LAHINCH man Liam Grant is set to fill the seat on Clare County Council that was left vacant following the resignation of the Green Party’s Susan Crawford.
Mr Grant is set to be co-opted at the Council’s October meeting, and will be the third person to fill the Green Party’s sole seat on the Council, with Ms Crawford having succeeded Róisín Garvey who is now a Senator.
According to information provided by the local section of the Green Party this week, Mr Grant is an Earth & Ocean Science graduate, who has run his own surf school and a technology company in the past.
He has also qualified as an EMT and beach lifeguard, while he currently works as a retained fire fighter in Ennistymon and as a vaccinator.
An avid surfer, he is also a GAA player.
Speaking ahead of his co-option, Mr Grant said, “It is a great privilege and a very humbling experience to represent the Green Party in West and North Clare.
“This truly is an honour and I am looking forward to getting stuck in and working with the other Councillors .”
“As an Earth & Ocean Science graduate I am very passionate about the environment, particularly when it comes to water. I want to put an end to beaches being closed in the county due to high levels of bacteria in the sea. That we aren’t dumping raw sewage into our oceans or leaving people with contaminated drinking water. We need to bring our water and wastewater infrastructure into the 21st century.”
He also drew attention to the housing crisis.
“More of my friends have left the country than own a house. I feel like just as many of my school friends have taken their own lives as own their own home.
“This is something that upsets me deeply. The housing crisis is stopping young people from progressing their lives and we need to offer them a future. Starting with affordable housing.”
“Since the dawn of the Covid 19 pandemic I have been helping people in a number of different jobs. As a beach lifeguard, vaccinator and firefighter. I have really enjoyed serving the community on the ground and I believe I can continue to help people in my new role as Councillor.”
The seat was originally won by Róisín Garvey and Mr Grant said he will work closely with the Inagh woman.
“As the Green Party Councillor I look forward to working in tandem with Senator Garvey.
“Róisín has already done tremendous work in the area and we share a similar vision for the future.
“With sea swimming becoming ever more popular I would like to see the development of tidal swimming pools, similar to that seen in Belmullet and Bundoran. Greenways have been incredibly successful in other parts of the country and Clare needs to catch up.
“The pandemic has shown us how great it is to exercise outdoors and we need to invest in projects that encourage it.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.