Each year, Lexington Sister
Cities travels to one of Lexington's Sister Cities as part of its Tourism
Mission. This year, that trip was to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The main reason for the trip to Ireland this year was to attend the US-All Ireland Sister Cities International Summit, held in Dublin and organized by Dublin and its Sister City San Jose, California. If you're imagining a business trip full of meetings though, you couldn't be more wrong! This 10 day trip was jam-packed with exciting activities, picturesque landmarks, enviable experiences, and of course, tons of Irish hospitality.
Day 1 - Travel
The group left out of Cincinnati airport and headed to Dublin. If you're worried about long international travel, don't be! The flight from Atlanta to Dublin is only about 8 hours. With a TV in front of you, the time flies.
Day 2 - Arrive in Dublin, Travel to Northern Ireland
As you know, Ireland is divided into two parts: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland is under British rule and part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland and it's 26 counties (including our Sister City, County Kildare) has a separate government.
From the airport in Dublin, the group traveled by bus to Northern Ireland. On their way, they stopped at Monasterboice in County Louth. Monasterboice holds the ruins to an early Christian settlement just north of Drogheda. It was founded by Saint Buithe in the 5th century.
Rumor is this hotel is haunted.
It was built on to an old castle (see the older looking part of the
picture above). The castle part of the hotel is the area that is supposed
to be haunted. No ghosts were spotted during our group's visit though!
Ballygally was ocean front and had a lovely view of the coastline.
Day 3 - Belfast and Titanic
Belfast Museum
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| Mayor Arder Carson with former Lexington Vice Mayor Linda Gorton. |
After meeting Lord Mayor Carson, the group ventured to a brand new attraction - the Titanic Belfast Museum. This museum is a visitor attraction and a monument to the Titanic. The location of the museum is where the Titanic was built before it's ill-fated departure.
Most people have a vision of Ireland - pubs everywhere, lots of singing, and Guinness. Well - you are not far off. Although sometimes you may find yourself as the group did, in a small place like Ballygally, with no restaurants in site other than the hotel. But fear not, because Irish people are always of good help. At the suggestion of the bus driver, the group found a small pub called "Mattie's" just a mile away from the hotel for dinner. And being the hospitable Irish-man he was, the bus driver offered to drive them instead of having to walk.
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| Yes, that's right - that's a donkey. One of the men in the pub has him as a pet and takes him everyone he goes. |
Day 4 - Mount Stewart House and
Bangor
With another full day ahead of them, the group is ready for more tours and meeting with another Mayor (that's right, another Mayor, because like I said, celebrities).
First, the Mount Stewart House. This 19th century house and garden is now owned by the National Trust. There are several different gardens at the house - including the Shamrock Garden, the Sunken Garden, the Spanish Garden, the Italian Garden, and the Fountain Pool.
After the Mount Stewart House, the group headed to Bangor to meet the Mayor of Ards & North Down Borough Council Alan Graham.
Next stop was Eisenhower Pier. Mosaics on the pier depict scenes from WWII, including when General Eisenhower's send off to the Allied ships gathered in Bangor Bay before the D-Day landings.
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| Random sheep - just to let you know there really are sheep everywhere in Ireland. |
Day 5 - Larne, Alltech at Dunboyne and Dublin
Another day... another mayor. This time, the group had the chance to meet a Mayor that Lexington hosted in February. Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Billy Ashe welcomed our delegation to the Town Hall in Larne. Recently, Northern Ireland has merged some Town Halls - including Ballymena, Carrickfergus, and Larne. Mayor Ashe was the mayor of Carrickfergus, Sister City with Danville, Kentucky. Now, as Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough, Mayor Ashe is a major supporter of the Sister Cities programs, as Ballymena is twinned with Morehead, Kentucky.
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There's no rest for this group. After meeting Mayor Ashe, the group headed to the Alltech Plant in Dunboyne, Ireland. Welcoming them was Aiofe Lyons, daughter of Pearse and Deirdre, who is the Director of Educational Initiatives for Alltech.
