Since the 1950’s thousands of twinning links have been developed between towns and cities throughout the world.  The greatest concentration has taken place in Europe, particularly involving members of the European Community.  Town twinning involves towns making a commitment to engage in exchanges and shared activities, with a view to enriching both partners.

Twinning, as the word suggests, is a concept that involves groups coming together with the aim of finding strength in their unity.  

The foundations of twinning can be traced to 1950’s Europe.  In the wake of the mass destruction wrought by the Second World War, communities in countries such as France, Britain and Germany saw fit to set aside their differences and work together for the common good. Since then this admirable concept has been adopted by ‘twin towns’ and ‘sister cities’ throughout the world.  It has also been embraced by, for instance, churches, libraries, port authorities, airports, commercial radio and television stations and postal services. Postal services and libraries are twinned in order to improve efficiency of their services through shared knowledge and resources.  While this undoubtedly benefits the groups involved in such arrangements it does not forge person-to-person relationships to the same extent as town twinning.

From 1950 to 1991 there were over 11,000 twinning agreements made between a wide range of communities in at least 159 countries.  The local communities themselves initialised these agreements. They are formal in nature and last indefinitely.  In addition to a mutual desire to strengthen relations between neighbouring countries, or more distant friends, partners of twinning agreements often share historical connections or concerns of a cultural, recreational or ideological nature.  

An impressive feature of town twinning is the emphasis on people-to-people relationships.  As well as reinforcing, for instance, the political and economic interests shared by towns, it also ‘humanises’ these interests by bringing a personal dimension to them.  Exchanges allow communities to interact with each other and really experience how the ‘other half’ live.

The EU consists of a great many varied regions.  It includes people from a range of different social backgrounds and cultures.  Town twinning is viewed as a worthwhile endeavour as it actively encourages co-operation of member states at local level and works towards breaking down the barriers between countries.  A wealth of information is available from the European Commission for Town Twinning.

Usually local public finance is the principal source of funding for twinning projects, with the participants themselves raising money.  

Often local people volunteer their time, expertise, equipment or premises as a contribution.  Regional or local authorities may also contribute.  In Ireland the local authority has made provisions for twinning as a ceremonial function in its annual estimates since 1991. 

The European Union may provide grants and assistance under its twinning programme and other programmes.  

However, these grants are designed to complement the resources made available by the local authority and the participants themselves, as it is important that the body responsible for setting up the twinning link should demonstrate its interest in the exchange.  Within Europe, town twinning is an expression of the people’s desire to act locally to overcome divisions between communities.  

Unlike commercial tourism, twin town visitors often engage more with the people of the town.  Their experience is distinct to that of many tourists as it is more culturally rich and is often the basis of lasting relationships.

The Sligo / Crozon town twinning link was formally established in 1980. A number of people from Crozon initiated the Sligo /Crozon link. 

In the late 1970’s a group of people from Crozon with a fondness for Ireland were keen to find an Irish partner for their town.  Equipped with a list of towns considered a suitable match from the United Towns Organisation, they came to Ireland and toured the west coast.

On reaching Sligo they were impressed to such an extent that they sought to meet with the Mayor Councillor Sean McManus with a view to twinning with Sligo.  One man in particular – Gege Le Bourdiac was instrumental in progressing discussions during the initial stage. 

Gege, a Breton with a great love of Ireland, realised the value of twinning and the benefits it would have for Sligo and Crozon.  

It was under his initiative that the whole thing started.  

M. LeBourdiac first visited Sligo in 1977 as part of a fact finding mission on Irish towns that would suitably twin with Crozon..  He returned to France and two years later founded the Crozon Town Twinning Committee, becoming its president.  In the meantime a number of official contacts had been made between the Mayors of both towns regarding a twinning arrangement.  Twinning was an entirely new concept for the people of Sligo at the time.  

The first official delegation from Sligo consisted of the County Manager and Members of Sligo Corporation. The Sligo contingent were warmly received by the people of Crozon and had no doubt that a twinning arrangement with Crozon would be a very positive step in Sligo’s development and a way in which more would be learned by our European neighbours.

