Various successful events have been initiated over the last 10 years with official and business visits and most recently the Inter-Celtic Business Forum which second edition took place in Galway.
Those exchanges align to shared interests discussed in recent visits, as Brittany is looking to develop its Breton and Celtic identity at various levels: Lorient is the primary fishing harbour in France, where development of start-ups with a European dimension is very much on the agenda for the Lorient Agglomeration (district ), and more academic exchanges and collaboration are also very important.
Among some recent events that took place; soccer trips to Lorient for Bohemians FC and to Galway for Lorient FC; welcoming TARA boat in Galway; expanding new exchanges between Ile de Groix (off Lorient ) with the Aran Islands; offering of summer internships for young people; and so much more!
Also, a great Galway presence at the Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival with a delegation to represent Galway Tourism. Galvian Way played every day at the festival and won best performance act. The Galway Lorient twinning curated an exhibition - 40 panels of 'Old Ireland in Colours', from John Breslin and Sarah Ann Buckley. The exhibition was presented to the French Minister of Culture and was a huge success, and is currently in Paris at the Centre Culturel Irlandais and is likely to continue to travel.
There are certainly many opportunities and there is a lot of enthusiasm that will help shape short-, medium- and long-term Galway-Lorient projects.
A significant highlight for the 2024 Galway Lorient Twinning is the fourth edition of the Brittany Fest Galway that will take place on May 24, 25, and 26 in Galway (city and county ) showcasing Breton culture with games, food, and a DJ. Miss DJ Blue will be featured in the Blue Note Bar and Breton musicians Yuna Leon (fiddle ) and Maodez Arhant (flute ) will play some gigs in Joe Watty’s in Inis Mor, and then in the Kings Head with Galvian Way. Music workshops will also take place in Inverin and Galway in Aras na nGael led by Yuna Leon.
The French Honorary Consul for Connacht and Donegal, Catherine Gagneux, said; "In 2025, we will be celebrating 50 years of twinning. It is a significant milestone between Galway and Lorient but also for Ireland and France as it is the first twinning between the two countries and proves that the ties and friendships remain strong."
For more details, please visit https://galway-lorient.eu/.
