McMenamin backs city of culture bid

The Fermanagh man's career may have seen him act alongside global stars such as Daniel Craig, Keifer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle but his career has its roots in Londonderry, as he explained when he dropped into the City of Culture office to talk to local drama students.

"The whole notion of me being an actor happened in Derry. I came up here when I was 16, it was the first time I'd ever spent any time away from home.

"I'd a whole summer up here doing the Ulster Youth Theatre, we put a play on in the Playhouse that we wrote ourselves called 'Good Night Strabane' and it was that summer that I really decided what I wanted to do, we'd such craic and I fell in love with Derry," he said.

And Ciarn's affinity with the city was reinforced by the time he spent there during the filming of "Sunday" which recounted the events of Bloody Sunday.

"It was such an emotional thing to be part of. The night we shot the taking the coffins out of the church where it actually happened was something I'll never forget.

"The whole city had come out to pay their respects again, so to speak, and you could have heard a pin drop, it was an amazing time and to be part of Derry during that was mind-blowing," he said.

Ciarn's experience of life in the city has reinforced his belief that it would be the ideal location to become UK City of Culture 2013.

"Even just as a place to go out as a young person it never really had that same feeling that other parts of Northern Ireland had. In my mind it's always been a sort of open-minded place to come and hang out with other young people of like minds.

"I remember being in bands when I was young and you had the Nerve Centre, there was always stuff here and it was always a place where you could get stuff done and get a hand if you were artistically minded. And that mentality of culture and youth going hand in hand is what it's all about really.

"Derry has always been for me, compared to Belfast or other big towns in Northern Ireland, such a cultural place. It's such a great place for music, if you wanted live music you'd always come up to Derry as opposed to anywhere else. It's just a brilliant spot and the whole idea of Derry being city of culture is a no-brainer.

"It's totally iconic as a hub of writing. When you come here, visually, it sets your imagination alight, the sense of history and beauty here. Even the drive up here today, the view of the city as we approached was stunning. It's the place to be," he said.

And Ciarn believes that winning the designation would be a beacon signalling just how far the city and the region as a whole have come over the last 15 years.

"As a society we have moved forward so far, I mean across the whole of Northern Ireland. It would be such an amazing thing for the region and for the whole of Ireland if Derry, a city which was so synonymous with struggle and hardship over the years, became recognised as a City of Culture. It would be another amazing step forward in our development and our moving away from the past."

Ciarn's filmography includes Titanic Town, David Copperfield, To End All Wars, Bollywood Queen, The Private Life of Samuel Pepys,Pulling Moves, Silent Witness, The Golden Hour, Jericho, True Dare Kiss, Messiah V: The Rapture, The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce, Jonathan Creek and Demons.

For more information or to register your support for the bid visit www.cityofculture2013.com or checkout our Facebook account.