New twinning between Granard and East Rouen
Twinning agreement signed at residence of French Ambassador
20 September 2021
Longford County Council is delighted to confirm a new twinning partnership between the towns and communities of Granard in County Longford and East Rouen in Normandy, France. It follows many months of planning which culminated in a very successful inaugural visit by the French party in recent days.
A delegation of four people from East Rouen arrived into Dublin Airport on Thursday morning. The official signing of the twinning agreement took place at the residence of French Ambassador Vincent Guérend in Dublin on Thursday afternoon and was attended by Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Peggy Nolan as well as Chief Executive Paddy Mahon and members of the Granard Twinning Committee.
Visiting Longford
On Friday, the visitors from East Rouen assembled at the Knights and Conquests Visitor Centre, where they were welcomed by manager Bartle Darcy and were brought on a walking tour of Granard. In the afternoon, they attended an official meeting hosted by the Cathaoirleach of Granard Municipal District Cllr Paraic Brady and the members of Granard Twinning Committee at Granard Community Library. The was followed by a guided bus tour of the county, led by Pierre Delannoy and other members of Granard Twinning Committee.
On Friday evening, an official reception hosted by Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Peggy Nolan and attended by guest of honour, the French Honorary Consul Catherine Gagneaux took place at Longford Rugby Club. The event coincided with Culture Night and the group attended a special concert in St Mel’s Cathedral showcasing the best of Longford’s musical talent.
On Saturday, our French visitors were welcomed to Granard Country Market where a special cake had been baked in their honour and they were shown how to make one of our popular traditional Irish dishes boxty. They then enjoyed the scenery of the beautiful Derrycassin Wood and later climbed the historic Granard Motte and were given a warm welcome and tour of the local St Mary’s Church by Fr Simon Cadam.
Shared heritage
Welcoming the historic twinning, Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council Cllr Peggy Nolan said, “With a shared Norman heritage, there are already strong links in existence between the two towns, and now we look forward to new and lasting friendships developing between the two communities. Longford has had wonderful experiences of twinning with French communities in the past, and I know that this one will be just as successful”.
Cllr Nolan continued, “I would also like to thank the French Ambassador for his hospitality on Thursday at the official signing and all of the local groups and organisations here in Longford that ensured that our French visitors had a safe and enjoyable stay.”
Chief Executive Paddy Mahon said “This is another exciting twinning partnership for county Longford. It creates further opportunity for us to forge valuable links with our closest EU neighbours, from both a community and cultural perspective and we look forward to welcoming French Ambassador Guérend to Longford in the near future.”
ENDS
All media queries should be directed to Longford County Council Communications Officer Denise
Canavan on mediaenquiries@longfordcoco.ie or 043 33 43362.
