Newry Chamber hosted their 6th Annual International Women’s Day Celebration Lunch at a packed Killeavy Castle Estate with over 200 guests on Friday 6th March, kindly sponsored by KPMG Ireland, Southern Regional College and Younique Aesthetics Clinic.
The 200+ guests enjoyed a prosecco drinks reception served in the spectacular surroundings of Killeavy Castle before proceeding into the castle pavilion for an afternoon of incredible speakers, a 3-course meal and live music from the fabulous, Geraldine O’Doherty, Principal Harpist with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Joanne Quigley-McParland, Artistic Director of Newry Chamber Music and talented local singer-songwriter, CeeV.
The annual event which has become the hottest ticket in town for International Women’s Day in the Greater Newry Area, since its inception back in 2020 and this year’s Keynote Speaker, Newry-born Actor & Writer, Valene Kane, a past pupil of Scared Heart Grammar School who has an unbelievable back catalogue of TV series, movies and theatre performances to her name.
Alongside the Fireside Chat with Valene and our fabulous MC, Deborah Loughran, Managing Director of King Communication & Newry Chamber Board member oversaw three engaging panel discussions, the first with three incredible ladies from our Principal Sponsors on this year’s theme, #GiveToGain.
- Libby Shackels, Curriculum Director, Southern Regional College
- Susan Smyth, Private Client Practice Director, KPMG Ireland
- Aine Larkin, Clinical Director, Younique Medical Aesthetics
This year, guests also heard about the dreams, ambitions and aspirations from a panel consisting of the Head Girls and Senior Leaders from our local schools including St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart, St. Paul’s, Our Lady’s and Newry High School.
- Aoife Rafferty, Senior Leader, St. Mary’s High School
- Marianna O’Neill, Head Girl, Sacred Heart Grammar School
- Jessica Dike, Head Girl, St. Paul’s High School
- Juno Cotter, Deputy Head Girl, Our Lady’s Grammar School
- Lena Durkalec, Head Girl, Newry High School
Our final discussion on the day was with five of our fantastic female Chamber Board members, who between them are responsible for in the region of 1000 jobs locally, discussing what we, as Chamber have done to ensure gender equality within our own organisation, where we now have 10 female Board members out of 15 Board members and more opportunities than ever for women to shape the local business community.
- Mairead McParland, Director, Canal Court Hotel, Newry
- Edwina Flynn, CEO, Wood Innovations
- Paula Maguire, Senior Contract Manager, BT
- Gemma Murphy, Partner & Manager, Jack Murphy Jewellers
- Jackie Reid, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, DELI LITES Ireland
Thanks to the generosity of guests in attendance, £3,000 was also raised through a Charity Raffle for our two Charity Partners, Parkinson’s UK and Breast Mates Newry, with prizes generously donated from local businesses including Younique Aesthetics, Killeavy Castle, DELI LITES, Canal Court Hotel, Jack Murphy Jewellers, Buttercrane Centre and Bank Bistro & Bar.
Conor Patterson, President of Newry Chamber commented:
“As President of Newry Chamber, I am immensely full of gratitude for an afternoon that brought over 200 representatives from the local business community together to celebrate the achievements of women, spark important conversations and most importantly drive meaningful change.”
“I would sincerely like to thank our Principal Sponsors, KPMG Ireland, Southern Regional College and Younique Aesthetics Clinic for their unwavering support of this important annual event.”
“It was also fantastic to hear Libby Shackels, Southern Regional College, Susan Smyth, KPMG Ireland and Aine Larkin, Younique Aesthetics talk about all the ways their organisations are helping to support their female workforce at the event.”
Lee Campbell, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College said:
“Southern Regional College (SRC) were delighted to be a sponsor of this year’s International Women’s Day event with Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade and partners.”
“Focusing on this year’s theme of “Give to Gain”, SRC is proud of the many initiatives we offer to support female learners of all ages. In addition to our Women Returner programmes, we are seeing more females achieve success at World Skills competitions and a growth in female learners in a range of Apprenticeship areas. We are also excited for the new STEM Racing team at the College, known as SCAR. Led by a female team principal, the team has qualified for the UK National Finals of the largest post primary STEM competition in the world, supported by Formula One.”
“SRC is committed to equality of opportunity for all, and supporting International Women’s Day is just one example of how we are committed to building resilient teams, innovative workplaces and inclusive environments.”
Marie Farrell, Tax Partner at KPMG Ireland said:
“We were thrilled to continue our partnership with Newry Chamber in celebrating International Women’s Day at the stunning Killeavy Castle Estate. At KPMG Ireland, we’re committed to helping women excel at work – it’s essential to our ongoing and future success.”
“KPMG offers a range of programmes to ensure we deliver on our Gender Action Plan to include Connect @ KPMG, now in its fourth cycle, which empowers women to expand their networks and develop their leadership skills, providing a platform to help nurture and retain our female talent.”
“We are also incredibly proud of our Life Cycle Supports Policy which recognises how busy life can be for our people (male and female), providing a range of supports at all stages of life, to include leave for fertility treatment and pregnancy loss, along with support and leave for our people who act as carer to a family member.”
“We believe that these supports (which are continuously evolving) help people achieve better work life balance and positively contribute to the firm’s success and inclusion, diversity and equity focus.”
Aine Larkin, Clinical Director of Younique Aesthetics Clinic added:
“We were absolutely delighted to be a Sponsor of this year’s International Women’s Day Celebration Lunch with Newry Chamber, hosted once again in the stunning surroundings of Killeavy Castle Estate. It was truly inspiring to be in a room filled with so many remarkable women from all different walks of life – each with their own story, their own journey and their own ambition. Events like this remind us of the incredible strength and talent that exists within our local community.”
“One of the most powerful moments of the day was hearing from the Head Girls of our local schools – listening to their dreams, their ambitions and their aspirations for the future. As women in business, it is our responsibility to champion the next generation and show them what is possible. Hearing their voices in that room gave us so much hope and motivation for the future.”
“At Younique Aesthetics Clinic, empowering women is at the heart of everything we do – not just in how they look, but in how they feel about themselves. Being part of an event that celebrates women so wholeheartedly aligns perfectly with our values and we look forward to continuing our support in the years to come.”