Guests from Scranton address Ballina MD meeting on historic day
On a historic day for the US and north Mayo, the Mayor and President of Scranton, home town of President Elect Joe Biden, addressed the January monthly meeting of Ballina Municipal District, held online earlier today.
Mr. Biden has ancestors from the town and still has cousins living in north Mayo, and the links between the area and Scranton, Pennsylvania, are very strong.
In fact, the Scranton City Council President, William Gaughan, told the meeting that he has ancestors from Lisaniska and Knockmore.
“I'm very excited for a native son of Co. Mayo to be inaugurated today,” he said. “Joe's from Scranton, where I live, and we're thrilled to have one of our own coming in (to take the presidency).
“I'm delighted, too, to have you as a sister city. You can't walk too far here (Scranton) without meeting someone who has links to Mayo, especially Ballina.
“It's a great day for Co. Mayo and the city of Scranton, and I'm delighted to be here with you.”
The Mayor of Scranton, Paige Cognetti, said it was amazing to have 'a kid from Scranton' becoming President of the US, and the countdown to his inauguration was underway in her house.
She added that her husband and family are frequent visitors to Ireland and she couldn't wait to have members of Ballina MD visit Scranton when the pandemic is over.
“I'm looking forward to having a President (Mr. Biden) from Scranton who will lead us out of these difficult times,” Mayor Cognetti stated.
Councillor Seamus Weir, cathaoirleach of Ballina MD, and Declan Turnbull, manager, Ballina MD, both tuned into a Scranton City Council meeting yesterday evening (Tuesday), and they thanked the Mayor and President for facilitating that.
Mr. Turnbull said he was delighted to see so many Irish names among the people at the meeting and hear of their Irish connections.
He added that today is a 'very exciting day' for Scranton, Ballina and the US with the inauguration of Joe Biden.
The manager said the twinning of Ballina and Scranton, which goes back to 1990, has lulled and regenerated over the years but in that time a number of visits had taken place, and the programme was renewed last year, with new life put in to it.
“There will be a race on now to see if we get to Scranton first or if you come here first; let's hope we don't meet in midair!” Mr. Turnbull quipped.
Councillor Weir said something that could be worked on as a team together was getting Mr. Biden to Ballina, ideally when the town celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2023.
That, said Mayor Cognetti, could be worked on straight away with a quick proposal readied and sent to the White House. She also suggested the towns could work on commemorating the 30-year anniversary of the twinning links between Scranton and Ballina.
Each Ballina MD councillor along with Tom Gilligan, director of services, and Mags Downey Martin of Ballina Chamber welcomed the Scranton guests on the historic occasion, and they complimented predecessors on both sides of the Atlantic who creaties ties between the towns and kept them going over the years.