Pupils don’t get a word in at council meeting

APPROXIMATELY 50 Kilrush Community School pupils sat through their first Kilrush Town Council meeting last Thursday morning.
For the first time since the town council was established in 1885, a meeting was held in the local secondary school. After seven of the nine town councillors who attended had addressed the pupils at length on how the council operated, pupils presented a petition requesting the provision of a pedestrian crossing on the Cooraclare Road.
Councillors assured them that they would look into the possibility of providing the crossing just outside the entrance to the school.
Because the town councillors had addressed their audience in such detail, however, pupils had no opportunity to ask any questions of their visitors. The meeting started at 9.30am and had to conclude at 11am, as the hall where it was held is also a cafeteria.
The meeting was also addressed by Kilrush town clerk John Corry, who told pupils that if they had any query with regard to how local government worked in Kilrush, they could contact the town hall or attend any of the upcoming monthly meetings.
Councillors Paul Moroney and Ian Lynch, both former community school pupils, addressed the meeting, as did councillors Tom Prendeville, Liam Williams and Liam O’Looney.
Mayor of Kilrush, Marian McMahon Jones, informed the pupils what her mayoral role involved, while Councillor Mairéad O’Brien urged pupils to become more environmentally aware and get involved with Kilrush Tidy Towns.