New City of London Lord Mayor keen to strengthen Derry connections

The newly inaugurated Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Nicholas Lyons, paid a special visit to Derry on Friday, to reaffirm the commitment to establishing strong economic links between the two cities, and also to revisit his family connections with the city.

Ald Lyons father, the Irish historian and Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, Dr FSL Lyons, was born in Westend Park Derry, where his grandfather was an official of the Northern Bank, and his grandfather hails from Portrush.

Elected annually, the Lord Mayor of the City of London is an international ambassador leading overseas business delegations to key international markets on behalf of the UK’s financial and professional services industry.

The Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Sandra Duffy, received the Lord Mayor at the Guildhall, where they discussed Ald Lyons’ personal ties to the city. He took time to visit Westend Park to see where his father’s family lived for a number of years.

Ald Lyons was also born in Ireland and he spent the first six years of his life in Dublin before moving to Kent, but has retained a strong connection with his place of birth. His predecessor in the role, Ald Vincent Keaveny, made history as the first Irishman to occupy the office as the 693rd Lord Mayor in 2021.

Welcoming the New Lord Mayor to the City, Mayor Duffy said the meeting had been an opportunity to discuss ongoing work on the City Deal projects and other strategic ambitions for the continued growth and development of the region.

“I had a very positive meeting with Ald. Lyons and had the chance to highlight some of the priorities for Derry and Strabane and the excellent work that has already been carried out to date. The Lord Mayor has a keen interest in the North West, strengthened by his own personal connection to Ireland, and a visit to the City was high on his agenda since his inauguration just a few weeks ago.

“The City of London is a global leader in the Financial and Professional Services sector. As a Council we are committed to developing strong international business links, and will continue to explore opportunities for future investment and growth, building on the fantastic work that has already been done to develop our key industries, the emerging fintech cluster here, as well as shared interests in climate change, tourism and culture.”

LORD MAYOR’S VISIT . . . . The Lord Mayor of London, Nicholas Lyons pictured at the city’s Guildhall on Friday afternoon during a courtesy visit to the city and Guildhall. He was welcomed by the Mayor, Sandra Duffy. Included at front left is Chris Hayward, Policy chairman, City of London. Back left to right, Stephen Gillespie, Director of Business and Culture, Derry City and Strabane District Council, John Kelpie, Chief Executive, Derry City and Strabane District Council, Andrew McGowan, Head of UK Regions, City of London Corporation, and Edward Montgomery, The Honourable The Irish Society. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography)

During his visit to Derry, Ald Lyons also met with senior Council officials, civic representatives and business leaders.  Discussion in the roundtable hosted by Catalyst focused on unlocking capital for supporting more firms to scale-up and compete internationally.

The Lord Mayor learned about the world class companies and careers that are in the North West and the tremendous capacity for growth in the region.