Twinning

The Copper Coast European Geopark has twinned with other Geoparks since
its designation.

The village of Bunmahon, the centre of the Copper Coast European Geopark,
is twinned with the village of Strohn, located in the Vulkaneifel Geopark,
situated in the Eifel region.

Bunmahon is also twinned with the village of Gams in the Eisenwurzen
Naturpark in Austria.

The twinning between the 3 villages was officialised in October 2004,
during a civil ceremony hosted by Waterford County Council with
representatives of the 3 villages. Exchanges have been taking place
and wonderful friendships have developed since between the 3 villages.

Official Twinning between Bunmahon, Gams and Strohn, in October 2004, in the civic offices in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

Germany The village of Bunmahon, the centre of the Copper Coast European Geopark, is twinned with the village of Strohn, located in the Vulkaneifel Geopark, situated in the Eifel region. The last exchange took place in September 2009, when people from Bunmahon visited their friends in Strohn for the BackFest (Baking Festival):

Early September, a group of 12 from Bonmahon visited their twin village Strohn
in the Vulkaneifel Geopark Germany. They stayed with host families. During
their visit they attended the “Backfest”, (baking festival) which is held in the
village every second year, and took part in all the celebrations. They visited
the city of Trier, the oldest city in Germany. It is now five years since the
villages were officially twinned and since then many people from Strohn have
visited Bonmahon, including a group of children from their school. The bond
of friendship which was formed then has strengthened and grown like the tree
which was planted in Bonmahon to commemorate the signing of the twinning
agreement in 2004.

Twinning groups from Strohn and Bunmahon together in Strohn during the Backfest

For more information about Strohn, you can visit the following websites
(in German):
- the Vulkanhaus museum: http://www.vulkanhaus-strohn.de/
- Stohn village: http://www.strohn.de/

Austria

Bunmahon is also twinned with the village of Gams, in the Geopark of
Naturpark Eisenwurzen.

Exchanges between the villages have been taking place since the
formalisation of the twinning in october 2004

Bunmahon visiting Gams, Austria, in May 2005

7th - 10th October 2010
a group from Bunmahon visited
Gams and St Gallen, where they were
warmly welcomed and treated royally!

Bunmahon visiting Gams, Austria, in October 2010

Click here for a delightful account of the trip, written by Mary Shiels.

Choir Festival

On the 16th June 2006, to celebrate the twinning of Bunmahon with the
villages of Strohn in Germany and Gams in Austria, the Bunmahon
Twinning Group organised a successful evening of German, Austrian
and Irish choral and instrumental music, during which the choirs of the
twinned villages entertained more than a 100 people in Gardenmorris, Kill,
Co. Waterford.

The women’s choir from St Gallen, Gams, Austria

The mixed choir from Strohn, Germany

The Bunmahon choir (Knockmahon and Seafield primary schools) under the direction of Jim Cullinane

The Choir Festival was supported by Waterford County Council Art
Programme & Dungarvan Credit Union. Use of Gardenmorris by kind
permission of Peter and Eileen Queally.