to get acting work in England after graduating from drama school, she moved home to Northern Ireland.

“It was the BBC series Murphy’s Law that pushed me to make the move,” she said. “Even though I’m from Coleraine, the same town as the lead actor Jimmy Nesbitt, the casting director wouldn’t see me because I had no Northern Ireland

credits on my CV. It was infuriating!

“All my actor friends told me I was crazy, but I had a gut feeling that if I moved home and built up a body of work, it would lead to greater opportunities.”

And she was right. Bronagh worked steadily in theatre and when the casting director of the Channel Four soap Hollyoaks was looking for a Northern Ireland actor for the part of Cheryl Brady, Bronagh had her break. Her outstanding performance brought her nominations for Best Newcomer, Best Actress and Best Comedy Performance at the British Soap Awards in 2010.

Cheryl Brady was a comedic character, very far removed from the sombre role she’s now best-known for: Sally-Ann Spector, the wife of serial killer Paul Spector, played by Co Down actor Jamie Dornan. Bronagh has appeared in two series of the hit BBC drama, alongside American actress Gillian Anderson. A third series is in production.

“It’s wonderful to be able to work back home,” said Bronagh. “On The Fall, the director and other senior production people are English but they now call Northern Ireland home, they absolutely love it.

“When we did the first series, I was so excited to show them around Belfast, particularly the fantastic food scene. I took them to great restaurants like James Street South, Deanes and the Mourne Seafood Bar. And on the north coast, it was

fantastic to take people to The Ramore in Portrush because the owner is a friend of my family.

“Now I don’t need to sell Northern Ireland. Everyone knows how good it is.”

Bronagh is currently starring in the locally-filmed movie A Christmas Star, backed by the Cinemagic charity that offers young people the opportunity to learn about film-making, behind and in front of the camera. There are appearances from

Coleraine’s James Nesbitt is in demand for film and TV roles worldwide

Pierce Brosnan, Richard Clements, Kylie Minogue, and Downton Abbey’s difficult butler, Robert James-Collier, as well as writer Julian Fellowes. The voiceover is performed by Liam Neeson.

“Everyone loved working on A Christmas Star,” said Bronagh. “One of the English crew, the gaffer (head electrician), loved Northern Ireland so much that he’s bought a house in Carnlough, where we were filming for eight weeks, and he’s living there now full time. The great thing is that he’s getting lots of steady work in the industry locally.”

Bronagh is excited about the fastexpanding film and television industry in Northern Ireland and believes that young people who want to work in the sector now have a real chance of a successful career.

“When I was growing up in the 80s, the notion of becoming an actor in Northern Ireland was regarded as totally implausible. There wasn’t enough of an industry to sustain you. Now it’s a real prospect, and there are so many opportunities for people who want to work as crew, make-up, directing.

“The industry here is really vibrant and the regeneration and investment it’s bringing is fantastic. HBO and Game of Thrones have made such a difference. It showcases what Northern Ireland has to offer as a location: the mountains and the water, our wonderful landscape that can represent anywhere in the world. It’s so versatile.

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 05 Bronagh Waugh and costar Jamie Dornan in the BBC drama, The Fall

Bronagh and Hollyoaks co-star Stuart Manning at the British Soap Awards “And I know that producers and directors are so incredibly impressed with the local crews, they really are second to none. In the past, they had to fly in a DoP (Director of Photography) and camera operators, now they’re hiring locally. It means a lot of people in the industry don’t have to leave Northern Ireland to get work.”

Bronagh now lives in Guildford, near London, but the appeal of home is very strong.

“I’m back and forth all the time and I have definitely toyed with the idea of moving back home. I would love to set up an accredited drama school. My involvement with Cinemagic is all about giving something back and I feel very privileged to be able to do that.

“My partner is from the south of England, but if I was single I would definitely be back. There are so many positives to living in Northern Ireland, my

NOW I DON’T NEED TO SELL NORTHERN IRELAND. EVERYONE KNOWS HOW GOOD IT IS.

Co Antrim’s Dark Hedges, a location in Game of Thrones English friends are flabbergasted when I tell them about the price of houses and rent back home. Plus, it’s so easy to fly over to England now when you need to commute.

“We will see a big wave of my generation moving back, now that the situation is so positive, and not just in the film industry.”

However, Bronagh is worried about the impact of austerity on the arts sector in Northern Ireland, and has flown home on several occasions to lend her support to protests against cuts.

“You have to look after the small, homegrown arts and theatre companies.

To have a Ridley Scott film made here is brilliant, of course, but I would argue that it doesn’t have the same impact on a community as a community-based theatre company.

“When Game of Thrones eventually packs up and leaves town, we still want to have a conveyor belt of talent coming through. Art changes lives and it often comes out of conflict, which is probably why our arts scene is thriving. But we must nurture it.

“It’s time to write the next chapter.”

No-one will be surprised if Bronagh is one of the people writing it.

Bronagh at The Sunday Life Spirit of NI Awards

NORTHERN IRISH 06 CONNECTIONS

NEW YORK

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stories ✱

She’s featured in ER, starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa and played Clint Eastwood’s daughter-in-law in Gran Torino, but Geraldine Hughes is very much a product of Northern Ireland.

Geraldine grew up in West Belfast during the troubles, emigrating to the United States 25 years ago, having won a scholarship to the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

She then moved to New York to work on Broadway, starring in Brian Friel’s Translations and picking up numerous television roles in top-notch American dramas like ER. In her most recent show, Geraldine lays bare the reality of her own childhood, playing 24 different characters in a one–woman show called, Belfast Blues.

Geraldine has lived away for most of her adult life, but that’s not to say she’s never looked back.

She said: “I would never give up my childhood, even as hard as it was, because I love to tell people I’m from Northern Ireland. There’s so much to talk about, people always talk about the negatives but the positives are extraordinary. Each time I go back I see how it’s changed and how

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Geraldine Hughes extraordinary the people are.

“The new generation of people, they’re doing it really well and creating their own idea of what it is to be Northern Irish.

Speaking about NI Connections, she said: “It’s a great idea, a fantastic way to get people who all have the same notions and cultural identity to get together to help one another and meet one another.”

“We all leave and go and work in different places for different reasons but it’s lovely to reconnect. I’ve already reached out to NI Connections with my show and introducing people who could possibly be helped along the way. it’s a wonderful organisation for people – you never know who you might meet.”

Belfast-born Stephen Colvin knows about the good things in life. The very best things, actually. He runs the Robb Report, which describes itself as “the single most influential journal of living life to the fullest”.

Robb Report is a print and digital magazine targeted at an exceptionally affluent audience, featuring luxury cars, aircraft, fine dining, travel, watches, art and jewellery. It’s New York-based, but has a global reach into 14 international markets in nine languages.

Stephen, who’s previously held senior posts at Newsweek, CBS Interactive and a leading venture capital firm, has just been promoted to chief executive officer of Robb Report.

He left Belfast in 1982 to go to university, but has been a frequent visitor home. He’s a proud supporter of Northern Ireland.

“The Northern Irish are some of the best educated and most industrious people in the world whose talent and determination, I think, will reshape the country to be as important an economic centre as it was 60 or 70 years ago, although this time through digital innovation, whether it be in science, technology, banking, media and more.

“In many ways it is already happening, with so many international companies setting up there and so many innovative start-ups coming out of the universities.”

Stephen has kept many friendships from home and says he’s made new connections with the many Northern Ireland expats in New York. He’s a key supporter of the work of NI Connections.

“It is an excellent way for us all, and for our children, to stay in touch with our Northern Irish heritage. It is also an excellent way for Northern Ireland to harness the passion, expertise and resources that the diaspora represents across the numerous areas of life.

“A series of summits bringing us together in the different regions of the world would, in my opinion, be a good way to activate such opportunity.”

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 07

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

John Duddy

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“Now I’m pursuing acting I find myself coming back to Northern Ireland more and more.”

Professional boxer-turned-actor John Duddy says changes in Northern Ireland have put the country on the movie industry’s map.

John, who has worked alongside greats such as Robert De Niro, says he now sees Northern Ireland as somewhere actors want to be.

Originally from Londonderry, John left after 12 years of amateur boxing, to turn pro in New York. During his boxing career, John only lost twice in 31 bouts. Known as “the Derry Destroyer”, he held titles in both the IBA World and WBC Continental Americas championships.

He won his first Irish national title at the age of 15 and went on to represent the Republic at European level and during the Olympic qualifiers.

He achieved his dream, finishing his career with a record of 29 fights, 2 losses (both on points), 27 wins – 18 by knock out.

Following his retirement in 2010, John swapped one dream for another and decided to stay in New York to become an actor. Inbetween, he worked as a removals man to make ends meet.

He said of working with De Niro: “When I got the phone call I was driving in my car and I answered the phone on speakerphone and all of a sudden ‘Hello is this John Duddy?’ and I’m like, ‘Yes.’ ‘Hi, it’s Bob.’ ‘Bob?’ ‘Yes, Bobby De Niro. I’m wondering if you’d be available to come to LA for a week or two?’ so I said, ‘Let me think about it; yes, I can make it!’

“I’ve been very fortunate with my boxing history, because it’s led me in to some opportunities which I might not have gotten otherwise,” he continued. “I was able to work with De Niro, I trained him for six weeks before he did a movie called Grudge Match, because of that relationship when we were training together he called me when there was an opportunity of a role in Hands of Stone.

“It’s fascinating that I left home 12 years ago to go to New York to pursue boxing and since I’ve pursued my dreams as a boxer I’m now pursuing acting and strangely enough I seem to be going home more often now to act.

“It’s funny how you come here to pursue one dream and you find that home is just as good a pathway as anywhere else.”

John praised events such as the City of Culture and the BBC Big Weekend which he says have been great for the city.

“And I’m here in New York and I’m calling my mum just to check in and I didn’t realise the Big Weekend was happening. My mum answers the phone: ‘Sorry son, Bruno Mars is coming on.’

“Even when I was growing up, you didn’t have big concerts in Derry. It seems to be much more prosperous, happy and much more open and that’s great.

“You’ve got organisations like NI Connections coming here and promoting where I come from and giving people like myself the opportunity to work together and be inspired to find something to pursue; that’s fantastic.”

Pauline’s Fairytale of

NEW YORK

Pauline Turley with writer Colum McCann (left) and Liam Neeson

P

auline Turley left Northern Ireland for New York 18 years ago, bound for a six month work placement. She’s still there and the placement has turned into one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding jobs in the Big Apple’s theatre scene.

As vice-chair of the Irish Arts Centre in Manhattan, Pauline lives a life that’s far removed from her upbringing in the rural parish of Saval, outside Newry.

“I’m a real culchie at heart!” she jokes, “and now I’m working in Hell’s Kitchen. The soundtrack to my day is the jackhammers from the building site across the road, and we’re just about to start our own fantastic redevelopment.”

The Irish Arts Centre – established in a former tenement block in 1972 – is due for a $60m refurbishment, thanks largely to funding from the New York City Council and the Irish Government, plus a series of glittering fundraisers, with Pauline the driving force. No-one, no matter how much of an A-lister they are, says no to her.

“Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne are amazing in their support for us,” said Pauline. “They are so committed and have done so much to help us raise funds. Liam persuaded Daniel Day Lewis to be our special guest a couple of years ago.

“Liam is incredibly generous and surprisingly shy and humble, he hates speaking in public. Gabriel Byrne loves the big events and he’s here at least twice a month. He buys his own tickets and just shows up to support artists.

“Both Liam and Gabriel have a personal connection that goes way back and they both know how hard it is to be an actor and to break through, they want to give something back. This place is a touchstone for them and for so many in the Irish community.”

“This year we honoured the wonderful Derry actress Roma Downey at our gala dinner. She talked about coming over to New York in the 80s on her own and how the Irish Arts Centre really helped her.”

And the star – now based in Los Angeles – has pledged $1m to the redevelopment.

It’s understood the donation is being made through the American Ireland Fund and is one of the largest private gifts to an Irish non-profit organisation.

“The new centre will match the talent coming out of Ireland north and south, and Irish America,” said Pauline. “Our current

Belfast actor Ciaran Hinds often drops in to the Irish Arts Centre

BY YVETTE SHAPIRO theatre stage is so small that we can’t accommodate many of the things we’d like to to do. We’re creating a bigger and bolder canvass but still retaining the intimacy that artists and audiences love about us.”

Pauline is totally immersed in the life of the Arts Centre and its rich diversity of artists, many from Northern Ireland.

“The poet Paul Muldoon does a monthly series here and he did a recent performance with the Belfast actor Stephen Rea. We also hosted a group of wonderful poets: Alan Gillis and Ciaran Carson from Belfast and Leontia Flynn from County Down.

“The composer Neil Martin, a Belfast cellist, performed here with Jean Butler, of Riverdance fame. And Marie Jones has done a couple of great shows, including A Night in November.

Impression of the new Irish Arts Centre, New York

“We recently hosted Tommy Sands. That was so special for me because he was born on the same road as me – Ryan Road. It was an amazing experience to hear him singing about it.

“We also had Celtic Appalachia, which has a strong Ulster Scots focus. We’re all about the 32 counties. That’s nourishing, inclusive and smart – the wider our remit, the more people we draw in and that widens our appeal and revenue.”

The Belfast writer Terry George and the Wicklow-born director Jim Sheridan were both former directors of the Irish Arts Centre in the 1980s and remain key supporters. They famously collaborated on the movie In the Name of the Father.

Pauline believes in the power of the Northern Irish diaspora and its potential to help transform the country.

“All of us who have gone away want the place to do well, we’re always rooting for it. I do feel a bit crestfallen when I hear the sometimes very insular politics and infighting. We need to project ourselves into the world in a very positive way.

“News travels so fast these days and the world picks up on it and comments on it.

There’s so much happening that is positive and we need to get that message out there.

Look at our northern literary giants – like Heaney, Beckett, Muldoon. That’s the sort of news we want on the front pages. If we don’t tell our story, no-one else is going to do it.

“Here at the Irish Arts Centre in New York we’re very keen to support the Northern Ireland arts scene and showcase it. I really commend the Arts Council for the work they’re doing in the face of cuts.

It’s incredibly brave of people to stick with the arts when funding is not assured.

There’s great creativity and it’s wonderful to see artists thrive. And we’re delighted to play a part in giving artists a stage for their work here in New York.”

Pauline’s whirlwind, celebrity-packed lifestyle doesn’t allow much free time, but she’s homeward bound for Christmas with friends and family in Newry. She’ll be finalising plans for her wedding next June to Massachusetts man Charlie Garland – a descendant of Charles Stewart Parnell.

“The reception is in the Carrickdale Hotel,” said Pauline, “about as far away from Manhattan as you could get, but a place I’ve a great affection for. I spent many a great evening there in my younger days. So you could say that my single life is ending where it began!”

NORTHERN IRISH 08 CONNECTIONS

World Music Van Morrison’s homecoming concert in East Belfast was “a genuinely moving experience”, says Ralph

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Our incredible musical talent means that Northern Ireland is heard loud and clear on the world stage. BBC Radio Ulster’s Ralph McLean shares his love of our homegrown artists

T

he sheer amount of musical talent in this country of ours never fails to amaze me.

For a small place we do incredible things. From folk, blues and roots to indie, rock and punk we punch way above our weight.

Through my show on BBC Radio Ulster I hear that talent up close and personal on

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 09

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

Ralph and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody

Ralph with Ash members Rick McMurray (left), Mark Hamilton and Tim Wheeler (right) a nightly basis and the standard is always shockingly high. It’s art that’s often taken flight from these shores and found a home in hearts around the globe.

From the anthemic stadium rock of Snow Patrol, whose journey has taken Gary Lightbody and band from the bars of Bangor to American arenas, to the sweet Celtic soul voice of Dungiven songbird Cara Dillon, whose modern take on traditional folk is now taught in Japanese schools, the number of artists who’ve moulded their music here and have seen it speak to a worldwide audience is hugely impressive.

Any basic list of performers who’ve made that leap would have to include punk pioneers like The Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers, indie heroes like Therapy?, rock icons like Gary Moore and classical trail blazers like James Galway. One name resonates above all others of course.

Van Morrison learnt his musical trade on the streets of Belfast and he still proudly resides in the country of his birth.

His unparalleled body of work, stretching back over more than 30 often era defining albums, speaks to audiences on a truly

global scale. As Van The Man celebrated his 70th birthday this year I had the pleasure of presenting the radio coverage for his astonishing homecoming gig on

Soak (aka Bridie Monds Watson) at the Mercury Music Awards

Cyprus Avenue.

To see the Belfast Cowboy revisit some of his most iconic songs on the very street where he dreamt his musical dreams as a blues obsessed teenager in the early 60’s was a genuinely moving experience that was shared by visitors from all over the world.

I produced a documentary on these international “Vanatics” who made the pilgrimage to see their hero on his home turf and spoke with more than 20 nationalities all drawn to Belfast by the spiritual power and emotive charge of Van’s singular vision. His international impact is unique.

The Northern Ireland music experience is much more than a celebration of what’s gone before though.

In someone like young Derry songwriter Soak this country has a potential superstar for today. Soak, real name Bridie MondsWatson, is a gutsy, honest writer whose debut album Before We Forgot How to Dream won her the NI Music Prize and got her nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize in the UK in 2015. The fact that she’s still only 19 suggests a bright career awaits

the talented teenager.

The succession of fabulous festivals that pepper the local arts calendar provide plenty of opportunity for Ulster acts keen to spread their wings as well. From Blues On The Bay in Warrenpoint to The Atlantic Sessions in Portrush we’re spoiled for choice really.

The Belfast Nashville songwriters festival both celebrates the sister city status shared by Belfast and Nashville and allows Irish acts to travel to Music City to further their careers. Those who have already benefitted from this relationship include local songwriters like Gareth Dunlop and Ben Glover who’ve secured publishing deals and song credits on award winning country songs and television shows.

One of my favourite gigs of 2015 saw the Nashville broadcaster Music City Roots transmit live from the Empire Music Hall in March. The performances from Bangor man Foy Vance and rising talent Paul Tully from Strabane were genuinely spine tingling in their brilliance.

Other local acts worth keeping an eye on include the supremely talented David C Clements, Aghagallon man Ciaran Lavery, whose hushed brilliance has taken him to stages all over Europe and beyond, and Amanda St John, a singer from the Glens of Antrim who’s way with a sassy soul song proves that music owes as much to its roots in Ireland as it does to the Southern states.

Old favourites like Downpatrick rockers Ash continue to deliver the goods as well.

It may be almost 20 years since their debut album but Tim Wheeler and co still have the passion burning deep in their souls.

Their last album Kablammo! was packed with the kind of manic pop thrills that made tracks like Shining Light and Oh Yeah so popular back in the day.

Speaking of Oh Yeah the much loved dedicated music space of the same name continues to go from strength to strength in Belfast’s buzzing Cathedral Quarter.

Operating out of old warehouse spaces on Gordon Street the centre’s a real hub of artistic endeavour offering rehearsal space, a live stage, recording facilities and a much needed home for Northern Irish rock and roll artefacts that range from memorabilia from Terri Hooley’s legendary Good Vibrations record label to heartfelt tributes to homegrown heroes like Eric Bell and Henry McCullough. It’s the kind of funky place all good, self respecting art loving cities should have.

It’s proof also that Belfast is a truly rock and roll city and that Northern Ireland, through good times and bad, remains a proud musical nation. Long may the good times continue.

NORTHERN IRISH 10 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness meet President Obama at the White House

Northern Ireland’s voice

in North America

The world revolves around Capitol Hill and our man in Washington is Norman Houston, Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau. He explains how he helps to connect the diaspora

I

t is no surprise that the USA and Canada have become fertile recruiting grounds for Northern Ireland’s diaspora.

Every year, hundreds of people from Northern Ireland resettle in North America. That is why the Northern Ireland Bureau, the Executive’s official office in Washington, D.C., has worked to strengthen connections with our best and brightest exports.

Whether it is facilitating ministers’ engagement with the diaspora, promoting Belfast City Council’s trade delegation to San Francisco or developing university alumni networks, the Bureau has been at the forefront of outreach efforts intended to connect Northern Ireland’s expatriate community.

People from Northern Ireland have been coming to work in North America for decades. However, it is only in recent years that any significant effort has been made to reach out to and collaborate with these individuals.

New Irish network organisations have sprung up that include people from all over the island. An increasing number of these individuals hail from north of the border, and they are eager to promote

opportunities for investment, trade, and tourism. The Bureau works with these organisations to identify individuals who can help further the interests of Northern Ireland and open doors that would have previously been closed.

In Toronto, the Bureau, collaborating with NI Connections, has spearheaded a series of events that showcase Northern Ireland. There is a growing relationship with expatriates there, many of whom have been in the city since the early 1970s and have carved out successful careers across a wide range of sectors. The Bureau has discovered people eager to strengthen the economy back home and promote a positive and inclusive image of Northern Ireland.

Along with encouraging diplomatic and economic ties, the Bureau is heavily involved in supporting a number of arts and culture initiatives. In New York, for example, plays penned by home-grown playwrights have been performed to much acclaim, and such productions have been used to attract new members to the diaspora network, while highlighting our unique native talent.

Although we have only scraped the surface with our engagement efforts, we are digging in fertile soil and the work being done by the Bureau and expatriate community promises long-term benefits for us all.

IN TORONTO, THE BUREAU AND NI CONNECTIONS HAVE SPEARHEADED A SERIES OF EVENTS THAT SHOWCASE NORTHERN IRELAND.

NORTHERN EXPATS BUILDING

Transatlantic links Waves of emigrants have been leaving Ireland north and south for the great cities of Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa for generations. Yvette Shapiro heard from three leading members of the Northern Irish diaspora in Canada

I

n a 2011 national survey, more than 4.5m Canadians – around 14% of the population – claimed Irish descent. Even without a direct flight between Belfast and Canada, thousands of Canadians with a Northern Ireland connection

return to their roots here every year. Last year, the number of Canadian visitors to Northern Ireland increased by 36% to 46,000.

Among them, 55 year old Toronto lawyer Dermot Muir, secretary of the influential Ireland Fund of Canada. Born in Belfast, he has literary connections: the author CS Lewis was his grandmother’s cousin.

Dermot’s father brought the family to Canada in the 1960s to pursue a career in the computer industry. Growing up, the family had little involvement with the Irish diaspora.

“A lot of Northern Irish people who came out ended up disconnected,” said Dermot.

“Some of the north-south division moved over here. To be honest, there probably was a chill factor for some Northern Irish expats, but that was then and this is now.

“We work really hard in the Ireland Fund to be inclusive – we’re all in it together. It’s a completely integrated organisation, probably half and half on the board. We’ve really been pushing hard for a northern initiative. I recently met the Stormont enterprise minister Jonathan Bell on his trade mission to Toronto.”

Another board member of the Ireland Fund of Canada is its Strabane-born treasurer Rodney Hill, who left Northern

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 11

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

Dalradian’s Patrick Anderson shows Finance Minister Arlene Foster some gold from the company Tyrone mine

A golden opportunity Ireland in 1986 to study in England. He’s now the chief risk officer for the giant Canadian pension fund, Omers, which owns Belfast International Airport.

“Each year I get more connected to the diaspora community, there is an incredible power in this group,” said Rodney. “There is an instant connection and affinity between us which has tremendous value.

I have seen other cultural communities do this and it is something that we need to continue to improve and evolve.”

Dermot Muir – a senior legal counsel who helped to run the state of Ontario’s multi-million dollar real estate portfolio – is also a director and treasurer of the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre.

“We supply support for young Irish emigrants from north and south. We’re their first point of contact for problems

Rodney Hill

with housing and jobs, the friendly face.

It’s very much about giving back, we were all emigrants once.”

Dermot – who also chairs Raising the Village, an aid project working in Uganda – is fully immersed in Canadian life, but still longs for his home city.

“I toy with moving back. I visit every year and there’s a tremendous dynamism, optimism and youthfulness to the place.

But it’s still a bit on the edge politically, a little locked down in some respects. Parties squabbling over sectarian issues still plays negatively here in Canada.”

Investment banker John Speers – another Ireland Fund member – previously worked in Belfast for Northern Bank and emigrated to Toronto nearly 30 years ago.

He’s a senior director with BMO Capital Markets. John says Northern Ireland has a lot going for it, specially now.

“There’s a strong business climate with a young and well educated workforce.

Government is aligned and supportive of business, as evidenced by the various incentives offered by Invest NI. “With the change in the tax rate, businesses will look to the province as a location. We need to ensure that the quality of life and services offered are comparable to what is available in Ireland, the UK and in countries in Northern Europe.”

Like Dermot Muir and John Speers, Rodney Hill flies home frequently.

“Home will always be Northern Ireland, no matter how long I am away, and I hope that by what NI Connections is doing, people such as myself can bring something back to inspire people in Northern Ireland to seize the economic opportunity which is in front of them, and which is critical to sustaining an economy and, ultimately, a long term peace dividend.”

A Canadian businessman with strong Northern Ireland roots is drilling for gold in the Sperrins

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atrick F. N. Anderson, chief executive of Dalradian Resources is developing a mine at Curraghinalt outside Omagh.

“We are in the midst of an engineering feasibility study and environmental impact assessment,” said Patrick. “We are currently tunnelling and blasting every day in order to better understand the nature and geometry of the gold veins. We are about 300 feet underneath the Sperrins at present.”

Patrick describes himself as a product of industrial Nothern Ireland. “Both my parents worked in the shipyards in Belfast where they were instilled with a very strong work ethic. They brought that with them to Canada where I was born and it has been an ever present part of my life ever since.”

He studied geology and spent most his career trying to find diamond and gold deposits throughout South America. “We were pretty successful in the jungles of Venezuela or up in the Andean headwaters of the Amazon. My last company, Aurelian

THEY ARE REACHING OUT TO THE DIASPORA TO REMIND THEM THAT THERE IS A LOT OF GREAT ACTIVITY GOING ON AT HOME.

Resources, made a grass roots gold discovery of nearly 14m ounces of gold in Ecuador up in the Cordillera del Condor on the Peruvian border. This discovery has recognised as one of the biggest in the last 30 years.”

Patrick came to West Tyrone on the recommendation of Garth Earls, then head of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. Current projections show that the deposit could produce 160,000 ounces of gold per year over 18 years.

“I saw an opportunity to build a new industry in Northern Ireland and the support has been overwhelming from the local communities, the local colleges and the government”, he said. Several of those employed are local people who have worked around the world before discovering a career in mining industry on their doorstep.

Patrick added: “DETI and NI Connections are doing a great job of getting out to Canada and other places to tell them about the fantastic stories of entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition coming from this small but beautiful country.

“They are reaching out to the diaspora to remind them that there is a lot of great activity going on at home. There are opportunities here if you just go and look for them. I have found that many people from Northern Ireland have left not because they wanted to but rather from necessity. We have been pleased to be able to provide some of these people the opportunity to come home.”

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 13

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

Harnessing the power of the diaspora When it comes to wooing overseas companies, Invest NI often calls on the Northern Ireland diaspora for help, as chief executive Alastair Hamilton explains

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nvest Northern Ireland is just one of around 200 economic development agencies, regions and countries competing for mobile inward investment.

Our track record of success is one of which we are extremely proud, and our focus to ensure that this continues means that we are committed to leaving no stone unturned in order to identify and secure projects which will add value to our local economy and create sustainable employment opportunities.

The influence of the Northern Irish diaspora stretches far and wide across the globe – including into key corporate boardrooms. Having a network of senior business leaders with a strong emotional attachment to Northern Ireland represents a rich source of contacts, leads and introductions.

It’s one of the key reasons why Invest NI has been so heavily committed to the establishment and development of NI Connections Our in-market business development teams identify new inward investment opportunities and generate leads through a range of means – including traditional detailed prospect targeting, extensive research, media watch, attendance at sectoral events, exhibitions, through our sponsorship of targeted events, or other networking opportunities.

However, it is impossible to ignore the power which personality and relationships can also play.

Frequently on overseas visits and trade missions, Invest NI will also invite members of the NI diaspora, alongside potential investors to networking events or receptions, So, whilst a lot of our targeting activity is planned, there are many instances where one of our overseas team have had a chance encounter, business or social, with a member of the NI diaspora who either works for, or can effect an introduction to, a potential investor. Perhaps someone working in an organisation that we believe may have a potential project, or alternatively, someone in a company we hadn’t previously considered.

Essentially, that’s all we are looking for just getting that initial meeting to explore the potential investor’s requirements in terms of growing or relocating the business and considering NI as a potential location.

When an investor is going through the process of selecting a new location and

Invest NI’s chief executive Alastair Hamilton says the diaspora is a tremendous resource investing in a place for the first time, this decision can contain a considerable amount of uncertainty from them.

Our diaspora are often the product of our educational system, and their own success in overseas markets points to the drive, ambition and capability that exists in NI. As such, they can play an important role in helping familiarise potential investors with NI and encouraging them to visit to explore the potential that exists here for their business Of course, due to the complex nature of the overall investment decision, the time it takes and the many factors that combine to produce the result, it’s impossible to directly relate an investment simply to the involvement of the diaspora.

However, they have often been an important catalyst for first time investors and at times this has certainly played a key role in identifying a potential project initially.

No business will make investment or

location decisions based on sentiment alone and we still need to “seal the deal” by convincing potential investors of those factors which give us a competitive advantage in global markets – our track record of success built on a young, motivated and highly qualified workforce in a region which is cost competitive, close to customers and culturally compatible.

Once we get that, potential investors are progressed through follow-up meetings or attendance at round table events having been invited directly or through a third party, such as a sector network. Relevant specialists from Northern Ireland’s institutions attend to share insights, and existing investors are also happy to attend, substantiating our proposition and offering live testimonials.

Key for us is getting the potential investor to commit to a visit to Northern Ireland, as that is often the most significant step in the decision making process for investors.

A couple of fairly recent new investments show that this approach can bear fruit.

In 2012, American financial services company, Cowen International, a subsidiary of New York headquartered Cowen Group, announced that it was to set up a technology research and development centre in Belfast, creating 50 high value jobs.

Gavan Corr and Conor Allen, who had previously worked with another of our major investors, NYSE, which had originally come to Northern Ireland through their purchase of the financial technology start-up Wombat, were instrumental in promoting Northern Ireland within the company, along with John O’Donoghue who was Head of Equities at Cowen and who is originally from Newcastle, Co Down A further, more recent, example also involved Conor Allen who, whilst originally from Galway, is a graduate of Queen’s University. Conor is well known in the New York FinTech community. His advice was sought by Hanweck Associates on potential locations when the company was considering establishing an international development facility.

Again, Conor made the initial introduction to the company and continued to advocate the case for Northern Ireland during the due diligence process, which came to fruition in October this year, with the company confirming its initial investment for a research, development and support centre in Belfast, creating 19 jobs in technology and business analysis.

As we move in to a new era, where we have the additional tool of Corporation Tax in our armoury, this will open up new opportunities in new sectors, many of which Northern Ireland does not already have established relationships.

We have world-leading clusters including financial services technology, professional services, mobile telecoms and cyber security. It is the excellence in these areas that has helped us to achieve the accolade of being the UK’s most successful FDI region last year in terms of employment. A great achievement for a region of only 1.8m people.

We are often told by investors that their Northern Ireland operations are among their best performing locations.

This is evidenced by the fact that around 80% of our recent new investors go on to make further investments and grow their operations.

Many of the NI diaspora may have left relatively recently and are quite familiar with our competitive proposition. They often know as much as our own overseas teams and can reiterate the same qualities that have made Northern Ireland such a success for our investors.

Others, who perhaps left when we were facing greater economic and social challenges, retain a deep personal affinity, are keen to learn about the journey we have been on, and are eager to play their part in building our future success. It is a tremendous resource which we will continue to draw on.

NORTHERN IRISH 14 CONNECTIONS

Queen’s University has been exporting talented graduates to the far corners of the world for over 165 years. Gerry Power, editor of The Graduate, reports on some of those who’ve succeeded overseas but keep their sights set on Northern Ireland

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rom the trading floors of Wall Street, to the corridors of the international school in Shanghai and the top universities in Canada, Queen’s alumni continue to make their mark and fly the flag for Northern Ireland.

John O’Donoghue from Newcastle, Co Down, now calls Little Silver, New Jersey – and New York City – home. A highly regarded Wall Street senior executive with over 30 years experience at investment banks Schroders PLC, Credit-Suisse, Cowen and OTR Global, John is an active member of the Irish diaspora in the US. He was the first president of the Queen’s US Alumni Association, and is currently president of the board of The Friends of Queen’s.

Working closely with Invest NI, the Northern Ireland Bureau and NI Connections, John and the Friends are keen to introduce American students to the world-class opportunities offered

by Queen’s. In 2015 the Friends have held 5 well attended events and recently organised a Christmas cocktail party which attracted upwards of 50 ex-pats, all of whom were ‘recruited’ into the University’s marketing team. It was held at the NYC HQ of Moët Hennessy and hosted by the company’s president and CEO Jim Clerkin, who hails from Rostrevor.

While at Cowen, John was instrumental in working with Alastair Hamilton, chief executive of Invest NI, in opening a

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Tapping into a worldwide alumni network Belfast office which employs 50 people.

And as a keen golfer, he regularly brings parties from the USA to Northern Ireland to sample the world’s best courses and whiskies!

Dr Andrew McIvor emigrated to Canada in 1989, having graduated in medicine from Queen’s in 1984. After training in respiratory medicine at the University of Toronto he studied clinical epidemiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he obtained an MSc following extensive work in the field of chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Originally from Belfast, Dr McIvor’s major clinical and research interests are in knowledge translation in asthma and COPD. An advocate for Queen’s medical recruitment in Toronto, he returned to his alma mater in February 2014 to give a lecture on nonpharmacological treatment of respiratory disease.

Professor of Medicine at McMaster, he is the author of more than a 100 scientific papers and recently completed a 5-year term as chairman of the Asthma

Dr Andrew McIvor

John O’Donoghue

Committee of the Canadian Thoracic Society.

On the other side of the world Tom Kline, who was born and raised in Belfast and graduated with a BA in Political Science from Queen’s in 1995, is director of a major international school in China.

Founded in 2006, the Western International School of Shanghai (WISS) is an International Baccalaureate World School which educates students from preschool through high school and has over 40 different nationalities represented in the pupil and teacher community.

Returning to Northern Ireland twice a year to visit family, Tom has maintained links with his former school, Campbell College. WISS and Campbell enjoy an annual teacher exchange partnership with sports and arts exchanges in the pipeline.

As a regular donor to Queen’s, Tom supports the QUB Players, the student drama society he was actively involved in as an undergraduate. He is also an important reference point for Chinese students considering third-level education in the UK, putting Queen’s – and Northern Ireland – firmly on the map.

Queen’s graduates overseas (and at home!) can keep up with life back in Belfast by registering online at http:// daro.qub.ac.uk/signup where they will find details of the University’s worldwide alumni associations network and social media presence.

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 15

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

The diaspora is helping to spread a positive message about Northern Ireland worldwide, says the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell MLA

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orthern Ireland may be a small part of the world, but we have produced some of the world’s brightest and most talented people who have gone on to succeed across the globe.

Northern Irish Connections, through their network of people, are able to promote Northern Ireland in areas such as tourism, education, investment and innovation – key areas which impact on our economy.

Their global network helps to connect thousands of Northern Irish people and friends of Northern Ireland across the world. By engaging this diverse and influential diaspora, they can help people to connect and collaborate to identify business and cultural opportunities.

By 2020, NI Connections aims to be the established diaspora network for 150,000 people helping to deliver real benefits here. It is through building networks and relationships that we can spread a positive message about Northern Ireland and the opportunities here. We have much to be proud of and those people with local connections living abroad have a key role to play in spreading the word.

NI Connections continues to do excellent work, alongside Invest Northern Ireland, in showcasing the province through a variety of initiatives and have hosted and supported over 40 events in 18 cities and four continents.

As a result we have seen foreign direct investment projects, business opportunities and academic exchanges for Northern Ireland from highly placed members of the diaspora. Confirmation that from April 2018 Northern Ireland will have a Corporation Tax rate of 12.5% gives us an additional advantage to competitively selling ourselves as one of the most attractive locations in Western Europe, based on a blend of tax, talent and value. NI Connections and the business diaspora play a key role in sharing this message across the globe.

While encouraging industry investment we must not underestimate the impact

Working together worldwide to tell

our story

Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell held a reception at Parliament Buildings to mark the Van Morrison concert in East Belfast this summer. Pictured with the Minister are chairman of NI Connections Roy Adair (right), Maurice Kinkead from East Side Arts (left)and international visitor Andrew Robertson (centre) of tourism, which is currently worth over £750m to the local economy. There is no better advert than the people who have been here and gone on to tell others of their experiences of an enjoyable trip.

The Northern Ireland Year of Food & Drink in 2016 will continue to raise our profile nationally and to promote food tourism here. I would argue Northern

Ireland currently has much to boast about with world-class produce, not to mention talented chefs, restaurants, skilled cookery schools and a rich food heritage.

In addition we have built the enviable record of hosting large successful sporting occasions and events with the Irish Open returning in 2017 and The Open Championship being held in 2019. This

further cements our world class golfing credentials; giving international visitors even more reasons to put us on their ‘must see’ list.

Working together we can all help to spread the positive message; Northern Ireland is a place of opportunity, a place to visit and, of course, a great place to be from.

NORTHERN IRISH 16 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Portballintrae’s Bayview Hotel (left), where Clare Smyth worked as a teenager; and (above) Clare in the kitchen at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London

From the North Coast

to the West End

County Antrim’s Clare Smyth runs Gordon Ramsay’s most famous London restaurant.

She tells Yvette Shapiro why she’s passionate about Northern Ireland produce

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hat do you cook for a three star Michelin chef when she comes home to County Antrim for dinner?

“Irish Stew and wheaten bread,” said Clare Smyth.

“Or a simple vegetable soup with pearl barley. I love that.”

The presence of Clare at the kitchen table would send most home cooks into a panic. The 37 year old is head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. She’s been running Britain’s most famous kitchen for seven years and is the first and only woman to hold three Michelin stars.

In 2013, Clare was awarded the MBE for services to the hospitality industry and won the Good Food Guide’s Chef of the Year. In short, she’s food royalty.

“My family don’t feel under any pressure when I come home,” said Clare. “I’m just the same person and I get no special treatment. I love the freshness and quality of the food, simply and well-cooked, and my aunt’s wonderful baking, which I always look forward to.”

For a lauded chef in a world-leading restaurant, Clare remains deeply rooted in North Antrim and the magnificent agricultural produce that comes from that corner of Northern Ireland. She grew

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 17

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

FOR A LAUDED CHEF IN A WORLD-LEADING RESTAURANT, CLARE REMAINS DEEPLY ROOTED IN NORTH ANTRIM AND THE MAGNIFICENT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE THAT COMES FROM THAT CORNER OF NORTHERN IRELAND.

up on the family farm near the Giant’s Causeway. Hard work and good food were the twin pillars of her upbringing.

“As a teenager, I cooked meals every day at home on the farm, that was the way of life, and it was a chore that was always a pleasure,” said Clare. “We had beef and dairy cattle, and great vegetables from my aunt’s farm.

The produce was excellent, carrots pulled straight from the soil, with their wonderful fresh taste. We had animals butchered and the quality of the meat was outstanding, of course.

“It took me quite a long time to realise that maybe that’s what made me want to become a chef. On visits home, long after I had completed my training, I tasted the fantastic produce and understood why I wanted to cook.”

From the age of 14, Clare spent weekends and school holidays working in the kitchens of local restaurants and hotels, including the Bayview in Portballintrae. Her natural talent and ambition was evident.

“The restaurants used to bring chefs over from England in the summer, as they couldn’t find people locally who had the high calibre they wanted. I learned from those chefs that there were opportunities for me to cook at a high standard. I once made something for a visiting chef and asked him to taste it. Years later, he told me it was fantastic.

“I knew I had a natural ability, as well as the knowledge and confidence that I was gaining. Like kids today whose heroes are pop stars like One Direction, I looked up the superstar chefs of the day like Anton Mosimann and the Roux Brothers. I read all their books.”

Aged 16, Clare left North Antrim to study catering in England.

She worked at some of the UK’s best known restaurants, including Bibendum in London, Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck and the Roux Brothers’ Waterside Inn, before joining Gordon Ramsay in 2002.

In 2005, she took time out to travel and worked in the kitchens of top American chef Thomas Keller in California and New York, and at Alain Ducasse’s renowned Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo.

On her return to London, she was appointed head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at the age of just 29. She’s now chefpatron, with a share in the business, and is due to open her own London restaurant next year, with Ramsay’s support. She describes it as a natural step.

“It’s about expanding and growing, a normal progression, I’ve always challenged myself and have never wanted to just rest on my success. I think you get better and better as you go along, and the more knowledge you have allows you to push more boundaries. I never want to stand still.”

The dining room at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Clare Smyth is soon to open her own London restaurant

Great produce is the foundation of all that Clare does and will shape the direction of her new restaurant.

“I’m crazy about protecting the produce and respecting it in the kitchen. I know first hand that farmers do the hard work, in the restaurant kitchen we have the easy job. I work very closely with farmers, growers and producers and I look for the right animal husbandry, passion for the produce and farming the right way. You can taste it on the plate and there can be no compromise.”

Clare’s a real cheerleader for Northern Ireland food and is delighted to see the recent award of Michelin stars to Ox and Eipic restaurants in Belfast. And she’s keen to try out the popular Harry’s Shack at Portstewart.

“It’s brilliant that Harry’s Shack was given an Observer Food Monthly Award. There’s a tremendous buzz about Northern Ireland food and we need to celebrate it. It’s really good to see chefs who’ve been away, gaining knowledge, coming back to Northern Ireland.

“We also need to showcase our fantastic produce.. It’s some of the finest in the world. I think, in the past, people were concentrating on other cuisines, like Thai food, for example. Now the message is getting out there about the amazing quality of Northern Ireland produce in its natural form, the incredible seafood that needs to be simply cooked to show it off.

“I’m just back from a trip to Ireland and I’m buzzing about the quality of produce and the attitude of the producers who really want to work with me. I’ve been hearing about fantastic eels from Northern Ireland and how the producers are releasing two into the river for every one caught.

“That’s exactly the sort of sustainable effort that we need to encourage. I can’t wait to get over and meet the eel fishermen and find out more about their work.”

And will there be Northern Ireland produce on the menu at Clare’s new restaurant?

“Yes, definitely. I want the best fresh produce with the most amazing taste and Northern Ireland offers that.”

NORTHERN IRISH 18 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster is pictured with Peter Hannan (R) of Moira based Hannan Meats, which scooped the Regional Golden Fork award at the Great Taste Awards and Andrew Cavana, Fortnum & Mason

Giving the world a flavour of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is gearing up for the Year of Food and Drink 2016. Howard Hastings, managing director of Hastings Hotels, says it’s time to share our fantastic food story with the world

A

fter the Second World War, so restrictive had the domestic diet in the UK become that we craved the new and imported over the home grown and authentic, decimating in the process industries like the growing of rhubarb in Yorkshire.

So too, in Northern Ireland. The ceasefires in the early 1990s heralded the arrival of the supermarket multiples, and with them came mange tout from Guatemala and the like. Whilst we thrilled at these new delicacies, we rather turned away from celebrating our local produce, much of which became more renowned in export markets than at home.

Alongside this narrative there is the reawakening of Northern Ireland as a visitor destination. We have lined up, in St Patrick, in the Walls of Derry, in the Causeway Coastal Route, and in Titanic four enormous attractors in one small region. Visitor numbers are set to double in the period 2009 to 2017, and the annual visitor spend in Northern Ireland is fast approaching £1bn per annum. Tourism now supports 50,000 long term jobs in the province.

As a fast growing and maturing tourism economy, we no longer wish to be dependent on bringing others’ circuses to town…it is time to deliver our own. We have rediscovered our food heritage, and we are set to tell the world.

Our food producers have been carrying all before them at the annual Great Taste Awards for several years. Hannan’s Meats has been supreme champion more than once for its produce, from 9,000 entrants.

We have attained coveted PGI status for our Lough Neagh Eels, our Armagh Bramley Apples, and for our Comber Early Potatoes.

Our government departments are keen (as mustard, perhaps?) to work collectively to support this project.

And the eleven new local councils have wholeheartedly embraced the concept of our “Year of Food & Drink 2016”, and they

Howard Hastings says we’ve finally rediscovered our food heritage

Belfast chef Niall McKenna

are supporting existing festivals (Flavours of the Foyle, Hillsborough Oyster, Hans Sloane Chocolate in Killyleagh, to name but three), as well as adding their own.

In addition there are the annual county shows, crowned by the iconic Balmoral Show.

Our national museums are taking part, as are all of our celebrated National Trust properties. Celebrating our food and drink allows us to tell our stories and at the same time to delight in the unspoilt natural landscape from where our produce comes.

It allows our talented chefs (not just our two newly minted Michelin starred ones) to “show off ” a little, as though they needed encouragement!

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 19

BEER BREWING BLOSSOMS

✱

I know of community allotments on either side of the peace walls in Belfast which are being planted with potatoes in advance of a Rita Duffy art installation and potato celebration in June. Each month is themed, and Food NI has undertaken an enormous task and has completed tremendous work to put structure on the year’s events.

January, for instance is Breakfast Month.

29th January will be celebrated as “Fryday”. There is no meal where we celebrate our local produce more than at breakfast.

What better way to start our themed year, and to showcase such an integral part of who we are? I’m off to dust down my recipe for soda bread…

Northern Ireland’s beer brewing scene has blossomed and expanded almost beyond recognition over the last few years.

Now, two dozen craft beer makers scattered right across the province are vying for market share, with brewers from a range of backgrounds, including a PhD candidate, a former councillor, and the son of television broadcaster Eamonn Holmes.

And Belfast breweries such as Boundary and Hercules are also beginning to target export markets, as sales increase.

Yardsman is the beer brand from the Hercules Brewing Company, and has tripled its capacity in the last six months.

“We are probably up, capacity wise, and are able to produce a million bottles in a year. We have tripled the capacity of the brewery since July,” founder Niall McMullan said.

“The craft beer industry is just exploding.”

It’s now launched a nitrogen-fed Irish dry stout, competing with the biggest name on the market, Guinness.

Hercules is also targeting export markets such as the US. “We have interest from export markets.

We have had a distributor in France, the US, Scotland, England and other markets which are looking for it.”

And a year after setting up, Boundary Brewing is selling beers at bars, restaurants and outlets across Northern Ireland.

The co-operative brewery will also begin selling its first beers as far afield as Disney World in Florida, early next year.

After raising more than £100,000 in little over a week in 2014, it’s opened its community share offer once again, in order to raise cash to expand its production.

“Since then, the public has reacted phenomenally,” co-founder Matthew Dick said.

“And people outside of Northern Ireland are starting to pay attention, so much so that 12 new countries want our beer.”

Northern Ireland’s oldest independent brewery is Hilden, located outside Lisburn.

It’s been producing ales for the last 34 years at its picturesque site.

Along with other bigger craft producers, such as Kilkeel’s Whitewater, it’s managed to break into the ‘multiples’, such as Tesco.

Beer festivals are also becoming increasingly popular, with the long-running

Declan Holmes of Gallopers Beer with his father Eamonn

Matthew at work in Boundary Brewing, East Belfast

Matthew Dick, co-founder of Boundary Brewing, is selling his beer worldwide real ale event at the Ulster Hall, and the latest addition, ABV 15, drawing around 1,500 people to the former Harland & Wolff drawing offices earlier this year.

The inaugural event – the last to be held in the venue before work begins on turning the building into a hotel – also drew brews from across the UK, with a number of special beer tastings also taking place on the SS Nomadic One of the latest additions to the beer scene here is Gallopers, a beer brand

release by Declan Holmes (26).

He’s ploughed his experience in the drinks industry into the new brew – which is currently brewed on contract in Manchester – with a little help from his dad, the seasoned Sky News broadcaster and This Morning host.

And earlier this year, Connaire McGreevy, a former SDLP councillor for Newry and Mourne District Council and founder and managing director of a successful engineering firm Cts Projects, launched Mourne Mountains Brewery.

And it’s not just top end beer that’s grabbing the public’s attention.

John Hewitt manager Gerry White is set to unveil Ireland’s first ‘single estate gin’ later this month, and has high hopes of selling the premium spirit as far afield as the US. He’s working with Co Down’s Echinville Distillery, located in Kircubbin, to produce the top-end classic gin product – which has been in the making for three years.

It will be the latest high-end Northern Ireland-made gin to hit the market, after the success of Shortcross.

Fiona and David Boyd-Armstrong opened the Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar, back in 2012.

Shortcross has also started exporting and has increased its global footprint by after going on sale at The Loop at Dublin Airport.

The landmark listing was achieved after Shortcross was introduced to the airport by Northern Irish Connections CEO Andrew Cowan.

Shortcross Gin at The Loop, Dublin Airport. Photo Shane O’Neill / Copyright Fennell Photography 2015

NORTHERN IRISH 20 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Jim Clerkin with model Chrissy Teigen and singer John Legend at a Moet Hennessy event in Florida.

Photo by Larry Marano/Getty Images

Jim’s bubbling with enthusiasm for Northern Ireland

“N

orthern Ireland will always be home.”

Jim Clerkin is rarely in one place for very long. When I met up with him in the Lobby Bar of Belfast’s Europa Hotel, he’d flown in from Paris, spent the weekend at his cottage in Carlingford, County Louth, and was delaying his New York flight as he awaited the birth of his first grandchild.

“My daughter lives here in Belfast and the birth of her baby gives me very personal reasons for wanting to see a bright future for Northern Ireland, and for doing all I can to help make that happen.”

Jim has one of the most glamorous jobs in the corporate world. As president and CEO of Moet Hennessy in the United States, he’s the face of a brand that’s a byword for luxury. Search for his picture online and you’ll see him alongside models, actors and singers.

“There’s a lot of that, of course, and it’s great fun,” said Jim, “but I still have to be in the office at 8.00am the next morning, or on a flight to Europe or Asia.”

He may be at the top now but he remains intensely proud of his deep family roots in Rostrevor, County Down.

Jim grew up on a pig farm, the eldest of nine children, most of whom still live in South Down. He’s often talked about his journey and as a tale of ambition, dedication, hard-work and charm, it bears repeating.

A qualified engineer, he began working for Guinness in Northern Ireland in 1976 after the company’s head of sales spotted him working part-time in a bar and liked his attitude. That early promise quickly developed into a serious career and Jim moved up the ranks at Guinness, joining the board at the age of 36.

In 2000, he was asked to move to the United States to look after Diageo’s wine and spirit division in the western region. Like so many emigrants, the move was personally difficult for him – he didn’t want to leave Ireland or his close-knit family.

But the work ethic learned from his father – and the talent spotted by the Guinness boss many years earlier – has propelled Jim to a powerful and influential position at the head of Moet Hennessy’s North America division.

The company’s vice president of legal, Chris O’Rourke,

Jim often flies home to Carlingford Lough

BY YVETTE SHAPIRO has praised Jim’s “tremendous energy and passion”, and that’s evident in the efforts he puts in to promoting Northern Ireland as a location for investment.

“I’ve tried to help Invest NI as much as I can in the US,” said Jim. “Often when I talk with US business leaders they refer to the Republic’s low rate of corporation tax.

“As a member of the diaspora in New York, I’m thrilled that Northern Ireland is getting the tax cut. The jobs it will bring will be highly paid jobs. By doing this, Northern Ireland is making it much more attractive for people to invest.

“It will make the job of selling Northern Ireland so much easier, not just for Invest NI, but for people like me in the diaspora who are committed to doing our bit.”

Jim is a straight-talker, as anyone who’s ever met him in business will tell you. And he doesn’t dodge the question of Northern Ireland’s political difficulties.

“It’s been frustrating over the past 18 months to have positive engagements with business leaders and potential investors in the US, then to see something political blow up in Northern Ireland,” said Jim. “This new Fresh Start Agreement is fantastic. We have stability now and we can plan for the corporation tax cut, because it will need careful planning. “

Jim is a key figure in the Northern Ireland diaspora, helping to open doors for Invest NI and Executive ministers as they try to woo American investors. But he makes his opinions known on how Stormont should develop its worldwide network.

“Stormont needs to pull it together now, there’s no time to waste. I’ve talked to Arlene Foster and others in the Executive about having one of the ministers add the Northern Ireland diaspora to their portfolio, like Jimmy Deenihan, who’s Minister of State for the Diaspora in the Republic.

“There’s no-one here in a senior political role pulling the diaspora together, no focal point.

“What NI Connections is doing is very important. It helps to keep the diaspora in regular contact. There’s a great story to be told. We have a stable government, great investment in Belfast, great ports at Belfast, Derry and Warrenpoint, great education, a great workforce and a supply of affordable office space – which can’t be said for other locations, like Dublin at present.

“The news of a cohesive government along with the corporation tax cut needs to be packaged together into one coherent and strong message – one big story.”

Jim is confident that many in the diaspora – wherever they are scattered – will be attracted home now that there is a new stability in Northern Ireland, improved opportunities and growing prosperity. But he warned: “Expats have found great lives in New York, LA or Sydney. They haven’t had to worry about the things that people here worry about. There’s a new energy and opportunity in Northern Ireland but people need to see consistency, no more broken promises.

“My 28 year old son James is an accountant in Las Vegas. He wants to come back, but only to a situation that’s permanently resolved and settled, and where there are better jobs and prospects.

“Northern Ireland needs to walk the walk and prove we can be consistent in order to attract new companies to invest and existing companies to grow, and to convince expats that Northern Ireland offers them a good life.

“I’m certain that we can pull this together and I’m excited to play a part in Northern Ireland’s new story.”

NORTHERN IRISH 22 CONNECTIONS

Bringing the world back home to Northern Ireland

The best cheerleaders for Northern Ireland are members of the diaspora worldwide.

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland explains how expats – including some very famous people – are helping to drive visitor numbers

N

orthern Ireland has experienced strong growth in overseas visitor numbers in recent years. By 2015 year end, we estimate that some 1.9 million people will have visited Northern Ireland, representing a 5% increase over 2014.

Revenue generated by overseas visitors is expected to be approximately £454m.

The Northern Ireland diaspora around the world has played its part in helping deliver that growth, encouraging friends, business colleagues and relatives to come and visit .

When Northern Irish Connections was set up some three years ago, Tourism Ireland was delighted to embrace, and work closely with, the new organisation.

Since then, Tourism Ireland has hosted and co-hosted many events – such as the launch of NI Connections in New York, in association with the Lyric Theatre, on Broadway.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell MLA, and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s 2016 marketing plans

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 23

Game of Thrones Our world-renowned golfing stars have been incredible ambassadors for Northern Ireland. Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke have all done so much – individually and collectively – to extoll the virtues of Northern Ireland and our golf tourism around the world. Tourism Ireland has built upon this with our very successful ‘Home of Champions’ campaign, which we rolled out in key golf markets, highlighting our magnificent golf courses.

Northern Ireland actors, including Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, have helped to heighten the profile of Northern Ireland overseas by appearing in, or providing voice-overs on, our short promotional videos on Northern Ireland. Well-known TV personalities, such as Christine Bleakley, Gloria Hunniford and Eamonn Holmes, have also highlighted what they find so special about Northern Ireland.

Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative – when iconic landmarks and sites around the world are illuminated in green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day – also reaches out to the diaspora everywhere and helps to send out welcome and positive images about Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland and its connections around the globe.

Tourism Ireland also recognises the potential, and importance, of the Ulster Scots diaspora for tourism to Northern Ireland, and in particular the strong ancestral links with North America.

Our promotions have included publicity campaigns, advertising in newspapers in the southern states of the US, email marketing to “best prospects” with Northern Ireland surnames, as well as participation in the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Altlanta, Georgia.

Northern Ireland business people working and living abroad have also helped achieve growth in business tourism through their global networks. Tourism

Ireland will continue to raise awareness of Northern Ireland as a top business tourism destination, particularly highlighting the new facilities at the Waterfront Hall.

Looking to 2016, Tourism Ireland aims to attract two million overseas visitors to Northern Ireland (+4% increase over 2015), generating £476 million for the Northern Ireland economy (+5%). We will continue to promote major Northern Ireland themes and attractions around the world – including the Causeway Coastal Route, our Game of Thrones film locations, Titanic Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway, our National Trust properties and world-class golf offering. In 2016, we will also be inviting people from across the world to come and enjoy a year of culinary celebrations for ‘Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink’.

Tourism Ireland looks forward to continuing to work with NI Connections in 2016 and beyond.

Robot Overlords

Actor Bill Murray in City of Ember

Northern Ireland’s golfing stars Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke

NORTHERN IRISH 24 CONNECTIONS

Famous Northern Irish EMIGRANT STORIES

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Harry Ferguson, Dromore (1884-1960): Inventor of the modern tractor

✱

From Dromore in Co Down, Harry Ferguson was a revolutionary in the farming industry. His tractors were manufactured in Northern Ireland, England and America where he made a famous ‘handshake agreement’ with Henry Ford.

William F Massey, New Zealand Prime Minister (1856-1925)

✱

From Keenaught close to Limavady, William emigrated to New Zealand

in 1870. He was elected to parliament in 1896 in Franklin.. He was elected Prime Minister of New Zealand in 1912, leading the country through its involvement in the First World War.

Dave Gallaher, New Zealand All Blacks Captain (1873-1917)

✱

The captain of the ‘Original All Blacks’, Dave Gallaher was born in Ramelton, Co Donegal. He led the Originals team to 34 wins out of 35 matches in the team’s historic first tour of the British Isles.

Gallaher was killed in Belgium during the First World War.

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Physicist (1824-1907)

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Belfast-born William Thompson was the mathematical physicist who determined the value of the lower limit to temperature, or absolute zero. Absolute temperatures are stated in units of ‘kelvin’ in his honour.

William Burke and William Hare, serial killers

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Infamous murderers Burke and Hare murdered 16 people in Edinburgh over a period of 10 months in 1828, selling their bodies to the anatomy lecturer Dr Robert Knox. Burke was originally from Strabane, while Hare’s birthplace is unclear, it is believed to be Poyntzpass.

John Stewart Bell, Physicist (1928-1990)

✱ Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson

Known as the scientist who proved Albert Einstein wrong, John Stewart Bell is regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest physicists. Born in

Dave Gallaher Belfast, he published Bell’s Theorem in 1964 showing that Einstein’s views on quantum mechanics were incorrect. He went on to teach at CERN in Switzerland.

John Dunlap, printer (1747-1812)

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One of the most successful US printers of his time, John Dunlap emigrated from Strabane in 1757 at just 10 years old.

He went to work with his uncle William Dunlap as an apprentice printer and bookseller in Philadelphia, and bought the business in 1766. At the end of the American War of Independence he was commissioned to print the United States Declaration of Independence.

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 25

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

CHINA STORIES JAMES McINTOSH, International chef

Growing up in Tandragee, near Armagh, it seemed unlikely that James McIntosh would become an international celebrity chef with TV shows watched by millions.

His mother, a home economics teacher, taught him the value of good food, “from farm to fork” and it’s been the foundation of an extraordinary career.

The 37 year old started travelling 20 years ago and highlights of his career include launching the Aga pro range in North America. H has written awardwinning cookbooks and made the move into television with his own 20-part cookery show in Asia. James said: “I got an opportunity in 2009 to present a TV series called Food Adventures on the Silk Road. It was fantastic. The show was about the world’s original trade route.”

Despite his time away, James says there

aren’t too many places in the world that can rival Northern Ireland in terms of tasty food and quality ingredients.

“The produce that we have is second to none. Because we have these pure farms and these families with farming in their blood for so long, we’re able to produce things like Abernethy Butter and Suki Tea grown in Northern Ireland. That’s what I missed and I’m finding it all back home in Northern Ireland.”

James is currently producing a cookbook showcasing quality food and drink producers from across Northern Ireland. It will also include interviews with members of the diaspora across the world.

“It’s an exciting project. We’ve already started by writing about the incredible story of Lough Neagh eels, and Leggygowan goat’s cheese of Saintfield.

The book will tell the story of all the small producers who make the taste of Northern Ireland unique.”

Co Armagh’s James McIntosh, telling Northern Ireland’s food stories

TIM LOSTY, Director, NI Bureau in China Tim Losty is “our man in Beijing”.

The senior civil servant from North Belfast has spent the past year in the Chinese capital, setting up the Executive’s office there. He previously ran the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington, so he’s used to the diplomatic life. But he readily admits how much he misses home.

“I get very homesick when I’m away for any length of time,” said Tim, on a flying visit home. “In Washington, even though I was working close to the White House, I missed Northern Ireland. It’s the same in Beijing, although the job is very exciting and challenging.”

Tim is currently helping to increase Northern Ireland’s profile in China, opening doors for companies and organisations as they seek business in the region. He’s been instrumental in preparations for Northern Ireland meat being licensed for sale in China.

Tim’s entire career – from grassroots economic development in North and West Belfast in the 1980s, through peace building work on the interfaces and high level diplomatic missions – has been about making a difference to life in Northern Ireland.

“No matter what role you are in, I think you want to go to bed at night with the knowledge that you’ve contributed something useful that day. And it’s great to represent Northern Ireland. Both here in Beijing and when I was in Washington, I’ve been very lucky. Not many people get paid to boast about the place they come from.

“We are a small place and we often underestimate that we have talented people at home and living overseas. We need to celebrate that talent, support it and ask for support from our networks to help achieve our objectives of a prosperous NI and create a place to proud of and a place to be proud to come from. “

Tim Losty with Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson in Shanghai

Friendship is important in China, says Paul McCarthy PAUL McCARTHY, Managing director When Paul McCarthy first landed in Shanghai 17 years ago, leading a trade delegation of Irish seafood producers, he was instantly smitten.

“It was overwhelming, a real sensory overload of sights, smell, noise and the sheer mass of people,” said Belfast-born Paul. “I thought the city was so exciting and I wanted to return.”

A marketing and management consultant, Paul took a career break and flew out to Shanghai. He got a contract with McKinsey to teach English to Chinese business people.

“Because of my career background, it developed into a business providing management and leadership training, strategy and communications for senior Chinese executives.”

Paul has built strong business links in China. He says the natural friendliness and determination of Northern Ireland people will help companies from here thinking of

entering the vast Chinese market.

“Friendship is very important when doing business in China. You can’t just tick the box, you really have to woo them, accept long dinners and build relationships. There are long delays and many frustrations, but great opportunities.”.

Paul has been involved in setting up the Friends of Northern Ireland in China, along with Shanghai-based security expert and Belfast expat Neal Beatty.

“We noticed that the longer we lived here the more people from home we met,” said Paul. “It made sense to come together and help each other out using the networks and resources we’d developed. We’d like to do our part to encourage trade links with Northern Ireland.

“On a purely personal level, it’s great to be in a room full of people and just listen to the accent again. The sheer scale of China can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, so it’s nice to have that familiarity.

“Plus it’s about the only time anyone’s interested in talking about Ulster Rugby or how well the football team is doing !”

Kain said: “It’s great for Northern Ireland.

The show will be watched by over 280m people, we got a huge chance to showcase Ireland and capture the attention of the Kain Craigs was born in Hong Kong but world’s largest outbound travel market. his roots are in Northern Ireland and he’s “There are 110m people who leave China building a career with his international every year to go on holiday. This show is connections. watched 80% online, with three clicks they After studying in Beijing, Belfast and can book a trip to Ireland.”