A town twinning agreement was drawn up with the help of the United Towns Organisation.  This marked the commitment of Sligo and Crozon to twin ”...with a view to encouraging exchanges in the fields of cultural, touristic, economic and social affairs” (Sligo/Crozon Town Twinning Charter).  The twinning charter was written in the ‘minority’ and ‘majority’ languages of both regions – Breton, Irish, French and English.  The Mayors of both towns signed this during two ceremonies, the first taking place in Crozon in May 1980 and the second in Sligo in April 1981.

Sligo and Crozon are quite similar and both communities believed that the partnership would be long-lasting. They were both small coastal communities, with excellent transport links to and from their towns, a shared an interest in activities such as yachting and fishing. Both towns are on the periphery of Europe, had very few heavy industries and sought to develop tourism.  

There were other important motivations for the twinning related to shared traditions, as well as ethnic and historic associations. The Neolithic tradition of passage tomb building may be identified in the surroundings of Sligo and Crozon.  The passage tomb culture is thought to have been spread from Brittany to Ireland by Neolithic peoples, and represents, for some, an ancient ethnic linkage between the peoples of these two regions.  Celtic peoples also heavily influenced Ireland and Brittany.  

Celtic roots represent an important aspect of the Breton identity, and for this reason the Breton people show an interest in and an affiliation with Irish culture.  There are significantly more twinning links between Ireland and Brittany than any other region of France.

In historic times, following the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland, the Celtic church here became strong and many Irish monks went on evangelical missions to Europe.  Among them the Irish saint, Ronan, who had close associations with the monastic site of Lochronan, 10kms from Crozon.  Landevennec a village with another monastic site on the Crozon peninsula shows by its architecture and Celtic designs, visible indications of Celtic links thought to be from Ireland.  These links were well researched by the Crozon committee at the time of the initial twinning.

Although normally referred to as Crozon, Sligo is twinned with both the town of Crozon and the neighbouring village of Morgat.  These are located on the Presqu’ile de Crozon (Crozon Peninsula) to the extreme north west of France, in the region of Brittany.  Crozon town is the main administrative centre of the Crozon Peninsula.  Morgat 2km from Crozon is a seaside resort and important centre for water-sports. Sligo also has a coastal location on the western periphery of Europe.  Situated in Northwest Ireland, Sligo is bordered to the west by the Atlantic and is the largest town of Co. Sligo. 

Both Crozon and Sligo have developed since the link was established. Sligo  like  many other Irish towns in the late 1990’s experienced rapid economic growth and expansion. Sligo has become an important manufacturing, residential and commercial centre.  There is little heavy industry in the Crozon Peninsula. The 8,000 inhabitants of the peninsula are dispersed among over 150 villages and localities where cattle rearing and horticulture are the dominant farm activities.  

In Crozon and especially Morgat economic activities are largely influenced by their proximity to the sea. Fishing, shellfish farming and tourism, centred on the high quality water-sports facilities in the area,  play an important role in the economy.  Sligo now has not only a larger population, but also a much younger population. Today there are 5 secondary schools and 2 third level colleges catering for the people of Sligo town. In Crozon, while secondary school students may attend the local college until the age of 14 or 15, they must complete their secondary school education at a lycee some distance from the town (most students would attend the Lycee at the regional capital city in Brest).  There are no third level institutions in proximity to the town.  

The population of Crozon / Morgat also varies, during the summer months visitor numbers increase dramatically as many French people spend their holidays descend on the area for the summer season. Families and individuals from the larger inland urban centres of France move to Morgat in particular to pass the summer months.  The social and political climate of both regions has changed somewhat throughout their shared 30 year shared history.

 

Following Ireland’s accession to the European Community, the twinning with Crozon represented a real opportunity to get to know their European neighbours and would have contributed towards integration into the community.  Today Irish society in particular has become much more open and exposed to outside influences. In the 1980’s the link served as a valuable window onto Europe for Sligo people and indeed the people of Crozon. Despite the inevitable economic changes of the past three decades, ties between the two towns have remained close.