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Sister Cities Lexington, KY and County Kildare, Ireland Celebrate 30th Anniversary

The Lexington Urban County Council celebrated a milestone with one of its earliest sister cities Thursday. 

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In 1984, the mayor of Lexington presented a pewter plate to Jimmy O’Louglin, the mayor of County Kildare, Ireland, establishing the urban county’s second Sister City.  On Thursday, an Irish delegation joined the Urban County Council in celebrating the arrangement’s 30 year anniversary.  Kildare Mayor Fiona O’Laughlin, Jimmy’s daughter, said the Sister City program has built strong connections between the two counties.

“During that 30 years, we’ve had numerous exchanges of cultural, social, educational, business, and professional exchanges and many friendships have been forged and made, and there’s no doubt that we’ve learned a lot from one another,” she said.   

O’Laughlin, along with Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, dedicated a special exhibit in the city hall lobby to commemorate the anniversary.  She also presented a piece of crafted bog oak for the collection.  With this gift, she said the exchange has gone full circle.

Chase Cavanaugh first got on the air as a volunteer reader for Central Kentucky Radio Eye, a local news service for the visually impaired. He began reporting for WUKY in February 2012, after receiving his Master’s degree from the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.