New celebrity TV ambassador for Garden Show Ireland & proposed change of date for Enchanted Winter Garden

Celebrity TV gardener and renowned horticulturist David Dumoney

Celebrity TV gardener and renowned horticulturist David Dumoney will be the new ambassador of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Garden Show Ireland, councillors have been told.

David will formally launch this year’s Garden Show at an event to be held at the Old Courthouse Theatre, in Antrim, on April 3 and will replace previous ambassador Diarmuid Gavin.

He will also mentor 40 community groups which will be invited to compete to design a series of miniature gardens at Garden Show Ireland which takes place annually at Antrim Castle Gardens.

A report to be presented to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Community Development Committee, at a meeting in Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey, on Monday evening, outlined proposed events for the council area during 2025/2026 financial year.

Enchanted Winter Garden hosted annually at Antrim Castle Gardens

Provision of up to £30,000 for new, additional lighting displays has been proposed for this year’s festive Enchanted Winter Garden event which takes place annually during the run-up to Christmas also at Antrim Castle Gardens.

It has also been proposed to hold this year’s event for the first time during the Christmas holiday and New Year period until January 3, 2026.

More than 98,000 people attended the Enchanted Winter Garden event during December 2024, the committee report said.  A quarter of visitors is resident in the borough.

The report indicated that despite a loss of income, resulting from the cancellation of two of the 19 nights of the event due to Storm Darragh, the event was delivered at a cost of “just 0.4% over budget”.

It was also noted that many of the “suggested improvements could be incorporated into the 2025 event”.

Councillors have been told previously that profits during a five-year period from Enchanted Winter Garden are required to help cover the undisclosed cost of the commemorative Clockwork Garden feature at Antrim Castle Gardens.

The Clockwork Garden at Antrim Castle Gardens. (Image: Pacemaker)

The Clockwork Garden sees the mechanical garden “come to life” with  a performance by “dancing” trees and other elements that can turn and move.

It was created by Diarmuid Gavin to mark Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, as a permanent new attraction in Antrim Castle Gardens, on the 10th anniversary of its refurbishment and 100th anniversary of the Antrim Castle fire.