Limerick village announces twinning with Spanish municipality

TWO TOWNS from two different countries are to be twinned together due to their unique history and heritage.

Hospital in Limerick and Hospital de Órbigo in the north of Spain will be linked together in a twinning ceremony held in the Limerick village this Saturday, September 23.

Hospital and Hospital de Órbigo both share a similar name which is derived from their shared history of the Knights Hospitaller.

The Knights Hospitallers followed an army called the Knights Templars who would have fought Muslim armies during the medieval wars. The hospitallers treated the wounded.

The hospitallers established hospices throughout Europe from Spain, France, England and Ireland and there is only a very small number of areas in Europe that share the same history to this day.

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A hospice for the sick, wounded and dying was set up by the hospitallers in Hospital and Hospital de Órbigo.

“That history was largely forgotten until a number of years ago when there was a celebration of 800 years of the village of Hospital,” explained Mike O’Sullivan who is involved in the upcoming twinning ceremony.

“We made contact with the Spanish village and they sent over the mayor and his secretary in 2018 and they stayed with us for a few days and had a look around. They later agreed to the twinning.”

The twinning ceremony will be celebrated in the monastic ruins in Hospital.

An interesting similarity between the two towns is the presence of an established handball club in both towns which led to the organisation of a game of handball between members of both clubs.