As the new President of Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, I would like to wish you, all our valued members, your families and your staff a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
2025 has been a strong year for Newry Chamber and I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Edwina Flynn for the energy, enthusiasm and professionalism she brought to the role over the last two years.
Our Chamber Team led by Michael Savage, and the Chamber Board, delivered another programme of well-attended, informative and engaging events, and the lobbying efforts of our partners to attract Government support and investment have been strengthened with Newry Chamber carrying that message into the corridors of power in Stormont, Westminster, the Oireachtas and the United States.
We are a positive voice for Greater Newry and see significant opportunities for our city and region. However, we face significant challenges, challenges that can only be overcome through a collaborative and unified approach from all stakeholders with an interest in seeing Newry fulfil its potential.
Unity of purpose is paramount if we are to achieve anything for our businesses and our citizens.
We can all hold differing views on some aspects of the route map, but none of us can disagree that there is a need to secure substantial investment in our city and region to support and stimulate economic growth.
Newry Chamber is working with local and central government partners to shape a strategic plan for the city and region with achievable ambitions to secure significant public sector investment in our area. A programme to increase our wastewater capacity is vitally important as well as other key infrastructure initiatives such as the Southern Relief Road, to address the current and future socio-economic needs of our population and improve quality of life.
This plan must also address the skills and recruitment challenges which businesses wanting to create good jobs face.
During my term as President, I want to lead a Chamber that will fight to ensure that the investment deficits in our region are addressed by the Executive as well as the British and Irish Governments. Only if our businesses flourish can we fulfil our ambition to develop Newry into an economic powerhouse on the Dublin-Belfast corridor.
We have proven in the past that when we all talk our city and region up and when we all work with a unified sense of purpose, we can achieve great things for Newry.
I want 2026 to be a year in which our community unites behind this common goal of regenerating our city, growing our economy and providing exciting opportunities for future generations to live, work and raise a family in Greater Newry.
As well as leading on all things economic, we will also be supporting efforts to improve the social fabric of our city and district, including continuing to play our part in the Daisy Hill Future Group which is working to secure the long-term future of our local hospital services.
We will also continue to support our vital local charities and social enterprises that are so important in providing a safety net to protect the vulnerable in our society.
We will continue to speak up for our businesses, provide opportunities for networking and growth and advocate for a city and district that has the strongest entrepreneurial spirit on this island.
Let’s be positive about 2026 and unite around the message that we should all work together to build a city and region that can be an attractive destination for investors from all over the world.
The Chamber Offices will close today, Friday 19th December and reopen on Monday 5th January. Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Conor Patterson
President
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade