Athlone's international ambassadors

When Athlone was first twinned with Chateaubriant in the Loire-Atlantique region of France 15 years ago, groups had to make the journey via ferry. A bus left Athlone, took the ferry to Wales, travelled through England and then got a second ferry to Brittany. It was more than a day's worth of travel. Now, thanks largely to Ryanair, Athlonians fly from Dublin, Galway or Shannon and land in France two hours later. Many other changes have taken place with the growth of restaurants, shops and hotels in the town compared to 15 years ago. When the idea to twin Athlone with a town of a similar size in France was born, the council wanted people with various interests to form a committee to run the relationship. Trad musician Tom O'Connor, who lives in Crannagh, was first involved in the European People's Festival and then became the secretary of the committee. "The whole concept of twinning is that we're the instigators of facilitating groups to visit Chateautbriant, whether they're into music, sports or just travelling," said Tom. "The concept is that if you go over, they will feed you and you'll stay with them. It's a very personal experience. Up to 40 people have stayed with different families here and then we'd stay with them... What we've noticed is that we're very isolated as an island nation. There's more movement on the continent and they think nothing of travelling. We're trying to cross that gap." An interpreter was vital for all the initial formalities between the French and Irish, which is how John Daly from Retreat Park, became involved. A French teacher in the Marist, he was a great asset at the time. He thought his role would end after the initial set-up, however he's still committee president. "A lot is done through the president of the committee, he would contact me if students or tourists are coming over and I'd arrange for accomodation and transport for them here. On a couple of occasions in the last two or three years, there have been groups visiting Ireland and they pass through Athlone, see the sign then rang home and spoke to the president. He then rang me and I put them up in the Shamrock Lodge," said John, who took early retirement from teaching a few years ago. "We and anyone else who goes to Chateaubriant are ambassadors for Athlone." Athlone Town Council was responsible for selecting a suitable town. There needed to be similarites and differences. Chateaubriant is an inland town with a long history associated with a castle and battles over that castle. "Paddy Cooney, who was MEP at the time, was also very helpful. Their Mayor, Madame Buron, was an MEP too. They knew each other in Brussels which helped set things up," said John. The clincher, though, was that the AIT ran polymer engineering courses and in the Chateaubrient region, there is a thriving plastics industry. And so an exchange programme was set up. St Aloysius and Summerhill secondary schools also run an exchange on a yearly basis. They stay with families and become immersed in the French language and culture. The choral groups also pay regular visits, with a contingent travelling over again this May. "The big thing is the exchange with schools and AIT. It's always on-going and the schools are very committed to the exchange. We've nothing to do with it but provide goodwill," added John. Often the twinning can benefit locals of both areas in their education or career, but sometimes it can have a more romantic outcome! "At least two people have ended up meeting their wives," said Tom. "A French man got a job as a chef in the Bridge House in Tullamore and he met a girl from Tullamore. They have a baby now." "There's also a teacher who came to Athlone, she met a man and they're living in Moate," added John. Chateaubrient is most famous for steak. It has the second biggest beef industry in the country. Every two years or so, a group of visitors come to Athlone to celebrate St Patrick's Day, while a group from here usually attends the famous 'Foire de Bere', a huge agricultural show, one of the biggest in the Brittany region. About ten years ago, a group of farmers came over here to tour farms in South Westmeath and South Roscommon. "They were able to compare the farms themselves, and compare problems, discuss prices, talk about EU schemes like REPS, that sort of thing," said John. "They found it very beneficial." Tom said that the French have a great interest in trad music and dancing, as they have their own Celtic dancing. There is even a GAA team in the Chateaubriant region and a challenge match has been arranged for June. Rugby is the big sport there however, and moves are underway to set up an exchange programme and have local players get tips from the talented Gallics. Local hillwalking and trekking groups also swap holidays. Even FÁS is a part of the exchange programme thanks to Pat Campbell. Around ten students are coming here in May and June for work placements in Athlone and in their free time, they'll get to experience our culture. The pair praised the hard work put in by Mary Gallen, Patricia Geary, Nancy Murray a teacher in Kilbeggan, John Walsh and the various Mayors to keep the twinning arrangements strong, as well as former councillors Egbert Moran and John Butler. A delegation will visit Athlone in July for the European People's Festival, however the 15th anniversary celebrations are taking place in June in France this year. The committee is organising a weekend visit and they are looking for a cross-section of people keen to visit our twin town, although numbers are limited to 25. If you're interested, then contact Athlone Civic Centre on 6442100 and leave a message for John or Tom.