After an already full day of tours, the group headed into Dublin to get ready for dinner at Town Hall hosted by the Dublin Mayor. At the dinner, they were reunited with their old friends from County Kildare, as well as many new faces that just became involved in Sister Cities.
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| Council Members Angela Evans and Richard Moloney accompanied the group on their trip to Ireland. |
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| Lexington Sister Cities Executive Director Kay Sargent and Mayor of County Kildare Brendan Weld. |
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| Kay Sargent and former Vice Mayor Linda Gorton are introduced to the Prime Minister of Ireland. |
So we've now come to the main purpose of this delegation's trip to Ireland: the US-All Ireland Sister Cities Summit presented by Dublin and San Jose, California. This Summit brought together cities in the US and cities from all over Ireland to participate in discussions on the value and importance of citizen engagement, the strength of neighbor collaboration, what relations through Sister Cities can mean in a changing world, and connecting through a new generation of youth. The Summit was kicked off with an opening message from the President of Ireland, and included entertainment between speakers.
Day 7 - Guinness and County Kildare Activities
Oh wait... were you expecting a day off? Well, not on this trip! Right when you think "what could possibly come next", you get to experience the Guinness Hopstore and the Pearse Lyons Distillery all in one day. The group was also treated to lunch by members of the County Kildare Twinning Committee while at Guinness.
In the evening, the group joined friends from County Kildare for a concert at Castletown House in County Kildare.
Day 8 - Russborough House, Smithwick's and Youghal
Next stop was in the beautiful County Wicklow and a tour of Russborough House. Located near the scenic Blessington Lakes between the towns of Blessington and Ballymore Eustace, the Russborough House was built between 1741 and 1755.
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| More sheep... everywhere. |
Day 9 - Youghal
If you are looking at the word "Youghal" and wondering how in the world it is pronounced, you weren't the only one. But if you are from the South, you are in luck - the actual pronunciation of Youghal is "y'all". That's right, like "Y'all wanna come over for dinner?" Just like that.
The city Youghal is a seaside resort in County Cork. Some notable buildings in the city include Sir Walter Raleigh's home, Myrtle Grove, and the St. Mary's Collegiate Church, which the group visited while in Youghal.
While in Youghal, the group stayed in the beautiful Walter Raleigh Hotel.
Day 10 - County Kildare and Drogheda
As the group heads toward the end of their visit in Ireland, they make their way back up to Dublin with another stop in County Kildare. To incorporate the connection established by the horse industry, the group enjoys a tour of the beautiful Kildangan Stud in County Kildare.
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| Marjorie Moore and Senan Griffin of the County Kildare Twinning Committee - they put a lot of hard work into organizing our visit. |
Drogheda is the final stop on the group's 10 day trek through Ireland. A port town in County Louth, Drogheda is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea.
Day 11 - Departure Home
After 10 days in the beautiful country of Ireland, the group is heading back to Kentucky.
There is not only one mission or purpose for the trips through Lexington Sister Cities, but several. Just as Sister Cities International's founder President Dwight Eisenhower stated when starting the Sister Cities program in 1956:
"If we are going to take advantage of the assumption that all people want peace, then the problem is for people to get together and to leap governments - if necessary to evade governments - to work out not one method but thousands of methods by which people can gradually learn a little bit more of each other."
The many people who have been on several trips to all four of our Sister Cities have created lasting friendships with people in all these countries. Weddings have been attended, children have been introduced, and many visits have been arranged throughout the years of the twinning relationship between Lexington and each Sister City. These trips don't just provide delegates with tourism opportunities or the chance to meet Mayors; these trips provide our members opportunities to push forward on the path to "peace through people", for a better world for us all.
If you are interested in traveling on the Lexington Tourism Mission trips, become a member of Lexington Sister Cities today! Members get first announcement of trips - so be the first to be a part of the trip in 2017!
Check out our blog post about membership benefits here or contact Sarah Martin at smartin@lexingtonky.gov for more details.
