LEIXLIP, 3 October 2002: Leixlip Twinning Association has strengthened its links with its US twin town of Niles in Illinois, with a recent visit by 19 local people led by local councillors Colm Purcell and Sean Purcell.
The group was accompanied by Bryan Coburn and Spencer Cusack from Downpatrick in Northern Ireland, who are twinned with Glenview, a neighbour of Niles. The Leixlip group has had discussions with the Downpatrick people about trying to establish links between the four towns.
While in Niles, the Leixlip group had a stand at a 'vendor fair' organised by Niles Sister Cities at which their Greek and Italian twin town were also represented, along with their new future twin, Zakopane in Poland.
Email links between children in Scoil San Carlo here and Culver School in Niles have been under way for some time, and a plan to get the children involved on both sides 'face to face' using a video conferencing facility at Intel.
A number of events planned for the 5th anniversary of Leixlip's twinning with Niles are planned for 2004, including a mini Olympic-type event to which the association hopes to invite representatives from Bressuire, Pisa (Italy) and Napflion (Greece).
association secretary Mary Foley spoke at the dinner hosted by Niles Village Board (town council) in which she emphasised the need to make twinning more accessible to those whose financial situation made it impossible to take advantage it, perhaps by way of subsidies or scholarship programmes.
