Castleblayney last week played host to a group of young people from 3 European countries namely Spain, France and Belgium who arrive in town for 7 days as part of an Erasmus Programme organised by Castleblayney Community Enterprise.
The groups come from the towns of Marseillan South France, Malmedy in Belgium and Caudete in Spain.
The groups were also joined by a number of young people from County Monaghan bringing the total number of participants to 22.
This visit which was co-ordinated through the offices of Castleblayney Enterprise Centre was conducted under the themes of sport, culture and history with a number of talks, presentations and activities carried out over the week, which addressed the themes.
The included presentations from Paddy Mulroe on the history of the border area and a presentation from Ceara Nolan on the work and role of Youth Work Ireland Monaghan.
Activities undertaken included bowling in GR8, raft building at Lough Muckno, a training workshop on the skills of GAA delivered by Castleblayney Faughs, Drama workshops delivered by David Maine and Cultural night in the Iontas Centre at which participants cooked dishes from their respective countries. The group also received a civic reception from Monaghan County Council, which was hosted by Cathaoirleach Aidan Campbell.
One of the highlights for the group was a visit to the Bluebell Lane Glamping facility in Mullaghbawn which is managed by local man Padraig Carragher. During this day long visit the group enjoyed a varied programme of activities which included wood turning, weaving and an introduction to traditional music and song.
Castleblayney Community Enterprise Chairperson Pete McMahon said,the visit was another important step in promoting awareness of Cultural diversity as well as promoting Castleblayney as an exceptional tourist attraction. He said, “the Board of Castleblayney Community Enterprise were delighted with the opportunity to host the young people”. He praised the management and staff for their work in facilitating the exchange.
A very positive feedback on their visit was recorded by the participants on their evaluation scoring prior to leaving.
