Mayor of Castlebar's twin town in Germany due to retire after 30 years in office
Gerald Brehm is due to retire this month as the First Mayor (Erster Bürgermeister) of Castlebar's twin town of Höchstadt an der Aisch in Bavaria, Germany.
It is a position he has held for 30 years, during which he visited Mayo's county town on numerous occasions.
Ahead of his retirement, he sat down with The Connaught Telegraph to speak about his high regard for Castlebar in a special interview.
Q: How have you seen Castlebar change over the 26 years of the twinning partnership?
A: Castlebar has developed remarkably over the past 25 years. Modern and future-focused infrastructure has been created in many areas all over the town.
Castlebar has fulfilled its centrality function (in Co. Mayo) in an exemplary manner. The usual problems of ‘maintaining a lively city centre’ have been well managed, as far as has been possible.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your visits to Mayo?
A: Having visited well over 30 times, I still love the hospitality, the pub culture, the desire for freedom and, of course, the friendships I have made there. My heart beats for Ireland, but especially for Castlebar.
Q: Tell us about the friends you have made since the first time you came to Castlebar.
A: Naturally, I have made many friends over the past three decades - the 'father' of the partnership, John Condon, Paddy McGuinness, the Baynes family and former chief officer Seamus Murphy, to name but a few. Not forgetting of course all those who have sadly passed away, including the late Councillor Sean Bourke.
Q: How would you describe the difference between everyday life in Germany and Ireland?
A: The difference is certainly the ‘pub culture’ that still exists in Castlebar, the desire for freedom, and the lightheartedness of the locals.
Q: Would you like to see more people from Castlebar becoming involved in the partnership, and what opportunities are there for this?
A: Yes, definitely. I would like to see even more trips from the ordinary people of Castlebar (and not just on a municipal level). Ms. Johanna Blum has been organising such trips from the Höchstadt region to Ireland, and specifically Castlebar, for years. A more active partnership association/town twinning club in Castlebar could also bring this on.
Q: How has the Höchstadt twinning committee been so successful in keeping their relationship with Castlebar alive?
A: This is certainly due in part to the exemplary commitment of the Zaby and Wennmacher families. Of course, it helps that Dagmar Wennmacher speaks perfect English and is a very communicative and outgoing person.
Q: What does the future of the twinning between the two towns hold?
A: I think the palpable energy from the celebrations last year marking 25 years of town twinning between Castlebar and Höchstadt can be used as a spark for the positive development of our partnership going forward.
After 30 years as mayor, I will use this year's handover to instil the ‘Ireland/Castlebar-gene’ in my successor.
(Local elections will take place in the Federal State of Bavaria, where Höchstadt is located, later this month. Mayor Brehm is not running for re-election after 30 years. The Connaught Telegraph wishes to thank Tara Baynes for her help in organising the interview).