Cllr McCormack represented area at French event

Twenty-seven years ago, a town-twinning relationship was established between Athlone and the French town of Châteaubriant.

Last weekend, the mayor of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, Ballymore man Cllr Vinny McCormack, met the mayor of Châteaubriant and the president of the Community of Communes of Châteaubriant-Derval, Alain Hunault to renew the twinning between the two towns.

Cllr McCormack was accompanied by deputy mayor, Cllr Frankie Keena, district manager, Jackie Finney, the chairperson of the Athlone Town Twinning Committee, Niamh Dalby, and a delegation from the town twinning committee.

The town twinning visit coincided with the Foire De Béré Festival in Châteaubriant, a historic fair that has been taking place annually since 1050.

Cllr McCormack and members of the Athlone Twinning Committee were welcomed by the mayor of Châteaubriant on Friday September 9 to a reception to celebrate 27 years of twinning between Athlone and Châteaubriant.

The event also celebrated 40 years of twinning between Radevormwald in Germany and Châteaubriant and all three delegations reflected on the importance of building links between the communities, cities and regions in Europe.

On Saturday September 10, Cllr McCormack and the Athlone delegation attended the inauguration of the Foire De Béré.

The fair is considered to be one of the oldest in France and its origins officially date to 1050. It runs over four days and attracts 40 to 50,000 visitors to the agricultural and commercial exhibits on a 10-hectare site.

Cllr McCormack stated that he was honoured to represent Athlone and expressed appreciation to Mayour Hunault and to all of his officials.