Cathaoirleach hosts council in his native Belmullet

High praise rang out for the Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council as he hosted a meeting of the local authority on his home turf of Belmullet on Monday week last, May 11.

Welcoming councillors, staff and members of the press to the lovely surroundings of the Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Cllr Sean Carey said it was a "a great day" for Erris and he wished to thank everyone who had made the long journey to Belmullet for the meeting.

“This is just an indication and a flavour of the distance we in Erris have to regularly make to attend meetings, but we are honoured to be in the position we are to represent our communities," he said.

In a series of tributes that followed, Cllr Carey was celebrated by his councillor colleagues for having presided over an outstanding year of representation for Mayo with commitment, dedication and integrity, as they noted his natural eloquence and gift for speech making, his willingness to travel to public events far and wide, his courtesy, impartiality, professionalism and exemplary comportment in office, his generosity and accommodation of all speakers at meetings, and above all, his aptitude for conveying a deep passion for his home county and the people of Ireland, at home and abroad.

Cllr Carey’s colleague in Erris, Cllr Gerry Coyle, declared: “There is only the one political party here in Erris and that is the Erris party and both of us do our best to represent it and people should be very proud that they made a wonderful choice to send you back to Mayo County Council as Cathaoirleach."

Addressing the councillors, staff and other guests, Cllr Coyle said: “You are all welcome here today where you get to see we live in the most beautiful part of the world. The rest of ye have to pay a few pound to stay here but we live here and have a pride of place in Erris every day.” 

With the business of the day concluded over the space of two hours, the gathering then shared a celebration dinner in the Broadhaven Bay Restaurant, during which additional tributes were paid to the Cathaoirleach, his family, friends and supporters, as the sun blazed outside across the spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Leas Cathaoirleach, Cllr Ger Deere, was also remembered for ably stepping in to represent the Cathaoirleach on occasions during the year as needed, as members sent best wishes to him on his current health journey and expressed hopes the Castlebar councillor would return to the fray very soon.

Director of Services Joanne Grehan, on behalf of the council executive, also thanked Cllr Carey “for being such a fantastic Cathaoirleach in this past year”.

“We very much appreciated your leadership, dedication and service at home and abroad and at events small and large where you always turned up and were a wonderful ambassador. You are a gentleman to work with, and we also thank Cllr Deere very much for his contribution throughout the term.”

Acknowledging the kind words, Cathaoirleach Carey also paid particular tribute to Cllr Deere, noting he had represented Mayo so well during the council visit to Milwaukee the previous summer, and especially thanked Head of Corporate Development and Communications Martina Hughes for help and guidance and for organising his schedule during the year, saying: “Having such support makes things easier and the job more enjoyable and I very much enjoyed the last 11 months and look forward to the remaining few weeks of the term.” 

He continued: “I travel a lot of the county and thought I knew all corners of Mayo but over the year I discovered many new ones and it is great to see all the work being done in the different communities and the many volunteers who help out and keep these groups going. They work tirelessly behind the scenes, it takes great work and effort, and many are exceptionally good at it and are the driving force of the whole county. Each community is pushing for its own area and rightly so, because to run anything, it takes money and assistance and that is what is needed and we try to help them along the way.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.