Durham, he worked as a consultant in Kain runs the travel business with his London, then set up Iconic Golf Group (IGC), father, Martin Craigs, a leading international promoting luxury Northern Ireland golfing aerospace and tourism consultant who lives holidays to high spending Chinese tourists. in Hong Kong but retains a family home in “Every year there is more and more Northern Ireland. demand from the Chinese to come here,” Martin revealed the Belfast connection said Kain. “They love the simple things about Northern Ireland - the fresh air, green fields that helped to secure the I Supermodel deal.

“I first visited China in 1980 to sell Short and rural sights. For many of the groups Brother’s square airliners. The technical side we work with, we will hire a classic car and of that project was managed by an aspiring work with Queen’s University to get a guide young engineer, Brian Ambrose who is today who speaks Chinese to explain the history, the chair of Tourism Ireland as well as chief and we’ll get a photographer to document executive of Belfast City Airport. the trip.”

“The pitch for hosting “I, Supermodel” In October, Kain was instrumental in landed on Brian’s desk, it was a pleasure bringing one of the world’s most-watched to re–engage with someone who fully reality shows to Belfast. I, Supermodel, understands the China market challenge the Chinese version of Next Top Model, was filmed in locations including Titanic Belfast, and opportunity.”

The I Supermodel episodes featuring Belfast City Hall and the North Coast. The Northern Ireland are due to air in China next 70-strong cast of models and film crew month. stayed at the Culloden Hotel.

KAIN CRAIGS, Travel consultant

NORTHERN IRISH 26 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

Chris McClelland, chief executive of Brewbot with Ian Sheppard, Bank of Ireland and Steve Orr of NISP Connect at the publication of the 2015 Knowledge Economy Report

Gavin Shields says Northern Ireland people are good at solving problems

COMING HOME TO GROW THE knowledge economy

Tech company boss Gavin Shields, who runs Piggy Pot, is one of a growing band of young expat entrepreneurs who’ve returned to Northern Ireland

✲

“I studied economics at Edinburgh and graduated in 2002. I took a job as a finance manager with Proctor and Gamble, and left three years later to join a major US venture capital firm, based in London. I was making investments worth £50m-100m in tech companies across Europe.

“I tried to find some interesting companies in Northern Ireland to invest in. I suppose if you grow up here, you have that connection for the rest of your life. I wanted to be involved in the tech sector here. I really admired companies like Chain Reaction Cycles and First Derivatives in Newry.

“I decided to start my own company in 2009, the video gaming company, Turbulenz. It now has 25 employees in London, Tokyo and the United States and it’s currently building a game for Sony.

“I’d met a couple of Invest NI people who were trying to encourage expats like me to look to Northern Ireland as a place to grow a company. In 2013, I decided that I’d lived in London long enough and I wanted to move home.

“I also wanted to start something new, on my own. Piggy Pot is a digital piggy bank which operates in a similar way to a traditional piggy bank, except online, using your mobile or computer. We’re trying to make it easier for people to set money

aside, to put it in and take it out whenever they want.

“It’s quick and easy to use, it takes less than a minute to set up, with no form-filling and bureaucracy like the banks, and you can have as many pots as you like, for example different ones for holidays or presents. It’s ideal for Christmas savings.

We’ll be taking on the multi-million pound Christmas Club market and offering customers a much fairer way of saving.

“We have a target of 100,000 customers within two years, as we expand out of Northern Ireland and into Europe. I expect to have 10-12 employees initially. I’m really impressed with the skills on offer in Northern Ireland, compared to London where it’s hard to get good software developers.

“Perhaps it’s a Northern Ireland trait, people here like to solve problems and those are the people I need for my business. People here are also hungry for entrepreneur success, it’s a good environment to start a tech business and there’s great support from Invest NI and organisations like the NI Science Park.

“We need to do more to celebrate success in Northern Ireland, we don’t do enough to get our story out there. It has a really positive effect. If people are aware of how successful we can be, then we’ll start to believe in ourselves.”

His career took him to England and California for 17 years. Now Steve Orr, director of NISP Connect at the Northern Ireland Science Park, explains why there’s no place like home

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rowing up, it was so clear to me that my future lay anywhere other than Northern Ireland. I now know that there is nowhere I would rather live and work than Northern

Ireland.

I was lucky with timing when I graduated from the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, England. The UK was coming out of a deep recession and a huge global “bubble” in new technology and tech companies was just beginning.

I worked near London in that sector for a few years and then an opportunity arose for me to move to San Diego in California to help one of the world’s most important technology companies, Qualcomm Inc, as they expanded their international operations.

Opportunity then took me from there to San Francisco where I experienced the peak of the dot-com boom and then back to San Diego, where I co-founded a company that subsequently became one of the fastest growing privately owned US companies, according to our ranking on the Inc 500.

Outside of work I became obsessed with surfing to the point where it affected my mood if I did not get in the water.

I developed

a brilliant group of mostly Irish expat friends and the craic was absolutely deadly.

Yet, while the lifestyle in San Diego was possibly the best in the world, something was missing. I missed the strength of community and values at home and also started to feel strongly that if I was to start a family, I wanted to raise them at home.

I became obsessed with the story of San Diego. In 1985 it was a region of 1.8m people, its economy was 60% dependent on the public sector and it faced losing 100,000 jobs. Yet, it achieved a dramatic transformation and created 6,000 science and technology companies within a couple of decades.

Over the years I developed a firm belief that the people of Northern Ireland were as good if not better than the people from anywhere else in the world. And if a business environment existed in Northern Ireland that was as good if not better than anywhere else in the world, the rest of the world had better look out.

So I made some enquiries and the people who were responsible for the transformation of San Diego agreed to mentor me if I decided to try start a similar non-profit effort at home. Thankfully, the Northern Ireland Science Park had been created to catalyse the creation of Northern Ireland’s knowledge economy and the idea of San Diego’s CONNECT model to develop the environment for entrepreneurs fitted perfectly with the Science Park.

Today our vision is that by 2030 Northern Ireland will be one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge economies in Europe. And it’s happening, we are off to a great start and I am now certain that Northern Ireland is becoming a land of opportunity.

I grew up thinking that the grass was greener elsewhere and while I would still encourage our young talent anyone to go away, spend the first third of their career outside of Northern Ireland and test themselves, I would rather live in Northern Ireland than California. I have the best job in the world, serving the brilliant entrepreneurs of Northern Ireland.

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 27

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

Playing in the big

(fantasy) leagues

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ookstown man Nigel Eccles founded web-based fantasy sports company FanDuel six years ago. It’s now valued at $1.3bn. Users in the US try to win prize money from a multi-million dollar pot on results from American football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey. Nigel, who lives in Edinburgh with his wife and three children, talks about his background in Northern Ireland and his outstanding business success.

Q

What was life like growing up in Northern Ireland for you?

I grew up on a farm in Tyrone with three older brothers. There was always a lot happening, although when I was young I did feel we lived in the middle of nowhere and would have loved for my friends to live close by. Now I have kids myself I realise how lucky I was to grow up on a farm in the country.

Q

What do you miss from home or enjoy most when you visit?

I miss my family and the countryside most.

I love getting home and having my kids run around our fields with their cousins.

Q

What lessons did you learn growing up that have helped you as an entrepreneur?

I guess the biggest one was hard work and resilience. As a farmer you are selfemployed. No one else is going to fix your problems so you have to get on with things and fix them yourself. I also learned that

with hard work and patience, you will be successful.

Q

What inspired you and your cofounders to create FanDuel?

Before FanDuel, we ran Hubdub, an online prediction game, which proved to be popular but difficult to monetise.

We turned our attention to the game’s most popular topic: sports. We looked at the season-long format and it got us thinking – what if we could introduce games that would last just one week or one day, offering a faster paced, more exciting experience? We launched FanDuel in July 2009.

Q

Why do you think FanDuel has proved so popular?

I think our success is due to a number of factors – introducing a brand new concept that has disrupted the fantasy sports industry, building a strong team that has designed and managed a product that gives users what they want, but the main factor has been perseverance and a lot of hard work!

Q

How does it feel to have grown your idea into a business that’s been valued at $1bn?

I’m incredibly proud of what my fellow co-founders and I have built with FanDuel, we’ve come a long way from securing our very first contest entry. For me, the number that really hits home success-wise is the fact we have over one million active paying users every week, being able to make

sports more exciting for that many people gives me a great sense of achievement.

Q

When you started off, was there a clear path where you could see you’d be at this point?

When we started – and for the first couple of years – we were just looking to survive.

That was a challenge in itself. Once we started to get reasonable traction and positive feedback from users, I started to see that this was a product that could go mainstream. However, even then, the level of success we’ve had has been mindblowing.

Q

Where do you see the business in the next five years?

Looking forward, we are focused on continuing to provide a product that makes sports more exciting for our users.

The business is also expanding into new areas – eSports is one focus following our acquisition of fantasy eSports platform AlphaDraft earlier this year and we’ll be launching a UK product in 2016. Our focus is very much on our consumers and how we can make our product the best it can be – this takes priority over any plans for an IPO.

Q

What advice you would give to aspiring tech entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland?

I’ve always felt that biggest killer of startups is not starting. The second biggest killer is giving up. You have to persevere.

It won’t be easy and the early days are

likely to be very challenging. Most people will expect you to fail but you have to keep going. Finally, you need to pick great cofounders. Start-ups are a team sport and you can’t win unless you have a great team.

Q

There seems to be a ceiling lots of NI-based tech companies reach before selling up to a larger competitor? Do we need more of our local entrepreneurs to think bigger?

I don’t think selling early is due to a lack of ambition. We’ve been fortunate in finding deep pocketed US investors who have allowed us to go for scale rather than selling early. Managing to build and sell a company is an extremely impressive achievement. In Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK there is a lack of funding and support to allow early stage companies to get to scale, so selling early is the most rational decision.

Q

You recently came back home to speak at the Icons Festival – is it important to you to help those starting out in tech businesses?

For me, building a successful business is a process that is made a lot easier through the support and advice of other people and businesses – it’s certainly something that I found to be invaluable during the early days of FanDuel. I’m always happy to share advice based on my own experiences, and if it can help someone take the right step – or indeed prevent them from making the wrong move – then I’m all for it.

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 29

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

Berlin expats build friendships through sport

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Across the world, many members of the Northern Ireland diaspora come together to celebrate all that they love and miss about Gaelic games.

Yvette Shapiro talked to David Smyth of Setanta Berlin

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rowing up in North Belfast in the 1970s and 1980s the glamorous, international world of Formula 1 motor racing was a million miles away from Mark Gallagher’s daily experience.

But it was a world that fascinated him from an early age and in which he decided to make his career – a very successful career spanning more than 30 years that has seen him hold executive roles at top racing teams including Jordan Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing and Cosworth.

“It was a sport that reached across society, if that makes sense,” said Mark. “It was a neutral sport to be into, not divided.

So I followed it first as a fan and got to know some really interesting people in racing in Ireland.

