The weekend of 9th to 11th September marked an historical event for the Athboy area, when a contingent of seventy five French visitors were hosted by families in the community as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the twinning between Athboy and a group of nine villages from the Autonne valley in Picardy, France. The initial Twinning Charter had been signed in September 2000 in France. Last year the tenth anniversary of the signing had been celebrated in France. Since then, the Athboy Twinning Association had been making preparations for what turned out to be a tremendously successful occasion. Help was also mobilised from the numerous organisations and voluntary groups which exist n Athboy.
Various sub-committees had been delegated the task of organising different aspects of the weekend which started on Friday afternoon when they were greeted at Dublin Airport and taken on a walking tour of Dublin city centre. Athboy Community School was the rendezvous on Friday evening where the French visitors were introduced to their host families by members of the accommodation committee. Each visitor was presented with a pack which contained a copy of the official Anniversary Booklet, containing a tri-lingual version of the Athboy Heritage Trail, a commerative calendar and literature on local visits which was made available by Meath Tourism who were also main sponsors for the weekend.
As daylight turned to dusk the crowds made their way to Athboy Farmers’ Market which was successfully opened on a previously derelict site this year. This market, which is now going from strength to strength each Sunday morning, took on a somewhat different appearance under the torch lights of fire artistes who entertained the assembling audience to the rhythm of the traditional tunes being played by members of the local Tlachtga branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Members of the catering committee provided refreshments including a fare of wine and local Irish cheeses.
The visitors were officially welcome by Mr. Pauric Staunton, Chairperson of the Market Committee and current Athboy Community Person of the Year. The Twinning Anthem “We Are One” which was specially written and recorded by Dara Englishby and members of Athboy Macra na Feirme was performed publicly for the first time. Members of Athboy Heritage Forum took part in a torchlight procession which depicted the links with the Festival of Fire which began at Halloween on nearby Tlachtga on the Hill of Ward preceeded the unveiling of commemorative plinth by two of the youngest members of both twinning associations – Kevin Cooke and Hugo Merazga. The plinth bore the inscription “Marché de Jumelage” in recognition of the influence of the French farmers’markets during the planning stage of the Athboy project. Following the formal proceedings those gathered were entertained by the traditional musicians and set dancers who performed in the firelight on the stone paving.
A menu of options was made available to the French visitors on Saturday morning thanks to the assistance of various local voluntary groups. These included the Rugby, Archery and Pitch and Putt clubs. Some of the visitors availed of the opportunity to try out sean nós dancing at the workshops organised as part of Éigse Uí Ghramhnaigh which took place in Athboy that day. A large group of French and Irish cyclists were afforded a close up view of the late summer Irish countryside as they took part in a 10 kilometre High Nelly run organised by the local High Nelly Club. This included some welcome refreshments en route at the home of Moira and Eamonn Cassells.
The local Library was the location for an exhibition of memorabilia based on activities which took place over the last ten years of the twinning. In the Macra Hall entries from the Art Competition organised among pupils in the local National Schools were on display. Monsieur Dominique Carron, President of the Autonne Villages Twinning Association presented prizes to the winners in each category. Some host families took their guests to local tourist sites such as Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara and monastic buildings in Kells.
After lunch, which was provided by the host families, the Fair Green was the venue for the official Reaffirmation of the Twinning Oath ceremony. Various clubs and organisations had turned out to display their wares and activities to locals and visitors alike. These included Athboy Archery Club, Athboy Gun Club, Athboy Accordion Band, South Hill Enterprises, Athboy 8th Meath Scouts, Athboy St. Vincent De Paul, Athboy Kick Boxing Club and underage members of the Clann na nGael Hurling teams.
The official proceedings began with entertainment by the Erik Satik Ecole de Musique from Crepy-en-Valois, who had travelled to Athboy with the French contingent, and the Oristown Accordion Orchestra directed by Mr. Gerry Kelly. The Irish, French and European Flags were raised by members of the Athboy Scouts and the three anthems were played by the orchestras. The dignitaries then made their way to the podium which was resplendent in the colours of the two tricolours thanks to the assistance of the Athboy St. Patrick’s Day Committee.
The podium party included public representatives from both Athboy and Autonne Villages areas, in addition to local politicians and community representatives. Lucy Grillet acted as MC while her husband Thierry provided translations for the speakers where necessary. These included the two Twinning Chairpersons Mr. Anthony Leavy (Athboy) and Monsieur Dominique Caron (Autonne Villages) who both paid tribute to the work of previous committees in laying the foundation for what they felt was a thriving twinning arrangement. These committees included two past chairpersons, Mr. Eamonn Cassells and Monsieur Francois Clabaut, who were among the dignitaries present. Mr. Leavy thanked all the members of the association who had helped with the preparations for the tenth anniversary celebrations. He noted the large number of groups and organisations which existed in Athboy and acknowledged the cooperation that had taken place between community groups in organising the events of the weekend which would serve to reciprocate the superlative welcome given to the Athboy group in France in September 2010. He saw the development of relations within a community as a benefit of twinning arrangements, in addition to developing understanding between communities in different European countries, sharing of culture and heritage, and promoting tourism.
