Derry University campaign to run candidate for Seanad

The Derry publisher and former newspaper editor, Garbhán Downey, will be one of 19 candidates competing for three seats in the National University of Ireland (NUI) Senate Constituency.

University College Galway graduate Downey, the only Northern candidate in the race, has been nominated by NUI alumni from across the island.

Downey, who co-founded the Derry University Group in 2013 to improve Higher Education provision in the North West, said: “The work we have completed so far shows us that Dublin is ready to move towards establishing a new cross-border university in Donegal and Derry.

“Derry was previously a member of the island’s national university structure, and there is now a perfect opportunity for us now to rejoin.

“It is time to end the North West’s 60-year wait for an independent university, which will stimulate economic recovery and deliver equality in the border regions.

“A cross-border development will also help us ensure that citizens from the North can retain the same rights to education and training as other EU states.”

There are more than 112,000 graduates from NUI colleges on the NUI Seanad register. The election is strictly a postal ballot and voting papers will be issued this Friday, February 28, to be returned by the end of March.