Kilrush loses county council representation

Review

ON the morning of June 5, 2009, Kilrush was represented in the Clare County Council chamber by Fianna Fáil councillor Tom Prendeville.

However, by 1pm the following day, it was becoming crystal clear that the town would not have a councillor serving it during the 2009–2014 term.
“The bottom line is really we weren’t judged on our community service and our public service,” the Cappa town councillor told The Clare Champion in the Kilrush Youth Centre as the election count unfolded.
Although returned to Kilrush Town Council on the third count, Councillor Prendeville felt that the Kilrush electorate had judged him on national issues.
“Some of us who gave exceptional service have been penalised for the sins at national level. It shows maybe in one sense a certain immaturity on the part of the electorate that they haven’t recognised the distinction between national politics and local politics. And okay that’s fine, I accept their decisions, as do all colleagues across Clare and across Ireland,” he said.
“Personally, I believe that maybe people were more in tune with what was happening in Dublin than what was happening in West Clare. I think that’s a pity in many ways because I think that we have lost a lot of our public representatives and I actually feel in my heart and my soul that maybe the messenger was shot in this case. We weren’t judged on our service to the community over the past five years. At local level, in particular, people have taken their eye off the ball and I think they have penalised good public representatives and that’s a pity,” Councillor Prendeville added.
There was also significant change at Kilrush Town Council level, with four first-time councillors returned.
Independent Paul Moroney and Fine Gael’s Liam Williams and Ian Lynch were all elected following the first count in what was the trio’s first town council election contest.
Outgoing Independent town councillor Tom Clyne was also elected on the first count, having easily passed the quota of 153. Councillor Clyne pulled in 174 first preference votes.
Mairéad O’Brien, Independent, beat PJ Hanrahan (Independent) by just three votes (119–116) on the 12th count. However, Councillor O’Brien had to first survive a full recount.
The remaining councillors who were elected were Tom Prendeville, Liam O’Looney and Stephen O’Gorman, all Fianna Fáil and Marian McMahon Jones, Fine Gael.
A dramatic political year in Kilrush concluded at the December meeting of Kilrush Town Council when Councillors Prendeville and Clyne left the meeting, protesting that democracy had been eroded.
This claim was linked to the change in council standing orders, when the allotted time for speaking on a motion was reduced from 10 minutes to five.