This article is from page 18 of the 2007-07-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
FAMILIAR faces will occupy the top spots in Ennis Town Council for the next 12 months following last Thursday’s AGM.
As expected veteran Independ- ent councillor Tommy Brennan was elected Mayor of Ennis.
Alongside him, filling the role, as Deputy Mayor is another experi- enced campaigner, Fianna Fail coun- cilor Peter Considine.
Proposed by fellow Independ- ent councillor Frankie Neylon, Cllr Brennan saw off a rival mayoral bid
from another Independent, Taiwoo Matthew.
The Nigerian born councillor was nominated by Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn.
However when it came to the crunch, Cllr Matthew found himself outflanked. A vote of the nine mem- ber council resulted in a 6-2 victory in favor of Cllr Brennan.
Green Party Councillor Donal O’Bearra abstained from the voting process. Cllr Peter Considine (FF); Cllr Tommy Brennan (Ind); Cllr Mary Coote Ryan (FG); Cllr Frankie Neylon (ind) Cllr Tom Glynn (FF)
and Cllr Joe Reidy (FF) voted for Cllr Brennan.
Cllr Coote Ryan’s party colleague Johnny Flynn and Cllr Matthew vot- ed for CUr Matthew.
Accepting the chain of office, Cllr Brennan commiserated with Cllr Matthew, saying his time would fey nates
He said, “I’d like to thank the peo- ple of Ennis who have elected me to the council 28 years ago and all those who supported me. Cllr Mat- thew, there will be other days. I was elected 22 years before I became Mayor of Clare”.
Cllr Matthew’s hopes of a consola- tion prize in the form of the Deputy Mayor position were then dashed when that position was conferred on Cllr Considine. Cllr O’Bearra nomi- nated Cllr Matthew while departing Mayor Cllr Joe Reidy proposed Cllr Considine. Three votes – Cllr Mat- thew, Cllr O’Bearra and Cllr Flynn – were cast in favor of Cllr Matthew with the remaining six going towards Cllr Considine.
Cllr Considne said, “It is unfortu- nate there are clashes like this in the council but in the fullness of time everyone will achieve the position of
Mayor. I was in the council 16 years before I got there”.
Earlier, Cllr Matthew had called for a change of mindset in the Council. He stated newer members should be given the chance to take up office.
He said, “Experience doesn’t come to everybody without them first get- ting a shot. Everyone in this chamber is competent enough to be a Mayor or Deputy Mayor, everyone elected has the ability. In the spirit of fair- ness we have to have a second look at how we do things”’.