Mr. Pauric Staunton formally welcomed everyone present to Athboy and noted the potential of twinning arrangements to promote mutual understanding and a common approach to solving global problems. Monsieur Hubert Briatte, Mayor of Morienval, spoke on behalf of the other eight Mayors whose villages were twinned with Athboy. Councillor John V. Farrelly spoke on behalf of Meath Tourism. He pointed out the various historic sites that awaited visitors to the Meath area and the potential in their continued development as tourist attractions, including the Hill of Ward in Athboy.
The French Ambassador to Ireland was represented by Monsieur Sebastien Vancon who congratulated both associations on having reached this milestone in their joint venture. Ms Mairead Mc Guinness noted the historical links between the two regions, both of which had been affected by wars - including the thousands of soldiers who had lost their lives on the plains of Picardy during the First and Second World Wars. On a more positive note she noted the potential of twinning arrangements to develop friendships that could in turn lead to communities and countries mutually supporting each other in a way that could be both economically and socially enriching. Such initiatives could grow and inform the political agendae of both countries. She noted the potential of both regions to produce food and preserve food production for all in the future.
There then ensued the reading of the text of the Reaffirmation of the Twinning Oath by Richard Brown, Rút Ní Theimhneáin and Antoine Clabaut in English, Irish and French respectively, followed by the signing of two copies by each dignitary present. The signing was underscored by a selection of traditional French and Irish tunes played on the button accordion by musician Peter Staunton. The French invitees were presented with a bodhrán specially hand decorated for the occasion by Jacinta O’Brien. Local invitees were presented with a specially commissioned pen holder made by local wood turner Richard Lucas. All guests were then presented with a bottle of champagne each by the French visitors.
After the formal proceedings the entertainment recommenced with a series of renditions from the Oristown Accordion Orchestra. Despite a short downpour of rain, the talented group of All-Ireland winning musicians were able to perform under an open marquee which had been supplied by Athboy Celtic Football Club just in case the need arose.
This was followed by an open air dance display from the Cassells School of Irish Dancing, including a piece which was specially choreographed for the occasion. This group have performed at all the major anniversary celebrations in France and in Athboy since 2000. Members of the Class Act School then treated the audience to some their modern dance routines. Despite the threat of rain and gale force winds, participants and guests were able to enjoy all the activities in the leafy environs of the Fair Green which was in pristine condition for the occasion thanks to Mother Nature and the hard working trustees. Before going home to prepare for the Anniversary Banquet the host families and visitors had the opportunity to call in to the All-Ireland Sean-Nós Dancing Finals which were taking place as part of Éigse Uí Ghramhnaigh. The Éigse and St. Patrick’s Day committees had assisted with the erecting of bunting throughout the town.
The Old Darnley Lodge Hotel was the venue for the Tenth Anniversary Banquet where the host families and French visitors enjoyed a specially designed menu which incorporated the best of Irish produce. Before the meal the guests enjoyed a fruit punch appertif sponsored by Birds Centra while members of the O’Carolan Harp School (Nobber) provided musical entertainment. Each guest received a specially wrapped chocolate sweets made by South Hill Enterprises. Both Twinning Chairpersons jointly cut the anniversary cake which was made by Aoife Mooney and modelled on the triple spiral logo adapted for use in publications related to the weekend activities by Joe Mooney. The after dinner entertainment was provided by the Athboy Community School Choir, directed by Ms Jacqui Mc Gowan, who had prepared two additional French pieces for the occasion. Dance music was provided by the Navan Swing Band who filled the dance floor into the small hours of the morning.
On Sunday morning, members of the French group took part in the celebration of Mass in St. James’ Church where Pere Antoine Nguyen, Parish Priest of the Autonne Villages, concelebrated Mass with Fr. Patrick O’Connor P.P. Monsieur Dominique Carron presented Fr. O’Connor with granite statues of St. James, St. Peter (Patron Saint of Autonne Villages) and St. Patrick to commemorate the visit. Many of the French visitors made their way with the locals to the Sunday Market where they were able to sample local produce. The award for the best dressed window for the weekend was presented to Catherine and Pat Mc Elhinney of Mc Elhinney’s Man’s Shop.
The management of the Old Darnley Lodge Hotel ensured that the venue was ready once again for Sunday Lunch and all host families and guests gathered for the final round up of the weekends activities. Musical entertainment was provided by the orchestra from the Erik Satik School of Music and members of Athboy Macra na Feirme. Following a few non-scripted surprises and exchanges of gifts the French guests were escorted to the waiting coaches for their return trip to Dublin airport. Each will take back happy memories from the land of the “céad mile fáilte” and will hopefully return soon to visit other areas of the Royal County. So too will the people of Athboy retain fond memories of another chapter in the life of the Athboy/Autonne Jumelage.
|
