By Cianna McNally

Members of Ballybay Town Council recently travelled to the Bavarian town Ballybay is twinned with to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the towns twinning.

Speaking at the May monthly meeting of Ballybay Town Council, Mayor Michael Gilmour said the Ballybay delegation had been very well treated while over in Osterhofen Gergweis in Bavaria, Germany. The Ballybay councillors were presented with a glass ornament inscribed with both town names.

Fianna Fàil’s Gerard Traynor echoed Mayor Gilmour’s sentiments about the warm reception the councillors received and proposed that a letter of thanks would be sent to the Burgermeister (Mayor) in Osterhofen. Fine Gael councillor Sean Conlan said that it had been his first visit to the German town and it was obvious that a great friendship had developed between the council members there and in Ballybay. “The visit to Osterhofen was a very worthwhile experience. It is a very rural part of Germany and has retained a certain traditional lifestyle that I think we could learn from,” stated Cllr Conlan.

The Bavarian councillors have visited Ballybay numerous times in the past and preparations will be put in place for them make a return visit to the town in 2011.