'One hell of a guy': Tributes paid to departing engineer

Councillors in the Claremorris Municipal District have paid tribute to a departing area engineer and called for Mayo County Council's human resources section to advance the recruitment campaign for a replacement.

Cllr Damien Ryan said the loss of Kenneth Morley, who is departing the local authority, will be the gain of another administration.

“Kenneth demonstrated how to get things done in a cohesive way and how to leave things better than you found them,” he said. “He was always about getting stuff done and had a great ability to work with people and individuals in the communities on the ground.”

Cllr Ryan called on the council to fill the vacant role as quickly as possible and said there should be an overlap period where Mr Morley works with his successor.

“We can’t lose all of his expertise and skill and so the new engineer should work directly with him.”

Cllr Michael Burke said Mr Morley continuously showed great leadership in his role.

“He always offered a reasonable solution to any problem in our area and I would like this meeting to send out a message of appreciation to him, he was one hell of a guy.”

Cllr Patsy O’Brien said Mr Morley would be a huge loss and always ensured the area got the most out of its funding allocations.

Head of the municipal district Padraig Flanagan paid tribute to Mr Morley on behalf of his council colleagues.

“He is a massive loss to the council. There has been no better official at dealing with the public,” he said.