(gentle music) - [Haley] It all started in 1990.

The late Jimmy Connors, who was mayor of Scranton at the time, visited County Mayo in Ireland to find relatives.

A large amount of Irish-Americans in Scranton have roots in Ballina, County Mayo.

And so that became Scranton's sister city.

Connors and his family formed a friendship with the late PJ Downey, Lord Mayor of Ballina at the time, a friendship that lasted beyond their lifetimes and continued in the next generation.

Mags Downey Martin is PJ's daughter.

- It was a blessing that it started, and it's a blessing that it has continued and that the friendships have remained the same and solid.

- [Haley] More and more people from Scranton connected with their Irish roots and visited Ballina over the last 35 years.

The city of Scranton invites a delegation from Ballina to March in the Scranton St. Patrick's Day parade every year.

- I've gone over and back many, many times, and I just cannot get over the amount of like-minded with the same kind of sense of humor, the same look, you'd nearly say there are people I know from home in Ballina and County Mayo.

- [Haley] The connection will continue now with a cultural exchange between Ballina Arts Center and the Scranton Fringe Festival.

The group will present an original production of "Ulysses of Scranton" here as part of the Scranton Fringe Festival, and then to an audience in Ballina.