Mullingar urged to find twin as Athlone signs with US city

Athlone has taken a major step forward towards formalising a “sister city” partnership with a US city – and the mayor of the municipal district says he can’t understand why Mullingar is not doing likewise.

“There are great benefits to this, from a tourism standpoint, and from an economic standpoint,” Cllr Vinny McCormack, mayor of the Athlone Moate Municipal District said, fresh back from the city of Providence in Rhode Island, which a delegation from Athlone had visited.

Cllr McCormack said that as someone who lives midway between Mullingar and Athlone, he would be keen to see Mullingar also look into twinning options.

“Mullingar is one of the few significant towns that is not pursuing this at the moment,” Cllr McCormack said, adding that Senator Mark Daly has been promoting the concept of link-ups between towns in this country and the USA.

The cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, also believes strongly that Mullingar should explore the options: “I was somewhat surprised recently to learn that Mullingar doesn’t have any form of twinning or reciprocal town-town or city-city relationship,” Cllr O’Rourke said.

Athlone’s burgeoning links with Providence represent the area’s second overseas link: “For over 27 years now Athlone has had a relationship with Chateaubriant in France and that has generated annual activity between France and Ireland and so would be regarded as quite successful,” Cllr O’Rourke stated.

“The Providence, Rhode Island trip that we were on was in order to build a new twinning opportunity, one that might be more economic-focused, education-focused in that we’re hoping to build a relationship between the TUS university in Athlone and Providence University.

“We also had the Chamber of Commerce with us: they were interested in talking to their counterparts in Providence, and they did and they got on well and they’re going to share notes and opportunities too. So I’d be hopeful of exchanges in the not too distant future, whether they’re educational exchanges or sporting exchanges or exchanges in relation to ideas or people from a business point of view.

“I think there’s lots of opportunities and some of them we are probably not even aware of yet that might be out there.”

Cllr O’Rourke said he would recommend that the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad consider the prospect, and perhaps bring the chamber of commerce in on the discussions.

Cllr McCormack, stating that it takes some time to build up the links before a formal twinning arrangement takes place, said that Athlone native, Patrick Griffin, a publican living in Providence more than 30 years played a vital role in getting the ball rolling for the Athlone-Providence linkup, liaising with businessman John Henson in Athlone, who went to school with Mr Griffin.

During last week’s visit, a Memorandum of Understanding which sets the towns on a path to twinning was signed by Cllrs O’Rourke and McCormack, and on the American site by state representatives Scott Slater and Mary Duffy Mercier.

Cllr O’Rourke said the trip had laid “a solid foundation” for establishing formal twinning links between the two areas.

The local group spent a little under a week in the East Coast US city, visiting from February 28 until March 5. Along with Cllrs McCormack and O’Rourke, the delegation was made up of members of the recently-formed Athlone-Providence Twinning Committee: Donnacha McNamara, vice-president international at TUS, local businesspeople John Henson and Caoimhe O’Connell; the president of Athlone Chamber of Commerce, Alan Shaw; and Pat Murtagh, senior executive officer with Westmeath County Council.

Their visit included meetings with the new mayor of Providence, Brett Smiley; district judge Mary McElroy, who was the grand marshal of this year’s Providence St Patrick’s Day parade; and state representatives Scott Slater and Mary Duffy Mercier.

Cllr McCormack revealed that the sports coach Ray Treacy at Providence University, who is a brother of the Irish Olympic athlete John Treacy, is keen on seeing sporting exchanges evolve between the two towns.

He went on to say that a hope of his own is that the links will prove fruitful in terms of generating tourism links and growing business connections.

Members discuss twinning options

Attempts to twin Mullingar with a town in France are to be revisited and twinning Kinnegad with St Louis in the USA has been explored, members of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad heard last week.

The mayor of the municipal district Mullingar, Cllr Hazel Smyth, who mooted the idea, revealed that two towns in France want to twin with Mullingar. Athlone has been twinned with Chateaubriant in France for nearly 30 years.

Cllr Denis Leonard announced that John Joseph Glennon, cardinal archbishop of St Louis, came from Kinnegad and the idea of twinning with St Louis was explored, but St Louis already had four twins. “We have a science park in Mullingar, we are going to have a major film studio, we have a great musical tradition. Any twin would have to have similar synergies to keep the momentum going,” he said.

A campaign to twin Mullingar with Molsheim in the Alsace region of France failed some 20 years ago when momentum lagged, Cllr Michael Dollard recalled. He said the deep commitment needed locally was lacking. The Rugby Club and Chamber of Commerce were involved, but interest waned when no formal twinning took place, he said.

“We don’t have local government in Ireland, we have local administration. In mainland Europe, you wouldn’t be putting down notices of motions, you would be directing that it happen; you, as mayor, would be the god, but not here,” he told the chair.

Cllr Ken Glynn said there would have to be value for money for the stakeholders, but if Mullingar was to benefit, he felt there would be a huge buy-in.

Talk to Athlone, he advised, as did Cllr Frank McDermott, who felt the proposal should be explored “with vigour”.

Cllrs Smyth, Leonard, Glynn and Aoife Davitt asked to be included on a sub committee to drive the idea. Local organisations are to be approached and consultation with Athlone will take place.