Cleveland
The official twinning of Achill and Cleveland took place in 2003 as a result of members of the Achill Diaspora, most notably Steve Mulloy (RIP), making contact in 2001with Terence Dever, CEO of CFÁA. Terence said, "Steve approached me with a view to exploring if anything could be done to establish a formal bond between Achill and Cleveland. We had a long chat and within weeks a formal meeting took place in Mayo County Council offices to begin this process. I can safely say no stone was left unturned until we had a twinning agreement in place between the city of Cleveland and County Mayo."
"In August 2003 the Mayor at the time, Jane Campbell, led a delegation to Mayo, which included the late Steve Mulloy and the late Con Mangan. In October the presiding Chairman of Mayo County Council, Cllr Frank Chambers, led a delegation from Mayo to Cleveland. These were emotional times and I recall clearly Steve shedding many tears of joy, " Terence added.
Since this initial twinning, there have been many return trips to and from both sides of the Atlantic. In October 2008 a framework for the future was developed under four headings:
- Education
- Arts & Culture
- Business
- Tourism
This is an ongoing process, and both communities are committed to fulfilling the initial aspirations of Steve Mulloy, Con Mangan and all the other founding members of the twinning committee on both sides of the Atlantic.
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