Derry people of the year awards: all the winners

The gala event held at the Everglades Hotel brought together many local heroes of all ages, whose efforts to support their city and community shone brightly during the bleak period since the pandemic began.

As well as the man behind The Town I Loved So Well, recipients of awards included Danny Quigley, who performed an astonishing feat - completing ten Iron Mans in ten days.

The award for Outstanding Bravery - a category decided by our readers - went to Aoife and Adam Burke.

Tribute was also paid to Tamzin White for her relentless efforts to highlight the need for a detox centre in Derry.

Unfortunately Phil Coulter was unable to attend the awards event in person, but told of his delight on video.

Coulter’s achievements are legendary. His place among the great song-writers of the modern age was cemented in history the day Elvis Presley recorded “My Boy”, a top 20 hit in the US and across the world. He is the only Irish artist to have a song recorded by Elvis Presley.

His song ‘The Town I loved So Well’ is one of the most played tracks on Irish radio and his ‘Ireland’s Call’ rugby is played at all international rugby games.

Very few in the music business can boast of having chart entries in every decade since the sixties.

Even fewer can match the range of Phil’s output – from Eurovision winners to folk classics, from tender ballads to sporting anthems.

His production credits include Van Morrison, Sinead O’Connor, Elvis Costello, Lisa Stansfield, Marianne Faithful and Richard Harris while in Ireland his successes have ranged from the Dubliners to Planxty, from Paddy Reilly to the Furey Brothers.

The winners were:

Business Person of the Year Jenna Devine, Devine Scents

Derry people of the year awards: all the winners

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