New cathaoirleach elected in Offaly

Independent Cllr John Carroll has been elected unopposed as Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council this afternoon.

He was nominated by Cllr John Leahy and seconded by Cllr Eamon Dooley.

The Crinkle native has been active in local politics for close to half a century, having contested local, general and European elections in that time.

Cllr Leahy outlined the varied political life and community activity of Cllr Carroll, which he said went back over 50 years.

He noted that Cllr Carroll was a founding member of Shinrone Macra in 1968 and was also a founding member of the Sinn Fein Cumann in Birr in 1972. He was elected to Birr UDC in 1985 and held his seat until the district’s abolition in 2014. Cllr Carroll was first elected to Offaly County Council in 2004 and has retained his seat since.

Cllr Carroll was also a driving force behind the Irish pre-school and gaelscoil in his local community.

“He was never a councillor to make up the numbers. He always sought to look after the marginalised in the county,” Cllr Leahy said.

“There are huge challenges ahead of us,” Cllr Dooley said. “John is the man for this occasion”.

“To be elected unopposed as chair of Offaly County Council is a huge honour,” Cllr Carroll said.

The new Cathaoirleach noted it was a very historic month in the life of Offaly Co Council as it marks the centenary of the first election of the council in June 1920.

“In the words of James Kingston, the county secretary at the time, it was not just remarkable, but it was a memorial and revolutionary council,” he said.

The first step taken by that council was to declare its allegiance to the first Dáil as the War of Independence was raging.

“I don’t underestimate the challenges we are now facing, which are considerable,” he said. The Covid-19 pandemic and the decarbonisation measures, which will see significant job losses in the county at Bord na Mona, were issues they will have to deal with.

A meeting with Bord na Mona management will be needed, he said. “This issue will play a significant role in the lifetime of this council. It will not be sorted by senior figures from Bord na Mona coming down to talk to us. It will be sorted by long committee meetings led by this council,” he said.

In response to the Covid-19 crisis, he urged people to “shop local” and support local businesses.

The new Cathaoirleach paid tribute to his wife, Carmel, who he said had stood by him for 35 years of local politics. “A public representative has many commitments and it’s not very often that you are sitting by the fire, watching TV,” he said.

His own daughter Shauna has seen the commitment involved, he said, and “is quite adamant that she won’t be going down that road”. He thanked her for all her support and in particular for helping to keep him groomed during lockdown.

His son Donnacha was unable to be present as he is in Berlin. However, he was able to follow proceedings via Zoom. This was fitting as Cllr Carroll said his son had spent “many hours trying to help me on my IT skills”.

Cllr Carroll paid tribute to his predecessor, Cllr Peter Ormond, who had a very challenging year with Bord na Mona job losses and several months of lockdown.

Congratulations were expressed from all the political groupings in the chamber.  The Chief Executive Anne Marie Delaney assured Cllr Carroll of the full support of the council staff.

Cllr Eamon Dooley was elected unopposed as Leas Cathaoirleach.