UCC Ambassadors win big at 2016 Awards

Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) held its 3rd annual #CorkNeedsYou Cork Conference Ambassadors’ Awards at the Cork International Hotel. The prestigious ceremony paid special tribute to six category winning ambassadors who have helped secure in excess of €11 million for the local economy over the past 12 months and who were instrumental in bringing more than 14,000 delegates to Cork in the past year, 8,000 of whom were international delegates.

Seamus Heaney, Chairman of Cork Convention Bureau said: “I’m delighted to be here this evening, paying a well-deserved tribute to all of our Cork Ambassadors who work tirelessly to deliver valuable business tourism for Cork. To give you a sense of the value of business tourism to the local economy, more than €60 million has been generated in the past nine years here in Cork. During the last 12 months alone, we have helped bring more than 14,000 delegates to Cork, 8,000 of whom were international visitors. As we celebrate our award winners here tonight, I would also like to pay tribute to both Cork City Council and Cork County Council for their overall support and for their vision in recognising the value of business tourism to the economy here in Cork.”

During the awards ceremony, honorees included a host of UCC Conference Ambassadors with all #CorkNeedsYou Ambassadors awarded for bringing international conferences and events to the region, special recognition was given in 6 separate categories:

Academic Award – went to University College Cork’s (UCC) Prof Jeremy Glennon for securing the International Symposium on Chromatography Conference for Cork. The International Symposium on Chromatography attracted over 500 international delegates to Cork in August 2016. The major focus of the symposium was on the impact and continuing contribution of chromatography and separation science to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical, food, health, science and medicine industry. Apryll Stalcup and Jeremy D. Glennon were joint chairs of the symposium. Click here for full interview with Prof. Jeremy Glennon

Corporate Ambassador Award – EIL Ireland

Association Award – Liz Nolan, Irish Association of Barbershop Singers

Sporting Award – Alan Craughwell & Liam Maher , Sundays Well Rebels

Ultimate Ambassador Award – Derry Cronin and the Cronin Travel Group

“The Cronin Family work closely with Cork Convention Bureau in securing and winning business for the region and we wish them every success into the future.” said Evelyn O’Sullivan of the Bureau

Among the key guests who attended this year’s black tie awards dinner, hosted by former radio and television personality Bibi Baskin, were Ard Mhéara Chorcaí, Des Cahill; Deputy Mayor of Cork County, Cllr. Michael Hegarty; the Chief Executive of Cork City Council, Ann Doherty; the President of Cork Chamber, Barrie O’Connell; Chair of the Irish Hotel Federation Aaron Mansworth and Ciara Gallagher, Acting Head of Business Tourism & Events, Fáilte Ireland and UCC Vice President for External Relations Dr. Rónán Ó Dubhghaill.

Congratulations from UCC Conference Office to all UCC Ambassadors heralded on the evening:

Prof. Jeremy Glennon
International Symposium on Chromatography 2016
International Delegates: 550
Value of the Conference to the Region: €825,000
The International Symposium on Chromatography attracted over 500 international delegates to Cork in August 2016. The major focus of the symposium was on the impact and continuing contribution of chromatography and separation science to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical, food, health, science and medicine industry. Apryll Stalcup and Jeremy D. Glennon were joint chairs of the symposium.

Dr. Abina Crean
EUPAT 8 Conference
International Delegates: 200
Value of the Conference to the Region: €300,000
Inventing tomorrow’s development and manufacturing was the overalll theme of the 8th pan-European Science Conference which took place in UCC in October 2016. The conference brought together pharmaceutical scientists and engineers from industry, academia and regulatory agencies to discuss recent developments and future trends in the field of pharmaceutical product and process development.

Dr. Brian Ó Gallachóir
International Energy Workshop
International Delegates: 250
Value of the Conference to the Region: €375,000
The International Energy Workshop IEW is one of the leading conferences for the international energy modelling research community. Over the past few years, the IEW has taken place in Beijing, Paris, Capetown, Stanford and Abu Dhabi. It was great honour to have Cork and UCC selected to host the prestigious International Energy Workshop Conference in 2016.

Prof. Claire Connolly
International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures
International Delegates: 300
Value of the Conference to the Region: €450,000
The International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures was founded in 1969. Members, working in both the academic and arts-related professions, are located in 35 countries worldwide, making Irish Studies truly a global endeavour.

Dr Carol FitzGerald
Interdisciplinary Workshop Conference
International Delegates: 100
Value of the Conference to the Region: €150,000

Patricia Finucane
Association of Higher Education Careers Services Conference
International Delegates: 50
Value of the Conference to the Region: €75,000
AHECS is the Association for Higher Education Careers Services across the 27 Universities and Institutes of Technology in Ireland north and south. They held their conference in Cork in 2016. This evening we would like to give special mention to the recipient of this award, Patricia Finucane, who in a past role was very instrumental in establishing the reputation of Cork Convention Bureau in UCC in the early years. Thank you very much Patricia for all your support.

Dr. Eric Moore
Chemical, Biological, Radioactive & Nuclear Forensics Conference (CBRN)
International Delegates: 60
Value of the Conference to the Region: €90,000
The Generic Integrated Forensic Toolbox for CBRN Incidents (GIFT) consortium took place in Cork in 2016 under the watchful eye of Dr. Eric Moore. Eric has over 13 years’ experience in the development and application of biosensor technology. Plus Eric currently holds the esteemed record of being the conference ambassador to have brought most conferences to Cork to date!

Laura Linares
Translation Studies Conference
International Delegates: 50
Value of the Conference to the Region: €75,000
Founded in Vienna in 1992, the Society now has members in 46 countries. It functions as a network for research, a forum for exchange, and a centre for research resources

Prof Eoin O’Reilly & Janine Galvin
The Euro – TMCS II:Theory, Modelling & Computational Methods for Semiconductors Conferenc
International Delegates: 80
Value of the Conference to the Region: €120,000
Running over three days, with the objective of bringing together leading experts in the field of theory of group IV, III-V and wider semiconductors together with postdocs and students in their early stages who will benefit from an introduction to a very vast field at this influential point in their careers.

Dr. Jenny Butler
9th International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR) Charms, Charmers and Charming Conference
International Delegates: 54
Value of the Conference to the Region: €81,000
The 9th Conference of the International Committee for Charms, Charmers and Charming was held at UCC. Hosted by the Departments of Folklore and Ethnology, Early and Medieval Irish, and Study of Religions within the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences (CACSSS)