Event to celebrate 40th anniversary of 'Dopey Dick' to be held in Derry tomorrow

A special one-day event will take place in Derry on Saturday to mark the 40th anniversary of the arrival of ‘Dopey Dick’ to the city.

The killer whale became trapped in the River Foyle for two days in 1977, while chasing salmon, earning himself the nickname ‘Dopey Dick’.

It emerged last year that the killer whale is alive and well off Skye in the west coast of Scotland, and has now been named ‘Comet’ by scientists.

This Saturday, the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Gallery will mark the 40th anniversary of the killer whale’s two-day adventure in Derry with a special one-day exhibition at its London Street premises.

The event will run from 12noon until 4pm, and will be hosted by the artist and academic Colin Priest, who, according to a CCA spokesperson, ‘will assemble a special celebration with party hats, some Mendelssohn and a special tray bake’ to mark the anniversary.

The artist will be on hand throughout the day and has also invited local people to share their recollections of Dopey Dick’s visit.

The exhibition is the third event in The Edge of Things, CCA’s Spring programme of one-day exhibitions.

In addition, at 2pm, local poet/singer/songwriter Conor O’Kane will also perform his work the ‘Dopey Dick Triptych’.

The Edge of Things is a programme of one-day exhibitions taking place at CCA through February and March 2017, selected through an Open Call process by CCA and artist Sean Lynch.

Please see www.cca-derry-londonderry.org for further information.