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Inishowen French links
flourish 06.10.08
by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
THE growing links between Inishowen and Brittany
were further expanded when a group of French
students recently spent some time in Carndonagh and
Buncrana.
This is the second group of French students to come
on exchange here, and last May local students
travelled to Fréhel and Plévenon to spend the week
there. Students stayed with host families and
attended classes in Carndonagh Community School and
Scoil Mhuire.
“This started out on a very small scale with me
floating the twinning idea with the late Cllr Philip
Diggin and Cllr Peter McLaughlin but it has
snowballed, and with around 50 students already
benefiting from it, and adult groups from both areas
making visits, it’s coming along quite nicely,” said
Adrian Martin, a Derry man who has spent the last 24
years teaching in Saint Brieuc in northern Brittany. |
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“The exchange helps the
students perfect their conversational skills, and it
also helps them to learn about another country and
culture,” Mr Martin continued. “Inishowen and Fréhel/Plévenon
have much in common and there’s a lot we can learn
from each other.”
Mr Martin met with Cllrs Peter McLaughlin and Dermot
McLaughlin last week, as well as school principals
Liam Rainey and Paul Fiorentini, to discuss
developing further links. Road signs indicating that
Buncrana is twinned with Fréhel are to be erected
shortly, and other projects are also in the
pipeline.
“We’d like to see house exchanges being developed,”
Martin said. “That might become more attractive in
these tougher economic times. We’d also like to
develop cultural exchanges where Inishowen artists
would exhibit in Fréhel and vice versa, while we’re
hoping to develop links between the golf clubs in
either place.”
“This is just starting off, but we’re hoping to
build it one piece at a time,” Mr Martin said.
If you’re interested in getting involved with any
aspect of the exchange, contact Sue Doherty on 087
6326433. |
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