2020 Social Events
Welcome Reception
Belfast City Hall, Donegall Square, Belfast, BT1 5GS
Wednesday 29 January 2020, from 18.30 - 20.00
(Please enter at the front of the building)
We thank Belfast City Council for their kind generosity for the use of the City Hall.
In 1888, Queen Victoria granted Belfast the status of the city and it was agreed that a grand and magnificent building was required to reflect this. City Hall's doors opened in 1906. It was designed by Alfred Brumwell Thomas in the Baroque Revival style and constructed in Portland stone. The incredible building cost £369,000 to complete, the equivalent to around £128 million today. The building remains an extraordinary beacon of success and civic pride today.
City Hall has many connections with the famous ocean liner Titanic. Viscound William Pirrie, who was Lord Mayor in 1896-1897 just before City Hall's construction, was also managing director of Harland and Wolff Shipyard. He is the man credited as having the idea for both ambitious builds. He used many of his skilled workmen in the fit-out of City Hall which is why the interiors today are considered an incredible insight into the finish of the Titanic's lounges and suites, the ship's carved panelling being very similar.
Upon arrival and during the Welcome Reception there will be a performance by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Staff Orchestra. The Orchestra formed in September 2016 for a 'one off' performance at Culture Night Belfast as part of the Trusts Arts in Health Programme. Three years on and the orchestra has a regular membership of 30 players and contiunes to perform at a range of events within hospitals, healthcare and community settings for the enjoyment of patients, service users, staff and visitors. The orchestra encourages the involvement of staff to enable them to continue to play orchestral instruments (or return to playing orchestral instruments after a long break!) while juggling the demands of work and shift patterns.
Dinner is not included on Wednesday evening, so you are free to explore the many wonderful and varied restaurants in Belfast. Booking is strongly advised.
Annual Conference Dinner
Thursday 30 January 2020 - 19.00 for 19.30
Titanic Belfast (museum), 1 Olympic Way, Queens Road, Belfast, BT3 9EP.
There will be a drinks reception from 19.00 in the museum foyer before being seated for dinner at 19.30
Housed in an iconic, six-floor building, Titanic Belfast is in the heart of the city, besides the Titanic Slipways, the Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices and Hamilton Graving Dock, which is the very place where the Titanic was designed, built and launched in 1911.
Titanic Belfast tells the story of the Titanic, from the conception in the early 1900s, through the construction and launch, to its maiden voyage and subsequent place in history.
The evening will begin with a drinks reception in the museum's ground floor entrance foyer, followed by dinner in the iconic Titanic Suite. Inspired by RMS Titanic's opulent interiors, it features a replica of the liner's Grand Staircase - the perfect backdrop for photographs and speeches. Views overlook the very slipway where the Titanic was built and launched.
Following dinner and speeches, there will be an interactive performance from a group of Irish dancers accompanied by the McPeake family Ceilidh Band. Then it is your turn! The McPeake family has been whispered as ‘folk-royalty’. Their beloved song 'Wild Mountain Thyme / Will Ye Go Lassie Go' has been on the lips of music lovers across the globe. This hauntingly beautiful folk anthem has been covered by music superstars such as Ed Sheeran, Rod Stewart and Bob Dylan, to name a few. McPeake mix heart-pumping instrumentals and heart-stirring lyrics with innovative use of traditional instruments alongside contemporary song writing; creating a new perspective on an old genre.
On departure, taxis can be ordered in the entrance foyer on the ground floor.