Sister city link to be examined by new council

The borough has maintained a sister city relationship with Danville in the US state of Kentucky for a number of years.

However, there is some uncertainty over how the link will be maintained after Carrick Council is merged into the new Mid and East Antrim authority, according to local man David Robinson.

David travelled to Danville for a week-long visit last month after being selected as Carrick’s sister cities cultural ambassador earlier this year.

A history graduate, David aimed to highlight the migration of Scots-Irish such as Andrew Jackson to the United States in the 17th Century.

Accompanied by his father Godfrey and local councillor Terry Clements, the 26-year-old visited a number of important sites while in Kentucky.

Among these was Shaker Village, the home of the Shaker religious community in 19th and early 20th centuries. Also on the itinerary was Perryville, the site of an annual Civil War re-enactment.

David’s visit culminated in a talk on the history of Carrickfergus at Boyle County Public Library.

He told the Times: “I talked a lot about the development of Carrick Castle, the pageant and the siege re-enactment we have here and I showed them a few video clips from Carrick as well.

“We’re not sure though what the level of interest is within the new council when it comes to keeping the sister city link.”

Councillor Terry Clements confirmed he had written to the local authority to determine if the sister city link could be retained within the Mid and East Antrim Council.

The current sister city arrangement has existed for seven years and aims to foster international relations between both towns.

The borough has previously welcomed playwright Liz Orndorff as cultural ambassador for Danville.

Meanwhile, a 30-strong delegation from the Kentucky town visited Carrickfergus last year, led by Sister Cities Committee chairman, Milton Reigelman.