The man who described himself as the lynchpin for Derry’s year as City of Culture has resigned after just six months in the job.

Temple Bar Cultural Trust — the agency charged with promoting events in the cultural area — is expected to be subsumed into Dublin City Council early next year as part of a cost-saving exercise.

Over a thousand music lovers are expected to gather in Dublin's Temple Bar this morning for the annual open air performance of Handel's Messiah.