Dolan thanks voters as he bows out of politics

 Local Independent Cllr Dervill Dolan has announced that he will not contest the local elections in 2019. At the recent meeting of Tullamore Municipal District, Cllr Dolan said it was with a heavy heart he reached the decision not to contest the local elections next May.

Cllr Dolan, a Chartered Accountant by profession, said his accountancy practice in Tullamore has become very busy in recent years and he was finding it extremely challenging to find time to dedicate to politics. He also said he has two young children and like many other parents, he enjoys spending time with his kids at their activities particularly during the summer months, and with his work and family commitments he does not have the necessary time to dedicate to politics.

 Cllr Dolan added that as an Independent candidate he expects it will take him between two and three months to properly canvass the area for the local elections next year and he cannot commit to that kind of timeframe.

 “I enjoy the cut and thrust of politics, Cllr Dolan said, and if I had the time to dedicate to politics, I would continue in politics. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time at this stage, and I believe the right thing for me and for the people I represent, is to take a step back from politics and allow somebody with more time to dedicate to politics to put their name forward.

 If my circumstances change at some time in the future, and nobody knows what the future holds, I will certainly consider running for politics again, but for now I do not have the time to dedicate to politics because of my work and family commitments,” Cllr Dolan said. 

Cllr Dolan thanked his family for all their support over the years and he also thanked all the people who helped him and all the people who voted for him.

 “For me, it is a great honour to be elected as an Independent councillor by the local people to be their representative on Offaly County Council and I will be forever thankful to the people who elected me.

“ I am also very grateful to Marie and to all my family for all their help and support throughout the years and to all the people who helped me along the way.

“On my own behalf and on behalf of the Dolan family, I wish to thank all the people who voted for me and for my late father, Tommy, in all the local elections in Offaly since he was first elected in 1985. I intend to continue my work as a local Councillor until the end of this term, next May,” Cllr Dolan concluded.  

Meanwhile, it's emerged there will be at least five new faces in Offaly County Council following next May's local elections after Cllr Dolan (Ind) and Cllr Brendan Killeavy (SF) both revealed that they would not be contesting the next local elections.

Both councillors cited cited family and business commitments as the main reasons for their decisions.

Last month Cllr Martin Reilly (SF) in Daingeanannounced that he was resigning and that the December meeting of Offaly County Council would be his last one, while in October two of the county's most experienced local politicians Cllr Tommy McKeigue in Tullamore and Cllr Noel Bourke in Edenderry both announced that they would not be seeking re-election next summer.