On Friday evening, November 24th, the College Principal, Professor Peter Finn KSG, received the Roll of Honour Award at the annual Aisling Awards in the Europa Hotel. Over five hundred people attended the event, where the Guest Speaker was Michelle O’Neill MLA. The Aisling Awards are now the premier awards night for Belfast City showcasing the positivity of the city and its people.
On receiving the award Peter said:
“I am delighted to receive the Roll of Honour Award, but I take it as recognition of the wider effort by all my colleagues at St Mary’s who have successfully transformed the institution from a teacher training college into a University College of Queen’s University.”
He continued:
“A small institution like ours has to be distinctive in order to be relevant, it is through community engagement that we have found our niche.”
Peter thanked the dozens of community organisations and groups that hold events in the College each year for bringing something special to our campus life.
Previous Roll of Honour award winners have included Suzanne Wylie in her role as Belfast City Council Chief Executive and now NI Chamber Chief Executive.
Other award recipients on the night included young Dáithí McGabhann who received the Person of the Year award for successfully leading the campaign to modernize our organ donation law.