Belfast Lord Mayor MáirtÃn Ó Muilleoir and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh sign Sister City Agreement
Boston and Belfast, two cities entwined historically by immigration, politics, business and culture, today become official partners in the prestigious Sister Cities program. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Belfast Lord Mayor MáirtÃn Ó Muilleoir signed the formal agreement at the Seaport Boston Hotel as a host of Irish-American business leaders and local officials looked on.
"Together, Boston
and Belfast will strive to foster educational
exchanges, promote cultural understanding, and stimulate economic
development through our new Sister
City relationship,"
said Walsh. "This formal agreement goes far beyond
a declaration on ink on paper; it truly speaks to our historic
connection, genuine ties, and deeply linked heritage."
“Belfast
and Boston share enduring links of history and
heritage over many years and they will now provide the foundation for a new
future-focused Sister City relationship between Boston
and Belfast ,”
said O Muilleoir.
According to the book, Irish Boston: A Lively Look at Boston's Colorful Irish Past (Globe Pequot Press), the Boston-Belfast connection dates
back to the early 18th century, when thousands of Northern Irish
Presbyterians who were seeking a new life in the New World came through Boston Harbor, starting in 1718 . They settled in the Bay
State and created towns like
Londonderry and Derry, New Hampshire ; Belfast , Maine ; and
Charlemont and Worcester , Massachusetts .
The Sister City program was first instituted by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, and Belfast
becomes only the ninth international city that Boston has invited into the program. Read about Boston's Sister City program.
For more about Boston ’s Irish community, visit
IrishBoston.org.
To find out more about Boston ’s illustrious
Irish history, visit IrishHeritageTrail.com.
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