BENVENUTI! Tipperary community welcomes its Italian twins for busy few days
Templemore welcomed a community from Potenza Picena in Italy recently
On Thursday, May 7 we welcomed a delegation from Potenza Picena in Italy to Templemore.
Councillors Mirco Braconi and Sonia Pace and also Sonia‘s husband Alessandro and daughters Matilda and Nina came to visit Templemore.
On Friday we treated our guests to a boat ride up and down Lough Derg from Killaloe, where Nina and Matilda were delighted to get the opportunity to take the helm for part of the journey.
On Saturday morning we all gathered in the Park at the Pitch and Putt entrance where the Twinning commemorative plaques are located in the Town Park. This was is also the starting point for the weekly Park Run. We accorded the honour of starting the 397th Park Run to Councillor Mirco Braconi.
Our visiting Italian delegation along with members of Templemore Twinning were delighted to take part in the Park Run, albeit at a slower pace than the regular participants.
Despite the chilly morning breeze, the visitors were loud in their praise of the great amenities on our doorstep.
Saturday afternoon we had an official meeting where we planned and discussed the upcoming educational project which is taking place at the end of June and the beginning of July in Potenza Picena.
Four first year university students from Templemore, Ruth Johnston, Stephanie Treacy, Cormac Bourke and Donnchadh Broderick will go to Italy, to teach young students English language and Irish Culture for two weeks. Both Twinning committees are delighted to support this new project, which incorporates the friendship, cultural social, and educational aspects of the Twinning project.
These four students, all past pupils of Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore, have been preparing for this project over the past six months while attending first year in their various universities.
Councillors Sonia Pace and Mirco Braconi were extremely impressed on meeting with the students this weekend and are very confident of great success for the project and indeed for the future of Twinning.
Templemore Twinning Committee are very thankful for the help and assistance over the weekend.
The venue for the official meeting was The Whitefield Brewery. Our hosts here, Sally and Cúilán Loughnane as always, showed top class hospitality.
Our visitors were treated to some beautiful locally produced foods including platters of cheese, breads, preserves and fruit juices and of course we were all delighted to sample some of Templemore‘s finest Whitefield Brewery Beers.
While our official meeting was going on Sonia and Alessandro‘s two daughters, Matilda and Nina, spent the afternoon in the wonderful company of Cuilan’s nephews and nieces. This was a delight to witness, seeing the next generation playing together.
We were extremely fortunate to have had the services of Our Lady’s Secondary School’s
6th year International student, Maria Ferrari Tomasino, who acted as translator for our official meeting. Maria, who is from Italy, we discovered is fluent in five European languages. She is a credit to her family her school and of course herself.
We all enjoyed a final meal in the Templemore Arms on Saturday night, where Sonia and Mirco presented the host committee with some beautiful gifts from the Italian region of Potenza Picena.
No visit to Templemore by Italian visitors would be complete without a visit the man who first made the introductions 24 years ago, Nino Iannelli. On Saturday night our friends called to Nino and family where, as always the red carpet was rolled out.
Our friends have now left for Italy but we look forward with enthusiasm to seeing them again in a short few weeks and we wish our own students the very best in the project ahead.