25/08/2026
Secretary of State Chris Bryant and Minister Sarah Owen MP Visit Holywell Trust
PRESS RELEASE: 25 August 2026
Secretary of State Chris Bryant and Minister for Northern Ireland Sarah Owen MP met with
community and voluntary leaders at Holywell Trust today to discuss the challenges and
opportunities facing the Northwest region.
The meeting included representatives from several organisations:
Lisa Clements, Facilities and Finance Manager, Holywell Trust
Sara Duddy, Programme Manager, Holywell Trust
Barney McGuigan, Leader, REACH Across
Myra McAuliffe, Project Co-ordinator Changemakers Donegal, Inishowen
Development Partnership
Shauna McClenaghan, Joint CEO, Inishowen Development Partnership
Kerona McDowell, Finance and Administration Officer, Holywell Trust
Ciara O’Connor Pozo, Community Engagement Officer, The Playhouse
Kevin Murphy, CEO, The Playhouse
Lyn Moffett, Chair, The Junction
Speaking following the meeting, Sara Duddy, Programme Manager at Holywell Trust
said:
“We welcomed the chance to showcase the essential work of the Northwest’s community
and voluntary sector, who continue to provide essential innovative programmes and services
despite growing funding pressures.
A number of key challenges were also
highlighted including decades of under investment in the northwest, our peripherality from the seats of power in Stormont, London and Dublin, and the ongoing impact of the conflict resulting in a society that is still largely divided.
Despite the range of challenges, we impressed on Mr Bryant and Ms Owen that our city is
home to talented, resilient, and passionate people, whose potential requires greater
investment and opportunity to be fully realised.
It was also an opportunity to show the power of partnership working. We emphasised the
necessity of stronger cross-border integration and collaboration to effectively serve the entire
Northwest. We also presented Mr. Bryant and Ms. Owen with a copy of our Future
Relationship Conversations Summary Report, which provides research-backed evidence for
this need.
The legacy of the conflict was also highlighted as a fundamental issue. While we cautiously
welcome the commitment by the Labour government to work with the Irish government to finally deal with legacy cases in a way that may finally deliver answers and justice for
families, we have asked the Secretary of State to do this urgently as people are getting older
and victims and survivors have already waited too long.
We reminded him of the commitment by the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to the
Hillsborough families, and that in March this year Burnham told the Alliance party conference
“It is too easy for the power-that-be to write their own rules and cover up.
” We asked that the same approach be taken to deliver answers to families affected by the conflict, finally delivering a human rights compliant way to deal with the past.
We were proud to highlight the importance of Holywell’s work in facilitating challenging
discussions on sensitive issues, including the constitutional future question. There is a
legitimate concern that if handled wrong we could see a return to violence and this must be avoided.'
Photo: NIO