“The Circuit of Ireland was huge back then and of course we had John Watson from Holywood racing in Formula 1 in the 70s. 1981 was the first time I went to Silverstone and he won the British Grand Prix against the best drivers in the world.

He was a team mate of my hero Niki Lauda.”

Gallagher believes Northern Ireland has always punched above its weight at all levels of motor sport, including Formula 1.

“Northern Ireland has always been on the Formula 1 radar because there are so many people from here who have worked in the sport. We’ve had guys like Martin Donnelly racing in Formula 1 and Gary Anderson from Coleraine who was one of the top mechanics and designed Jordan’s cars in the 1990s.

“And of course we had Eddie Irvine, who was actually my lodger for a year.

He had just come to England in 1988 and was driving for Eddie Jordan in Formula 3000, which was just below Formula 1 at that time. What he was able to achieve was fabulous and indicative of the fact that people in Northern Ireland were able to make it in the sport.”

wice a week, whatever the Berlin weather throws at them, Irish expats and their children gather for hurling and gaelic football training at either Steglitz or Gleisdreieck sports grounds. Recent snowfalls in the German capital didn’t deter the hardy bunch of players, adults and kids.

Setanta Berlin is a Gaelic sports club co-founded a year ago by 32 year old Larne man David Smyth and Dubliner Colin Manning.

“We’ve sought to develop an organised club with solid local support, focusing on grassroots principles in bringing Gaelic sports to all ages and nationalities as reflected in Berlin’s diverse population,” said David.

“By offering training and events all year round, including monthly open days and traditional music nights, we’ve built up a vibrant group of Berliners and established significant local interest. We also deliver training at local schools, with more than 150 children in Berlin having experienced Gaelic sports for the first time.”

David, a scientist-turned-teacher, moved to Berlin in 2009 and has encountered

very few Northern Irish expats. “We’re a reasonably rare breed in Berlin. Setanta’s schools workshop co-ordinator, Will, hails from Whitehead, and we have a furiously opinionated Donegal man, Michael, who sits precariously between myself and the southern Irish members during televised matches, remarking to me “sure I’m further north than you” while equally winding up the others.”

Like the Northern Irish diaspora worldwide, David has been watching political and social developments from afar. He said he never tries to “sugar coat” Northern Ireland’s problems when talking to German friends, but does attempt to highlight the positive changes.

“I find our recent higher profile related to our TV and film industry reassuring and a positive advertisement for NI,” said David. “While I feel more comfortable in my life in Germany, and grateful for the experiences here which have moulded me, I’ll always consider Northern Ireland as my home and will be strongly associated with it.

“I don’t think Northern Ireland would change significantly in my lifetime to make returning permanently an option, but that

Lessons from the

BY SYMON ROSS

fast lane

After graduating with a degree in Economics from Queen’s University in 1983, Gallagher first went into motor racing as a journalist and then spent time in communications and PR roles for some of the sport’s big sponsors. It was that experience that led him to a key role in Eddie Jordan’s fledgling Formula 1 for its debut season in 1991, later returning as the team’s marketing director. He worked with Jordan for over a decade before joining Jaguar, playing an integral role in its sale

and transition to become Red Bull Racing.

Then, in 2005, he established his own team, Status Grand Prix, competing in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, guiding it to championship-winning success for Team Ireland in 2009. Although continuing to co-own Status, Mark agreed to join the world famous Cosworth organisation in late 2009, overseeing its return to Formula One as an engine supplier to one third of the teams on the grid.

Today, he delivers inspirational speeches and business insights into the business lessons which can be learned from the high

Mark Gallagher (right) with Patrick Head of Williams Formula 1

does not stop me helping from Berlin.

One of our future club projects involves a cross-community focus, with the hope of bringing kids from Northern Ireland to Berlin for shared sports and social activities.” www.facebook.com/setanta.berlin.sport @SetantaBerlin

Children taking part in hurling practice in Berlin technology sport – working with former drivers like David Coulthard and Mark Webber and former World Champions Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve.

Last year saw the publication of his latest book, ‘The Business of Winning- Strategic Success from the Formula One track to the Boardroom’.

Mark lives in North Oxfordshire, only 20 minutes from Silverstone, which is still a hub of activity for Formula One teams, but he remains passionate about home and regularly comes to Belfast to visit friends and family or for public speaking engagements.

“People are intrigued by Northern Ireland. I spent the first 15 years of my career explaining Northern Ireland to people and for the last 15 years I’ve been telling people they should go on holiday there. I think with BBC Sports Personality of the Year and other big events happening in Belfast it will just further highlight what’s here.”

Gallagher helped bring the Jordan Formula One car to Belfast in 2001, racing the car up the hill to Stormont, a stunt repeated by Red Bull several years later outside City Hall. He can’t see a full Formula One race ever coming to Belfast – due to both cost and logistics – but he does think there’s potential for a return to the halcyon days of rallying.

“About 7 years ago as part of the World Cup of Motor Sport we identified a track built on the streets around Titanic Quarter, Bombardier and Harland & Wolff. It didn’t happen for various reasons but it would have been great as a street race,” he said.

“What I’d really like to see is the Circuit of Ireland return to the glory days of my youth when it was a massive event. It takes a bit of vision but if you can get a groundswell of support it is achievable.

We’ve shown that when we have sporting events people in Northern Ireland really get behind them so I hope the same happens for the Circuit.”

NORTHERN IRISH 30 CONNECTIONS

Belfast Telegraph | 22 December 2015

CROSSING CONTINENTS ON A

THE IFA REALLY HELPED ME TO GROW AS A COACH AND THEIR TRAINING IS VERY WELL REGARDED INTERNATIONALLY.

football odyssey

Michael O’Neill isn’t the only national coach looking forward to a big international football tournament

L

isburn man Johnny McKinstry – who wants Michael’s job some day – is preparing his Rwanda team for the 2016 African Nations Championship which is being hosted by Rwanda. The first game will be held in Kigali’s Amahoro Stadium on 16 January.

Earlier this month, Rwanda came second in the CECAFA Cup, just pipped to the top spot by Uganda, and Johnny was named coach of the tournament.

His coaching career began as a teenager

Johnny McKinstry, at the Rwanda v Libya World Cup Qualifier in Kigali last month.

Photo © Darren McKinstry 2015, www.XtraTimeSports.net in Lisburn, when he started gaining his badges through the IFA. “That was the pillar for everything since,” said Johnny.

“The IFA really helped me to grow as a coach and their training is very well regarded internationally.”

After a degree in sports science at Northumbria University, Johnny spent some time coaching at the Dream Academy in Ghana, then in New York with the Red Bulls youth teams, before joining the Craig Bellamy Academy in Sierra Leone. He managed the national team there for 18

months, moving to Rwanda in March this year.

Both countries have had to rebuild after devastating civil wars and genocide.

Johnny, aged 30, says that growing up in Northern Ireland means that he inevitably compares the conflicts to the Troubles.

“In Rwanda there was an ethnic split, at home the split was more on religious lines, but there are some similarities. However, the people of Rwanda have completely moved on, they say ‘we are all Rwandans’.

They want to build a better future. I

understand why some people can’t do that at home, but it’s preventing us from moving forward.”

Johnny is thrilled that Northern Ireland has qualified for Euro 2016 next summer.

“They’ve done fantastically well and Michael O’Neill has been brilliant. My big priority now is to get tickets for France.

“In the long run I would love to manage Northern Ireland, 100%. I fell in love with football watching them beat Portugal when I was still a kid. Their success is fantastic for the fans and for the country.”

NORTHERN IRISH CONNECTIONS 31

22 December 2015 | Belfast Telegraph

How O’Neill’s Euro heroes are

S

lifting our spirits

uddenly, after 29 years in the football wilderness, Northern Ireland is back on the football map.

Our Wee Country will compete at the Euro 2016 finals in France next summer, a tournament first in Northern Ireland football history and three decades since our last major finals appearance at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.

Many thousands of supporters will descend on the stades of France next June but it will be much more than a football occasion and the vibe will continue to resonate long after the two to three weeks the team, and their fans, can reasonably expect to remain on Gallic soil.

The spontaneous explosion of joy that greeted qualification on a memorable night in October will be detonated again in the New Year, this time on a slow-burning fuse, as the build-up begins in the press and broadcast media, plans are made and friendly matches arranged, guaranteed to work the fans into a frenzy of excitement ahead of departure. For those fortunate enough to be travelling with the team, it will be, quite literally, a whole new ball game for many, never having seen their team in a major football finals before.

It is fair to say, given their devotion and commitment, come the opening match day, most will be unable to contain themselves as they immerse themselves in the whole experience; the journey to the stadium, the pre-match rituals with their pals in the local hostelries, the signing contest with whoever their rivals may be (they will win) right up to the emergence of the teams from the tunnel. And if a favourable result were to be achieved, a state of footballing nirvana will exist.

High spirits: Manager Michael O’Neill is honoured by the players

BY JIM GRACEY Group Sports Editor, Belfast Telegraph Win, lose or draw, legends will be created and folklore spun, on and off the pitch.

It is impossible to understate the enormity of what has taken place here and is still to come.

Michael O’Neill and his team have given the people of their country, not just the football public, a sense of pride not felt in a generation, a collective swelling of the

national chest. Some of us waited 29 years to see qualification secured again and others a lifetime. And the feelgood factor generated will carry forward to France next summer and beyond in terms of sporting and economic benefits.

The oft-maligned and now happily reinvented business model that is the dear, old Irish Football Association will be the biggest beneficiaries, standing to collect millions of euros from television and tournament revenues; every cent earmarked for investment at all levels of

Sheer joy: Northern Ireland’s Gareth McAuley enjoys the moment of qualification the game here, funding projects for the future betterment of football from the playground right up to the international team.

A successful football team is always good for trade and our boys in green will set off for France with the kerching of cash register tills ringing in their ears.

There is money to be made as retail experience shows sporting highs and spending surges shoot up the graph in tandem.

Biggest winners will be the travel firms, not just from the hordes booking up to become part of the biggest football invasion force ever to leave these shores, an estimated 10,000, but also from a returning army of exiles determined to be able to say they were there when history was made.

Kit and souvenir manufacturers are gearing up for their piece of the action and the breweries and drinks firms will be stepping up production to sate the thirst of the stay at homes, boosting pub and off licence profits from the TV games.

Likewise, over in France, innkeepers and hoteliers are rubbing their hands at the prospect of hosting the biggest spending, best behaved bunches of fans in world football, from Northern Ireland and the Republic.

For our own Green And White Army and the country, it has been a long time coming. As a cub reporter in 1982 and 1986, I believed events like these came around every four years and it is the intervening gap of barren years which makes the achievement of Michael O’Neill and his team all the more remarkable and worthy of appreciation and which is why all concerned should cherish every minute of it.