Search is on to find County Londonderrt’s best pub!

Pubs of Ulster, the representative body for the licensed trade in Northern Ireland, is once again embarking on its annual search to find the best in the business and is calling on County Londonderry publicans to demonstrate the quality that exists in the local pub trade, in a bid to be crowned Pub of the Year 2012.

This year’s competition will again recognise the best pubs in each county with the Regional Pub of the Year Awards, which will be held in each county, including Derry/ Londonderry, ahead of the grand finale. The category winners from each region will then go forward to battle it out at the Pub of the Year Gala Awards night at Belfast City Hall on 14th November.

This year’s award categories are Pub of the Year 2012; Best Neighbourhood Pub; Best Food Pub; Best Family Friendly Pub; Bar Hero of the Year; Best New or Improved Pub; Most Innovative Pub and Best Tourism / Visitor Pub. The awards will also acknowledge an outstanding individual, premises or organisation that has excelled in their field with the Pubs of Ulster Chairman’s Award, which will be presented by the new chair, Mark Stewart.

All premises entered into the awards will be judged, depending on their category, by written submissions, interviews or by independent mystery shoppers. An independent judging panel comprising of Martin Breen, editor of the Sunday Life; Gary McDonald, business editor of the Irish News; Adrienne McGill, business editor of the News Letter; Paul Connolly, managing editor of the Belfast Telegraph and Louise Murphy from Hospitality Review, will decide on the overall winners.

Due to popular demand, the deadline for Pubs of Ulster’s Pub of the Year Awards 2012 has been extended to Tuesday, 17th July. For further information about the awards or to enter online, please visit www.nipuboftheyear.com .