Town Twinning
Castleblayney formal Town Twining ceremony in Nogent sur Vernisson, France
A delegation of 41 travelled to Nogent sur Vernisson, France on Wednesday 13th until Sunday 17th of June 2006. A new civic bond of close friendship was created between the people of Castleblayney and the people in the French town. The delegation of 41 including local councillors, community representatives and local authority officials participated in the twinning trip to the French town. During the trip a formal twinning ceremony took place and it was an occasion of great splendour and all sections of the local political and community activity were represented. The signing and counter-signing of the Twinning charter was the high-point of the joint celebrations. The Castleblayney visitors were treated royally during the visit with special entertainment provided and festivities laid on for all to enjoy. During the informal activities it was agreed to explore avenues in the future for the pursuit of further educational links and school exchanges as well as areas of tourism, the promotion of industry and trade. All in all, the twinning with Nogent sur Vernisson is another major historic milestone in the life of everyone, young and old, in Castleblayney town and in Co. Monaghan in general.
Castleblayney formal Town Twining ceremony in Iontas Centre, Castleblayney
Castleblayney and Nogent sur Vernisson were officially twinned following a splendid ceremony in the Iontas Centre on the 28th October, 2006. The ceremony was followed by a night of outstanding entertainment including the Blayney Tenors, drama and recitation by Chatterbox School of Speech and Drama, Irish Dancing by Scoil Rince Ulaid, Solo performances by Michelle McQuillan and Eimear Murtagh and music by the Lisnagrieve Pipe band. A number of events took place to mark this historic occasion from Friday 27th October to Wednesday 1st November, 2006. A delegation of 53 travelled from France to be part of the official twinning of the two towns. The contingent took great interest in the Castleblayney landscape, losing no time to compare the attractive nature of Monaghan’s drumlin countryside with their home terrain. They admired the wooded scenery around Lough Muckno and reflected on similarities with their own arboretum. They were also impressed with the volume of business in the shops and the layout of private housing.
The twinning broadened our cultural, social and economic links. It will lead the way to an exciting future involving the exploration and development of new links which will benefit both towns in the future.
