2024 Sir George Quigley Memorial Lecture

The 9th Sir George Quigley Annual Memorial Lecture on “Expanding the horizons of trade and tourism on the island of Ireland” has been delivered jointly by Margaret Hearty, Chief Executive of InterTradeIreland, and Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.

Attendees were welcomed by Annmarie O’Kane, Information Manager at the Centre for Cross Border Studies.

Annmarie said: “The annual memorial lecture is held in honour of Sir George Quigley, whose vision for cross-border cooperation resonates strongly with the work of the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation.

“He believed that a vital element of a sustainable peace process was through strong economic and business cooperation as the essential means of harnessing the enormous potential which businesses, public bodies, local authorities and communities in both parts of the island have to offer.”

Margaret and Alice focused on the role which InterTradeIreland and Tourism Ireland have played in supporting economic development on the island of Ireland, and the future prospects for growth in cross-border trade and tourism.

Margaret Hearty is the Chief Executive of InterTradeIreland, the all-island economic development agency, where she spearheads work to connect and support businesses across the island to trade cross-border, collaborate, innovate, and attract investment. With over two decades of experience working with entrepreneurs, SMEs, and start-ups, she has a proven track record of delivering results for firms throughout the island.

Alice Mansergh is the Chief Executive at Tourism Ireland, the organisation with leadership responsibility for marketing the island of Ireland to overseas visitors. Previously, Alice spent 19 years leading large-scale commercial organisations at Google. As Managing Director, UK & Ireland Customer Solutions, she helped hundreds of thousands of businesses to digitise and succeed online.

Watch the lecture here:

Presentation