A photo that says much about Mayo politics

As she sat there surrounded by 22 men, Cllr Annie May Reape was very much the outlier.

At the 2025 Mayo County Council Cathaoirleach's Awards in Breaffy House Hotel earlier this month, all the cathaoirligh of the council since the turn of the millennium were honoured. It was a nice touch and added to the evening, although I think it would have been more fitting to honour all living cathaoirligh. The 2000 cut-off point eliminated two councillors who held the chain of office in the late 1990s, Pat McHugh from Ballindine and Pat Kilbane from Achill. That was an unfortunate oversight.

But as Annie May Reape took her place alongside 20 former male cathaoirligh, current Cathaoirleach Cllr Seán Carey and Mayo County Council chief executive Kevin Kelly, it was a vivid demonstration of how much women have remained bystanders in local politics in Mayo.

Plenty at our table were simply stunned that there was only one woman up there. Annie May Reape is, incredibly, the only female to be elected as the first citizen of our county. It was a damning indictment and, while not news to those who cover the council beat, seeing it so starkly laid out in Breaffy House was striking.

So, too, was the amazement about this reality from so many whom we met. There was obvious respect for such a trailblazer as Annie May, who did not hold the office today or yesterday but actually at the turn of the millennium, from 2000-2001.

As such, she was the second former cathaoirleach called up on the night, after Stephen Molloy, and as more men followed, the contrast became ever more apparent. She also stood out, as one lady at our table observed, for being ‘wonderfully glamorous’ – although Newport’s Frank Chambers, in a cream suit, ran her close in the fashion stakes.

Overall, it was all a reminder of how closed off Mayo County Council has been to women and continues to be the case.

Currently, there are only five women on the council out of a total of 30. Cllr Reape, who has been there since 1991, Cllr Donna Sheridan, Cllr Alma Gallagher, Cllr Deirdre Lawless and Cllr Marie Therese Duffy. Only three of those councillors were elected in the 2024 local elections. Cllr Lawless was co-opted after her brother, Paul, was elected to Dáil Éireann, while Cllr Duffy succeeded her brother following his election to Seanad Éireann. So a ten percent return from the electorate.

Those figures are not hugely out of sync with previous elections. In 2019, only two women were elected, five in 2014, four in 2009 and three in 2004.

The five women elected in 2014 was an outlier but it must be added that two of them went on to the Oireachtas subsequently – Rose Conway-Walsh and Lisa Chambers. Indeed, Michelle Mulherin is another whose council term was a stepping stone to Leinster House.

For the few women that have been elected to Mayo County Council, the strike rate of those who went onto Dáil Éireann is quite pronounced.

Right now at Dáil level we have two female TDs for the first time ever, in Rose Conway-Walsh and Keira Keogh, both of whom were at the Cathaoirleach Awards. That two other women were considered to be in with a chance of taking seats at various points in the build-up – Lisa Chambers and Martina Jennings – is also very encouraging. It shows that sufficient Mayo voters will back capable women when they put themselves forward.

So it would be wrong to say the low numbers elected are simply down to reluctance from the electorate. Mayo voters have elected very capable female politicians. The bigger problem is who can actually enter the arena in the first place.

The scarcity of women in public office in Mayo is not just a cultural problem. It also reflects how difficult local politics has become for people who do not have work flexibility and those who feel it is hard to make a difference given the erosion of local government budgets and authority.

The Cathaoirleach's Awards are a very worthy enterprise. They celebrate the largely unseen and unheralded work done by volunteers, community groups and organisations on the ground in Mayo. In a time when getting people to volunteer is harder than ever, the importance of highlighting those who give to their communities is vital.

It also underscores how many capable and hardworking people there are in our communities, as there are in the business and sporting spheres.

From my time reporting on the ground in Mayo, I have encountered scores of people who would make a profoundly positive contribution to Mayo County Council if they stood and were elected. But they do not have the first notion of standing. This is not just women but plenty of their male counterparts too.

There is decent remuneration for county councillors but, realistically, not enough to justify it as a full-time job. It means those looking to sit on the council have to have flexible working situations. It is no surprise to see that an assessment of the 30 current Mayo county councillors shows, by our estimates, that 19 of them are either self-employed or retired. Of the rest, most have jobs with decent levels of flexibility to enable them to attend meetings when required.

So you can easily see how many people simply cannot go forward. Add in the fact that the power of local councillors has been greatly eroded – they are among the weakest in Europe in terms of the budgets they can control. Add in that the abolition of town councils has added to the workload. Add in the abuse anyone in public office is likely to receive nowadays, particularly online. If they have young children, they might ask if they could reasonably juggle another ball in the air.

All these criteria apply across both genders but are particularly pronounced for women.

Far too often, our brightest and best are discouraged from running. There are some very capable councillors in Áras an Chontae but it is no stretch to say there are plenty too that do not inspire confidence.

Local democracy in Ireland is a vital aspect of our society but its power and relevance has been gradually stripped away. It makes it easy for hurlers on the ditch to say ‘what is the point?’. It is worth protecting, but it also need to be properly resourced.

I’ve written in the past that the council chamber is too ‘male, pale and stale’. That photo in Breaffy House was not just a picture from the past. It is a salient reminder of the importance of making local democracy more inclusive for all and, therefore, more representative of the Mayo that the council serves.