New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn seals the deal of transatlantic friendship with First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness after their meeting this morning, at Stormont. Quinn is in Belfast to speak this evening at the Aisling Awards, the city?s biggest awards gala which is hosted by our sister media organization, The Belfast Media Group.
Following a meeting in Dublin on Wednesday with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, she traveled to Belfast to meet community leaders and victims of state violence in West Belfast. Today, she will be holding discussions with community activitsts, including paramilitaries turned peacemakers in loyalist East Belfast.
Addressing a business breakfast in Belfast city centre this morning, she said: "Ireland is of enormous importance to New Yorkers," she said. "The impact of Ireland in New York is huge. New York feels an enormous connection to Ireland. The future of Belfast, the future of the peace process, is of enormous importance to us and we understand that the next leg of the peace process is economic development. And we want to feel that we played a part not only in stabilising the peace but building it further."
This story appeared in the issue of February 3-9, 2010
To write a letter to the editor, click
here. Please include your name, address and a day-time phone number
for verification.
Printable
version
Email
this story
