Mullingar doubles down on twinning with Argentina

Community buy-in is an essential component of a successful Town Twinning programme, members of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District were told when they discussed the prospects of forging links with populations centres in France and Argentina.

The discussion stemmed from a presentation by the chair of a sub-committee formed last October established to assess town twinning projects.

Cllr Aoife Davitt said a request for a twinning assessment between Mullingar and an Argentine town of a similar size focused on a range of benefits including: economic development; community development; as well as the tourism, sport, heritage, and culture sectors.

“The proposal came about because there are many instances in the district where people in the locality have put in a huge amount of work,” Cllr Davitt told the MD members. “An example of this is our historian-in-residence Adrian Roche, who worked on an oral history project that was introduced as part of a culture and heritage night last September.”

The impetus to forge links between Argentina and Westmeath was accelerated recently when the Argentinian Ambassador Her Excellency Ana Laura Cachaza and Deputy Head of Mission Minister Nicholás Vidal, attended the launch of that oral history project in Mullingar library.

“That oral history project gave fabulous examples of how people in Longford and Westmeath travelled to Argentina making those strong bonds that continue today,” said Cllr Davitt.

“My proposal is that we would look to formally set about that twinning process and that write to a town in relation to it,” the sub committee chair said.

Cllr Davitt told members that Sylvia Fleming, one of the participants with the oral history, and Billy Foley have put in groundwork with a municipal district authority in San Antonio De Areco in Argentina. They recognised linkages in the area of the agri-food industry, business, education and sports.

“Una Byrne, chairperson of the Longford Westmeath Argentina Association, was there for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, at sporting events over there and she has gauged the appetite for a twinning proposal,” Cllr Davitt said adding that the sub-committee would love to hear from people in Westmeath with connections in order to establish an enduring Town Twinning arrangement.

“There has to be longevity, there needs to be an ongoing interest that will link-in to lots of different areas, not just one strong one,” the Fianna Fáil elected representative said. “I think that’s really important. We have huge scope for this twinning application. I would propose today formally that our district would write to the mayor, Francisco Ratto, to see if our proposal can be looked at by our counterparts in Argentina.”

The cathaoirleach, Cllr Mick Dollard, seconded the proposal, though he did strike a note of caution as he recalled a previous effort in 1989 to twin with the town of Molsheim in Alsace-Lorraine in north-eastern France: “Initially there was a bit of success, but after a while it fizzled out because we didn’t have enough backing from various representative group, particularly in the Mullingar area.”

Cllr Ken Glynn reiterated that point: “I think as we go forward, there has to be significant buy-in from around the district. That is in terms of industry, tourism, schools, sports and so on, and I’m sure that’s going to be there.”

Cllr Denis Leonard said a twinning arrangement for Kinnegad has cultural potential: “There are huge links with Argentina culturally, economically, and in terms of diaspora. It’s been recognised by the people of Argentina and in this twinning proposal as well, having that base is so important.

“The proposed Kinnegad one is with a town in Brittany. It’s a town of 3,800, similar in size to Kinnegad. We agreed in our sub-committee that these proposals aren’t mutually exclusive.

“I want to emphasise what you said, mayor, and what Cllr Glynn said, if it becomes a one-strand proposal around education, around culture, around commerce, it won’t last.”

The Labour councillor said many factors have to be considered before a decision is made: “It’s a bit like speed dating. You need to make sure that all of the things line up in the beginning, that the match is right. If the match is right, there’s a long-term benefit for the district and for our Argentinian counterparts.”

Cllr Leonard outlined the next step for his home town: “We will bring this to the town team in Kinnegad as a proposal, to see is it the right match for the town team to come back to this district and say, ‘yes, we’re interested in this particular proposal’, or ‘no, we’re not’, or ‘we’re interested in making a different kind of proposal’. I think all proposals should be explored.”

Cllr Emily Wallace said there can be a real dividend from town twinning if it is subject to oversight: “This should be reviewed regularly to make sure that it is of benefit to every sector of society, because there is a cost implication, not just the initial set-up. If we can justify that, then there is no issue with it developing and growing.

“There should be targets, as with any business proposal because we’re investing money in it.”

Director of service, Deirdre Reilly, told the members the local authority will facilitate any efforts made by the communities of both towns to forge the connections: “The executives are supportive of both of those proposals, and we wish you both the best of luck in those endeavours.

“But really it will take commitment from outside of the council walls here. It really is about businesses, sporting and cultural opportunities and for others to come along and to be supportive.”