France/Carantec. First step toward a sister-city relationship with Kenmare, Ireland

For nearly two years, Gérard Guillerm, a member of the Carantec Culture association, has been serving as an unofficial representative of the town hall in connection with a potential sister-city partnership with the town of Kenmare, Ireland.

This initiative is being led by Marion Picart, deputy mayor for culture, and Tracey Page-Jones, city councilmember. The idea began to take shape in March 2025, when Carantec Culture invited the Irish band Saimhin So to perform for St. Patrick’s Day.

An “Ambassador” in Carantec

Given the event’s success, Gérard Guillerm repeated the effort in March 2026 with the same musicians, who hail from the town of Naas, southwest of Dublin. Since the group’s leader, Gérard Byrne, has ties to Kenmare, plans for a potential sister-city partnership between Kenmare and Carantec moved forward. The town has a population roughly equivalent to that of Carantec and boasts an exceptional bay, 55 km long.

I recently met Jamie Stevenson Hamilton in Kenmare. He is in charge of partnerships for the Kenmare Tourism Board. He runs a kayaking business there. He is an invaluable guide for anyone seeking a cultural immersion in the stories of Kenmare Bay. “He organizes nighttime kayaking tours there to explore the phenomenon of bioluminescence,” explains Gérard Guillerm. Jamie Stevenson Hamilton has titled the lecture he will give in Carantec “Rediscovering the Sea at Night—The Night Kayaking Experience in Kenmare—Bioluminescence, Nature, and Sustainable Tourism.” This will lay the foundation for a future sister-city partnership.

Since Carantec’s twinning with the Swiss town of Grand-Saconnex ended in 2016, the town has not entered into any other twinning arrangements. The partnership with Grand-Saconnex had been initiated by René Simon, mayor at the time, and Henri Stengel, mayor of Grand-Saconnex. The latter’s death in 2016 marked the end of forty years of exchanges.

Lecture and discussion with Jamie Stevenson Hamilton. Monday at 5:00 p.m. at the Kélenn Water Sports Center. Free admission.

Source: www.ouest-france.fr/