Newry Chamber look forward to hosting their Annual International Women’s Day Celebration Lunch which will be held on Friday 7th March 2025 in the beautiful surroundings of Killeavy Castle Estate, kindly sponsored by Southern Regional College, KPMG Ireland and Zen Orthodontics.
The Chamber are delighted to have secured a trailblazing Keynote Speaker, Sósanna Ní Dhubháin, Composite Lead Engineer at the Aston Martin F1 Team. 2025’s theme is #AccelerateAction and we couldn’t have wished to secure a more appropriate Keynote Speaker in Sósanna for this year’s theme.
Continuing with a sporting theme, we will also have a panel of inspirational local women who are all high achievers in their respective fields, with our fabulous MC, Deborah Loughran overseeing proceedings on the day.
Sósanna is an engineer renowned for her significant contributions to Formula 1, particularly with the Aston Martin F1 Team. A native of Rostrevor, County Down and past pupil of Sacred Heart Grammar School, she embarked on her professional career as a Junior Composite Designer at Team Lotus in 2011.
Over the years, she advanced through various roles and in 2024, she was promoted to Lead Composite Engineer at Aston Martin F1 Team, where she now oversees the design and development of major components for the car.
Sósanna is a strong advocate for diversity within engineering and motorsport. She actively mentors students and encourages women to pursue careers in STEM fields, aiming to inspire the next generation of engineers and accelerate the achievement of gender parity in the profession.
Her dedication and expertise have made her a respected figure in the motorsport engineering community, exemplifying the impact of Irish and specifically, County Down talent, on the global stage.
Guests will enjoy a prosecco and cocktails drinks reception with exquisite canapés served in the spectacular surroundings of Killeavy Castle before proceeding into the castle pavilion for an afternoon of incredible speakers, local food and live music.
We are also pleased to announce Women’s Aid Armagh Down will not only be our Charity Partner for this event but will be the focus of our fundraising efforts for the whole of 2025 as they work towards a much needed and purpose-built facility on the Downshire Road, Newry requiring £2 million in funding.
Our Best Dressed Sponsor, Shelly’s Dress Hire based in Rostrevor are also kindly offering any guests attending the event 10% OFF their dress hire for the event.
Edwina Flynn, President of Newry Chamber commented:
“As President of Newry Chamber, I am immensely looking forward to our 6th International Women’s Day Luncheon at the beautiful Killeavy Castle Estate on Friday 7th March, kindly supported by our Principal Sponsors, Southern Regional College, KPMG Ireland and Zen Orthodontics.”
“The lunch is all about coming together as a local business community to celebrate the achievements of women, spark important conversations and, most importantly drive meaningful change. We are delighted to have secured a truly inspiring lineup of speakers and panellists who will share their experiences and insights. Their voices reflect the strength, ambition and resilience of women across all walks of life.”
“This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “Accelerate Action”, a powerful reminder that progress requires more than just conversation it demands action. I hope all our guests leave the event with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to making a difference, whether it is in their workplace, community or personal journey.”
“I am delighted to announce that Women’s Aid Armagh Down will not only be our Charity Partner for this event but will also be the focus of our fundraising efforts throughout 2025. Their mission to build a much-needed, purpose-built facility on Downshire Road, Newry, requires £2 million in funding, and we are committed to supporting this vital cause.”
Lee Campbell, Principal & CEO of Southern Regional College said:
“SRC is thrilled to be sponsoring this year’s International Women’s Day event with Newry Chamber, once again, hosted at the magnificent Killeavy Castle Estate.”
“We pride ourselves on providing a range of supports for females including accredited management training and we are extremely proud that SRC’s senior management team has a healthy balance of female and male directors. The College has a range of health and wellbeing resources as well as family friendly policies to support all employees.”
“We continue to deliver a number of Women Returners programmes to encourage and support women back into the world of work, by providing up-to-date skills, mentoring, confidence building and motivational training which are tailored to individual needs.”
“We are committed to targeting females in our promotional campaigns to ensure there is equality of opportunity for everyone across a range of vocational areas and industry sectors.”
Marie Farrell, Tax Partner at KPMG Ireland said:
“We are delighted to again support the International Women’s Day event with Newry Chamber in the magnificent surroundings of Killeavy Castle Estate. At KPMG Ireland, we believe that ensuring women thrive in the workplace is one of the keys to our success now and in the future.”
“Our Connect@KPMG initiative supports women to build their network and leadership skills. This is one important element of our Gender Action Plan which will help us reach our ambition that 50% of all new partner promotions will be women from 2025.”
“We are also passionate about supporting the future generation of female leaders. We continue to support the SistersIn leadership programme, an NI based 8-month development journey for sixth form girls to help build their confidence and broaden their career aspirations. We also support several programmes aimed at support female entrepreneurs in achieving their growth aspirations.”
Zeeola Worrall, Principal Orthodontist at Zen Orthodontics added:
“Zen Orthodontics are delighted to be proud sponsors of this year’s International Women’s Day event with Newry Chamber, held at the prestigious Killeavy Castle Estate. Since starting out as a small Orthodontic practice 15 years ago, Dr. Aidan Callanan and his team have worked tirelessly to make it one of Ireland’s most recognised, multi-award-winning clinics.”
“The success of the business has always been its employees and Zen are very fortunate to have 24 outstanding women currently pushing the practice to new and exciting heights with each and every year. The Dental Nursing industry has always been very woman-dominated, so Zen Orthodontics understands the need for supporting and promoting women within their employment.”
“We actively encourage all our female employees to continue their education and development through in-house promotions and further enhancements. We are extremely proud to have given 5 of our dental nurses the opportunity to progress into Orthodontic Therapy over the years, with another nurse hopefully starting a course this June. Additionally, encouraging academic growth is top priority for our practice, having sent our Practice Manager, Zeeola, on to do an MBA.”
“Real change for our female employees has come through sustained effort, genuine conversations and actions that have helped to lead the way for our workforce. Zen has always created a workplace where women can thrive and wellbeing is a priority, producing family friendly policies to support our employees and offering flexible working. We’re so grateful to have a dynamic, creative and dedicated female workforce and are committed to Marching Forward and Accelerating Action together.”
This prestigious event has been the hottest ticket in town since its inception in 2020 and due to the extremely high volume of ticket requests submitted each year through our website, the event is now completely SOLD OUT.