Derry City's St Columb's Cathedral has played host to a historic service marking the installation of the new Dean, Nigel Cairns. The event, which took place on Thursday evening, was attended by dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant for the County Borough of Londonderry, Ian Crowe MBE DL, the new Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Grace Uí Niallais, the High Sheriff for the City & County Borough of Londonderry, Mrs Joan Doherty MBE, and a former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lord Hay of Ballyore. The service was led by Rev Canon John Merrick and was attended by leading members of other Christian denominations in the city, including the Vicar General of the Diocese of Derry, Fr Michael Canny (representing Bishop Donal McKeown), Rev Colin Jones from First Derry Presbyterian Church, and Fr Paul Farren, the Administrator of St Eugene's Cathedral. In his sermon, Bishop Andrew Forster acknowledged the historic nature of the occasion, saying, 'This evening, we sit inside the walls of our beloved city for this special night for the two Church of Ireland churches within these walls, St Augustine's – the site of St Columba's monastery – and the Cathedral, the oldest building in continuous use in this city.' He went on to say, 'No matter what our background is or what our allegiance is, this place matters to all of us. And we as a Church – as a Church of Ireland community here, and as a Church that is represented here in all its wonderful diversity through members of other denominations who are here tonight – we as the Church of Jesus Christ have our part to play in writing that better future.' The event marked a significant moment for the city's Church of Ireland community, with Bishop Andrew developing the 'walls' metaphor further, saying, 'As we gather within the ancient walls of this city and the ancient walls of the cathedral, and think of the beautiful walls of St Augustine's, what our real aim to do is actually to build a church without those walls, to build a church that is a church of welcome, to build a church that is a place of promise, a place of hope, a place of Good News, to build a church without walls that would exclude, to build a church that is open to all.'