Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108connect 2017 • 81 belfast around the world September, 2016 The best of Belfast came to launch the newest chapter of The Ireland Funds Young Leaders Society. Hosted by Joint Secretary Ruairí de Búrca at his residence in Belfast, over 70 guests joined the Young Leaders’ steering com- mittee: Conor Houston, Jonny Elliott, Ryan Feeney, Emma Hunt, Caroline McNeill, Gareth Quinn and Andrew Trimble, along with Ireland Funds Board Members Trevor Ringland and Hugo MacNeill. Conor Houston, Chair of the steering commit- tee, spoke about his experiences with The Ireland Funds and the invaluable work it has done in Northern Ireland. Young Leaders Director Siobhán Gallagher spoke about her experience with the Young Leaders and her high hopes for the future of this newest Ireland Funds’ chapter. December, 2016 The Ireland Funds Belfast Young Lead- ers along with PeacePlayers Northern Ireland, a flagship grantee of The Ireland Funds, came together to support Ulster Rugby in its game against Clermont Auvergne in the Kingspan Stadium, Belfast. To the delight of the group, it was an incredibly exciting game with Ulster Rugby scoring five tries to beat the French side with a score of 39-32. After the match, the Young Leadersmovedtotheaward-winningOx Cave.TheYoungLeaders celebratedUlster’ssuccesswithteamplayersAndrewTrimble and Craig Gilroy. The Belfast Young Leaders Inaugural Meeting Belfast Young Leaders Celebrate Thanksgiving Belfast Young Leaders Ulster Rugby Experience 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 Front: Fintan McGovern, Gerard Ryan, Ryan Feeney, Ruairí de Búrca, Caroline McNeill, Emma Hunt, Conor Houston, Gareth Quinn. Back: Jonny Elliott, Trevor Ringland, Andrew Trimble, Hugo MacNeill 2 Trevor Ringland, Andrew Trimble, Ruairí de Búrca, Bill Shaw, Hugo MacNeill 3 Sophie Laverty, Rachel Harrison, Aislinn Higgins 1 Anne Anderson Porter, Conor Houston 2 David Bell, Caitriona Fottrell, Gareth Harper 3 Jonny Elliott, Trevor Ringland, Ryan Feeney 1 Andrew Trimble, Siobhán Gallagher, Conor Houston, Craig Gilroy 2 Young Leaders at Kingspan Stadium 3 Maeve Towhill, Caroline McNeill, Catherine Hughes November, 2016 The Ireland Funds Belfast Young Leaders gathered in the magnificent setting of the Graduate Centre in Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to celebrate Thanksgiving. Ryan Feeney, member of the Belfast Young Leaders steering committee and head of engagement for QUB, welcomed guests and introduced the choir led by Young Leader Jonathan Ireland. Gareth Harper of PeacePlayers International, Bryan Patten of the Washington Ireland Program and Anne Anderson-Porter of Co-operation Ireland, each spoke about their organizations’ longstanding relationships with The Ireland Funds and what it meant to each organization to receive a Flagship Grant. Conor Houston, Chair of the Belfast Young Leaders steering committee and Programme Director at Centre For Democracy and Peace Building spoke about his gratitude for those working to make a difference in Belfast and his hope for the part the Young Leaders would play in developing that future.