Former Fine Gael Cllr, Percy Clendennen, is pictured with MEP, Nina Carberry, his daughter, Eleanor, newly co-opted Fine Gael Cllr for the Birr Local Electoral Area on Offaly County Council, and his son, John, newly-elected Fine Gael TD for Offaly, at the party's convention in Dooly's Hotel, Birr last week.

Two new Cllrs co-opted onto Offaly County Council

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Two new names were formally ratified as Cllrs for the Tullamore and Birr Local Electoral areas at the December monthly meeting of Offaly County Council today (Monday, December 16) when Shane Murray and Eleanor Clendennen took their seats in the council chamber for the first time.

Both Cllrs were selected by their respective political parties at conventions which took place on Thursday night last. Eleanor Clendennen was unopposed when her name was put before a Fine Gael convention in Dooly's Hotel in Birr for the position left vacant by the election of her brother, John Clendennen to the Dail.

Newly co-opted Fianna Fail Cllr on Offaly County Council, Shane Murray, was all smiles as he posed for a photograph at the party's convention in the Bridge House Hotel on Thursday night last with newly-elected Offaly TD, Tony McCormack.

Meanwhile, at the Fianna Fail convention in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore, local community activist and chair of Tullamore Tidy Towns Association, Shane Murray, emerged victorious in a head to head contest with self-employed Clara businessman, Enda Guilfoyle, to fill the position left vacant by the election of Tony McCormack as one of Offaly's three TD's.

Eleanor Clendennen is a school teacher by profession, and is also a highly decorated camogie player with her home club of Kinnity and also with Offaly camogie in her role as a goalkeeper. In recent years she has worked closely alongside her brother, John, in the family-run pub business, Giltraps of Kinnity.

In an Offaly Fine Gael Facebook post, Deputy Clendennen paid tribute to his younger sister and said she will be “a fresh voice as one of the youngest (possibly the youngest!) members of Offaly County Council."He added that he is looking forward to working with his sister and all the Fine Gael Cllrs to “ensure Offaly continues to benefit from the investment and progress it richly deserves.”

Shane Murray is a native of Tullamore who has been deeply involved in a number of community organisations over the years, most notably with Tullamore Tidy Towns Association, of which he is current chairman,

Married to Emer Keegan and with two children, Dónal and Sinead, the new Fianna Fáil Cllr for the Tullamore Electoral Area is an employee of Tullamore Distillery. He previously contested the local elections in 2009, very narrowly losing out on securing a seat on Offaly County Council to another Tullamore native, Cllr Declan Harvey.

Geraldine Grennan
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