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The foundation of the twinning between Ballinamuck and Essert, Franche Comte in France was laid in 1996 when Ballinamuck was preparing to commemorate the bi centenary of the Battle of Ballinamuck, the last battle of the 1798 Rebellion. The local Ballinamuck group sought to twin with St. Nabord in the Vosges region, the birthplace of the French General Humbert, leader of the French troops  at the battle. However, the group who came forward to twin were from Essert in nearby Franche Comte.

With the support of Longford County Council, the twinning was formally inaugurated in Essert in May 1997 when the twinning oath was signed by both Longford and Essert councils. Since then the relationship has deepened and developed over the years with many joint projects, visits taking place. As the collaboration developed, including the young people of each area became a focus of the work. Each visit now includes a youth project where the young people of both areas work together on a project remotely initially and complete during the visit. There have been many projects over the years, environmental projects, collage, upcycling furniture, creating musical instruments from discarded materials, cooking, sewing, work experience, music, making vegetable containers and growing vegetables in them, the list is comprehensive.

The twinning is supported by Longford County Council and local fundraising. Its continued success is due to the hard-working committees on both sides plus the host families who take the visitors into their homes each visit. It is this voluntary effort which makes our twinning a highlight every year.

If you or your child are interested in getting involved in Twinning 2025/26 pleas email ballinmuckcommunityenterprise@gmail.com

For more information visit the twinning website : https://jumelagessertballinamucktwinning.org/

Twinning 2025

We are looking forward to hosting our partners from Essert, France from the 23rd – 30th July. This will be our 28th Twinning and we have an action packed schedule planned.

How it works

The Twinning takes place annually and involves adults and young people from the communities of Ballinamuck and Essert. Each community hosts the other on alternate years and in 2025, Ballinamuck will host a group of young people and adults from Essert. The young people and adults stay with local families. The young people and adults have different schedules but come together for some significant events.

Young People

A group of young people from Essert arrive in Ballinamuck on the 23rd July. Our young people have been busy planning and preparing for their visit. They have met and discussed and researched various ideas. This involvement makes sure that the young people from both Essert and Ballinamuck experience first hand the work involved in planning a schedule of activities and also are part of making it happen. Our draft itinerary for 2025 includes: a sports day using local amenities; a beach day; an overnight in an outdoor pursuits centre with all associated activities;  a day in The Attic House (Foróige); and of course, lots of time to socialise, experience Irish life and culture and make lifelong friends. Unfortunately, all the places have been allocated and we cannot accept any more young people for 2025.

Adults

A group of adults from Essert will arrive on the 25th July and their itinerary currently includes a day trip to Sligo; a special screening of the documentary ‘Ballinamuck’ with French subtitles; a photo rally around the village; traditional music; cookery demonstrations, chocolate making; and a Civic Reception kindly hosted by Longford County Council.

The Twinning Visit will culminate with a Community Evening celebrating the Twinning 2025 and showing highlights of the visit.

There will be lots of opportunities for the wider community to be involved and celebrate our 28th Twinning and we look forward to seeing you there! Follow us on Facebook (Ballinamuck, Longford) for updates.

We are grateful to Longford County Council for their continued support and the community who generously support our annual Table Quiz, Church Gate Collection, Bag Pack and of course, all those who support our Lotto

Twinning 2024

Twinning 2023

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