Arizona Colleens visit Tullamore

Tullamore Municipal District Cathaoirleach Cllr Neil Feighery welcomed the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Colleens of Arizona to the Municipal District offices on Friday, August 12 where he presented them with a token of the very best of Tullamore and Offaly produce.

The three women, 2020 Arizona Colleen, Callan Dalton Gist, 2021 Arizona Colleen, Ceili Olnay and 2022 Arizona Colleen, Lynn Cosgrove are touring Ireland, visiting towns which are twinned with cities and towns in Arizona in advance of a trip to the Rose of Tralee, of which they are a sister organisation.

An Irish heritage programme for women ages 18-28, the Arizona Colleen serves as the queen of the Phoenix St Patrick's Day Parade, according to the Arizona Colleen Facebook page.

Tullamore has been a sister city of Chandler, Arizona for the last 12 years and in that time links have been made on the educational, cultural and enterprise fronts with great success.

Welcoming the three Colleens, Cllr Feighery invited them to the Tullamore Show and assured them they will see the very best of livestock in Ireland on display, alongside great music, shopping and culture.

Cllr Tony McCormack gave a short history of the Sister Cities programme and some of its highlights, such as the annual trips between Sacred Heart School students and their counterparts at Seton High School, the links between the two fire services and the synergies between the Innovation Centre here in Tullamore and that in Chandler.

Town Manager Tom Shanahan took the opportunity to wish the Colleens well in their travels in Ireland and noted they had brought the fine Arizona weather with them. Also in attendance at the event were Cllrs Seán O' Brien, Danny Owens and Declan Harvey, Chief Fire Officer Eoin O' Ceilleachair, SEE for Tullamore MD John Connelly and Camilla Cullen who is ensuring the girls are well cared for here in Tullamore.