1916 Lecture Series comes to Dundalk tomorrow night

Following on from successful events in Ardee and Dunleer, the 1916 Commemoration Lecture Series visits Dundalk tomorrow night.

Organised by Dundalk and District Old IRA Commemoration Committee, the event in the Old Gaol will be the third in a series of eight to commemorate the lead in to 2016 and the centenary of the Easter Rising.

On the night Conor Keelan and Donal Hall will give lectures on Seán MacEntee and the Hughes brothers, respectively, all of whom had links to the former Dundalk Urban District Council either as employees or as Councillors.

The series then moves to Newry on November 6th where there will be a lecture on Patrick Rankin, the only participant from that area to partake in the Rising. Four days later in The Shirley Arms in Carrickmacross, Terence Dooley will give a lecture concerning the 100th anniversary of Pearse’s visit to the town.

The series then moves to Drogheda before Christmas where Tom Reilly, author of a biography of Joseph Stanley, will give a lecture on his life.

In the New Year two additional lectures conclude the series. Mary Gallagher returns to Drogheda to discuss the Ceannt connections with the area and Liam Reilly will give a lecture on Volunteer activity in South Louth that same evening.

Finally Ruth Sweetman, a descendant of the O’Rahilly family, will give a lecture on the family in Carlingford.

All are welcome to attend tomorrow night’s event, which gets underway from 8pm.

1916 Commemoration Lecture Series is launched in Dundalk

The 1916 Commemoration Lecture Series was launched in Jocelyn Street in Dundalk this afternoon.

Organised by Dundalk and District Old IRA Commemoration Committee, the lecture series will be held on a regional basis to commemorate the led in to 2016 and the centenary of the Easter Rising.

The first venue is in Ardee on September 21st where Mary Gallagher, a descendant of Eamonn Ceannt, will give a lecture on his life and links to Ardee. Rosemary King will also give a lecture on Joseph Dolan, a significant business person in the Ardee area and who also assisted those in the Volunteer movement the same evening.

The second venue is Dunleer where Ailbhe Rogers will give a lecture on Cumann na mBan and volunteer activity in Mid-Louth on October 5^th.

The series then moves to the Old Gaol in Dundalk on October 22^nd where Conor Keelan and Donal Hall will give lectures on Seán MacEntee and the Hughes brothers, respectively, all of whom had links to the former Dundalk Urban District Council either as employees or as Councillors.

The series then moves to Newry on November 6th where there will be a lecture on Patrick Rankin, the only participant from that area to partake in the Rising. Four days later in The Shirley Arms in Carrickmacross, Terence Dooley will give a lecture concerning the 100^th anniversary of Pearse’s visit to the town.

The series then moves to Drogheda before Christmas where Tom Reilly, author of a biography of Joseph Stanley, will give a lecture on his life.

In the New Year two additional lectures conclude the series. Mary Gallagher returns to Drogheda to discuss the Ceannt connections with the area and Liam Reilly will give a lecture on Volunteer activity in South Louth that same evening.

Finally Ruth Sweetman, a descendant of the O’Rahilly family, will give a lecture on the family in Carlingford.

Maria Doyle elected new chair of Dundalk Municipal District committee

Cllr Maria Doyle

Fine Gael councillor Maria Doyle was last night elected the new chair of the Dundalk Municipal District at a meeting in the Town Hall.

She succeeds Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Declan Breathnach in the role, becoming the first female to hold the position since the abolition of Dundalk Town Council in May 2014. Maria pipped Sinn Féin’s Cllr Kevin Meenan to the position.

The Municipal District is the successor to the old Dundalk Town Council and is made up of those elected in the Dundalk South and Dundalk Carlingford constituencies.

Maria, from Lis na Dara, first became a public representative in 2011 when she took over the Dundalk Town Council seat vacated by Senator Jim D’Arcy.

The CBS primary school teacher will be assisted in her role by Fianna Fáil’s Conor Keelan, who was elected the new vice-chair. A former chair of Dundalk Town Council, he takes over the role from the Green Party’s Cllr Mark Dearey.

Sinn Féin motion to remove chairperson’s allowance in Dundalk is defeated

Cllr Edel Corrigan

The chair of the Dundalk Municipal District Committee will continue to receive an annual allowance of €12,000 after a vote to remove it was defeated last night.

The sum was approved following last year’s local elections but Sinn Féin councillor Edel Corrigan looked to overturn that. However, her motion was defeated by seven votes to six after much discussion and debate.

The five Sinn Féin members on the committee – Cllrs Corrigan, Jim Loughran, Jennifer Green, Kevin Meenan and Tomás Sharkey – all voted to scrap the allowance and were supported by independent councillor Maeve Yore.

However, the remaining members of the committee – Cllrs Mark Dearey, Conor Keelan, John McGahon, Peter Savage, Declan Breathnach, Marianne Butler and Maria Doyle – opted to keep the allowance by voting against Cllr Corrigan’s motion.

Cllr Corrigan told LMFM this morning that she felt it was the people’s money and she could see no justification for such an allowance. She vowed her party would continue to oppose the allowance.

Commenting on the matter to Talk of the Town, Cllr Maria Doyle said: “Sinn Féin hold several chairs on both Municipal District Committees and Councils throughout the country, for which they receive sizeable allowances, and which they have not sought to abolish or even reduce.

“My argument at last night’s meeting was that they do not have a coherent national policy in relation to this issue and are only seeking to reduce the allowances on the Councils and Committees on which they do not hold Chair positions. