Longford celebrates the arrival of 'Fraternity' Statue from beloved twin town

A statue symbolising the bonds of friendship and cultural exchange between Longford Town and Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche in France was unveiled last week at the Park Road Leisure Park as part of ongoing Town Twinning celebrations.

The ‘Fraternity’ statue was gifted to Longford County Council and it represents the bond of friendship between both towns and symbolises the ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Longford Town and Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche were officially twinned in 1998. The statue was sculpted by artist Maxime Libiot who was in Longford this week with his wife Manon and children Héloise and Apolline.

Mayor Sébastien Guéret, Cultural Attaché Annie Coent, André Guyomard, Twinning President, Director of Services with Longford County Council John Brannigan, Senior Area Engineer with Longford County Council Peter Brady, Longford Municipal Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr Uruemu Adejinmi and Cllr Martin Monaghan also joined in the celebrations.

The statue was unveiled by Cllr Seamus Butler, Cathaoirleach of Longford Municipal District and Mayor Sébastien Guéret.

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Cllr Butler said, “As we witness war in Europe, utter destruction in the Middle East and the fracturing of the world economic order, the principals that this statue epitomises, Liberté, Fraternité and Égalité were never more important today to all nations who take a stand against dictatorship, mindless populism and neo fascism.

“Remember it was the post Revolution French nation that sent troops to Ireland in 1798 to support the people of Ireland on their uprising against the English Colonial forces.”

Members of the Town Twinning group also visited Melview National School as part of their new Twinning Charter in a bid to encourage young people to develop friendships and embody the spirit of mutual respect and openness to new ideas and experiences.

Cllr Butler also paid tribute to André Guyomard and his wife Marie- Claire on André’s final visit to Longford as Twinning President and noted his years of voluntary work on making the twinning relationship such a success.

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Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon said, “Longford Town and Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche have enjoyed a mutually beneficial Town Twinning arrangement since 1998. Since then, over 2,000 young people and adults have been involved in exchange programmes, hosted by local families.

“Through these many visits, people from both Longford Town and Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche have had many authentic, first-hand experiences of another culture.

“These are unique opportunities, opening up new ways of life, particularly for school students.”