[caption id="attachment_67980" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Donegal Mayor Noel McBride."]
Addressing a full-house at the opening of the Golden Bridges celebrations on 10 November in Boston, the Mayor of County Donegal, Cllr. Noel McBride, pledged to "develop and consolidate" the county's links with the Massachusetts Irish diaspora.
"I am delighted to be here and glad to continue our ongoing association with the Golden Bridges initiative and the Irish Echo," he said.
"Our links with Boston and Massachusetts are very important to us in Donegal. We are aware of the great interest and goodwill that exists in this part of the world for the Northwest of Ireland and this interest and goodwill is reciprocated.
"Through Golden Bridges and through our Donegal Diaspora Project, we have been able to consolidate and develop our contacts and our networks with people in this region. These contacts are being fostered and utilized for mutual benefit in terms of economic, social and cultural matters."
The Fine Gael man also praised the vibrant Donegal community in the greater Boston area.
"This is made up of well-established residents and also of newer, more recent arrivals. This group makes up a very important part of our overall Donegal community," he said.
"While we face many challenges in our county at present, we also have many opportunities. These encompass areas relating to our natural resources, our human resources, our landscape, our culture, our skills and not least our diaspora. We look forward to working with our friends and partners now and over the coming years for our mutual benefit."
Joining Mayor Noel McBride at the Boston event was Cllr. Dessie Larkin (Fianna Fáil), chair of the Donegal County Development Board, and County Manager Séamus Neely.
