FORMER county manager Joe Boland passed away last week in his hundreth year and following his death, there have been many tributes paid to him and the contribution he made to Clare.
Lissycasey’s PJ Kelly has been a county councillor since 1974 and for the first nine years of his career he dealt regularly with Mr Boland, who he said had been responsible for several great innovations, which improved the quality of life for many people in Clare.
“He arrived in the 1960s and at that stage there were a lot of thatched houses in Ennis. He was involved in four major improvement schemes at the Turnpike, St Michael’s, Marian Avenue and Hermitage.
“As far as rural Clare was concerned he was a step ahead of his time. He arranged a water scheme from Doolough Lake which served most of west Clare, it was one of the biggest schemes in the country at the time.”
“Then in 1978 he brought in what they called the £9,000 grants for community projects. Because of that every parish in the county ended up with a GAA field, and some with two GAA fields.
“Again, he was light years ahead of neighbouring counties. When the 1984 GAA centenary celebrations took place, every club in the county had its own field, whereas when he took over in the 60s there were only a handful.”
Referring to the qualities he brought, Councillor Kelly said, “He led the way, he loved a challenge, he was very much an innovator and motivator.
“He was a very quiet man, at meetings he was very, very quiet, a good listener. He also ran a very cost effective Council.”
In an online tribute on rip.ie former Clare Champion journalist Tony Mulvey and his wife Margaret said he had made a major contribution to preserving access to the Cliffs of Moher.
“His contribution to local government as Clare County Manager for many years until his retirement was outstanding. Some of the amenities throughout the county which people now enjoy were due to his foresight. He will also be remembered for saving access to the Cliffs of Moher for future generations. When a German business man was about to buy land in the vicinity of the cliffs in 1964, Joe moved quickly to acquire some of the property close to the cliffs for Clare County Council, thus making sure that people would continue to be able to visit the world famous attraction.”
“Our sympathy to the Boland family on the passing of a great man.”
A native of Ballylongford in County Kerry, Mr Boland was predeceased by his wife of 65 years, Catherine and by his brother Art. He was a father of four, Arthur, David, Caitriona and Rosita. He had seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
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.