The twinning of a Clare town and French town is to be revived

ONE OF the oldest twinning's of an Irish and French town in Clare is to be revived.

The twinning between Kilrush and Plouzané is 40 years old and after many years of active exchanges, it became a bit dormant over the past few years. 

County Clare Cllr Ian Lynch has taken the initiative to try to revive the twinning with an aim to giving it, not just a cultural and educational dimension, but also an economic one. 

Kilrush is home to the Irish Whale & Dolphin Group and the city is planning to build a training centre specialising in the maintenance and safety of off-shore wind platforms. 

On the other hand, Plouzané is home to the European Institute for Marine Studies and to the Technopôle Brest-Iroise, a cluster of companies and research centres working notably in the fields of off-shore wind energy production and on ways to protect marine life. 

“A few months ago, seeing how France and Ireland have become very close partners within the EU (in particular since Brexit), I am hopeful that this will not only lead to a revival of the once successful twinning between the two cities, but that their relationship will take a new dimension in the near future,” said Dr Loïc Guyon, Honorary Consul of France in Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary. 

Following a recent visit to County Clare by the Ambassador of France, H.E. Vincent Guérend, Mr Guyon organised onl online meeting with 17 representatives of Plouzané and Kilrush for December, in order to initiate contacts between the two sides.