French football stars make unexpected visit to Castlecomer - Kilkenny Live

Jeanne d’Arc Penvénan FC visited Castlecomer recently. Twenty-six young footballers aged 12 and 13 and 12 adults from Jeanne d’Arc Penvénan FC arrived in Castlecomer, where they were hosted by Deen Celtic as part of a twinning exchange between Penvénan and Castlecomer.

The main event of the weekend was a series of football matches against Deen Celtic. A full programme of events was organised for the weekend around this.

On Friday morning Buggy Coaches drove our French visitors to Kilkenny. They were accompanied by members of the Twinning Committee and spent the day enjoying the sites of the city. Everyone returned to Deen Celtic where a hot meal was provided for them by the Twinning Committee. As it was a beautiful sunny evening the young footballers and children of the host families played soccer on the all-weather pitch before returning home.

After they returned to the host families the adults were treated to a music session in The Corner House. Thanks to Mark Rothwell and his musicians for a great night. They were very impressed with the music and hospitality.

Everyone headed to Deen Celtic’s clubhouse on Saturday morning. Young players from both clubs were very enthusiastic to get the games under way.

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Afterwards it was down to the all-weather pitch for another kickaround. The evening finished with Eamon Nolan from Deen Celtic presenting medals to all the Jeanne d’Arc players and a plaque for their club. Julien Helary, Director of sport in Penvénan, presented Eamon with a framed Jersey from Jeanne d'Arc FC. and invited Deen Celtic AFC to take part in the Gwenan Cup in Penvénan in May 2025. This is a prestigious competition for under 13-year-olds. It is an invitation only event and teams from all over France participate. Romain Beguec presented Deen Celtic, Castlecomer Twinning Committee and Penvénan Twinning Committee with plaques to commemorate the event. They also presented medals for the Deen Celtic players. Eamon Nolan and Romain exchanged club Pennants.

The group, along with some members of Deen Celtic, were very excited to experience the activities in Castlecomer Discovery Park on Sunday morning. Firstly, they climbed the Sky Walk obstacle course and then went on the zip line.

There was a great air of anticipation as they climbed the tower to the Zip Line. This was their first time to experience activities like these and they really enjoyed them. All had lunch in the Discovery Park provided by the host families and then returned to Deen Celtic grounds where we introduced the visitors to the game of hurling. The activities concluded with two informal matches being played on the all-weather pitch with adults and children. The party adjourned to the Club House for the closing ceremony. Jerry and Pauline Mullally of Castlecomer Penvénan Twinning Committee, Eamon Nolan (Deen Celtic), Yvon Lirzin (Penvénan Twinning Committee) and Romain Beguec (head coach of Jeanne d,Arc Penvénan) made speeches.

The central theme of all the speeches was that sport was a universal language and brought people together. Thanks to Jeanne d’Arc Penvénan for coming to Castlecomer and to Deen Celtic AFC for hosting the event. A special thanks to the host families as these exchanges could not take place without them.

Since their return to France the local families have received thank you messages from the families of each child praising the host families and everyone involved in organising the event. The visitors returned to Penvénan, especially the young footballers with memories that will last a lifetime. Thanks went to all at Deen Celtic, especially Eamon Nolan and Keith Renwick and members of the twinning committee.

The Twinning Committee celebrates its 25th anniversary in Penvénan in June 2025. Hopefully there will be many more exchanges in the future. Thanks to Kilkenny County Council Event Grant Scheme 2024 for a contribution to funding this event.