Derry Journal Review of the Year 2023: April - Bill Clinton back, peace museum boost and escape from Khartoum

The announcement of £2.8m funding for the construction of the new facilities came 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement.

Manager of the Gasyard Development Trust, Linda McKinney said the project would transform the building and the services it provides.

Elsewhere there were calls for the last vestiges of security barriers at Bishop’s Gate to be removed.

John Lafferty, from the Bishop Street area, urged the Department of Justice (DoJ) to remove a so-called ‘Dogleg’ barrier at Bishop Street Without at its entrance to the Fountain.

He said he did not believe the heavy duty infrastructure was necessary 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement.

In April it was confirmed the Western Trust paid £1 million for lands at Fort George for its planned new cityside health hub and that the 2015 masterplan was now under revision to include this.

Bishop Street resident calls for last vestiges of security barriers at Bishop’s Gate to be removed

The Department for Communities (DfC) said it planned to go to market with the remainder of the Fort George site.

Bill Clinton heard powerful calls for the restoration of power-sharing and the development of a ‘vibrant, innovative economy and tolerant, liberal society’ during his visit to Derry.

The pleas were made by two students who addressed the former US President at the Hume Foundation’s ‘Making Hope and History Rhyme’ event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in the Guildhall.

Ellianna McBride, from Foyle College, and James Tourish, from St. Columb’s College, both 18, weren’t born when the accord was signed.

Bill Clinton hears powerful plea from Derry youth for restored Stormont and 'tolerant, liberal society'

A state-of-the-art new children’s unit at Altnagelvin moved a step closer to reality after the Western Trust submitted a planning application for the development.

Construction of the development was earmarked to begin in January 2024 with a provisional target completion date of 2025.

Derry man Brian McDaid spoke of his relief after he and his family were evacuated from the war-ravaged Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

Brian, his wife and their two children were among the Irish citizens evacuated through a co-ordinated European Union effort involving the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and consulate and other EU countries.

‘A huge sense of relief’ : Derry man describes family's evacuation amid war in Sudan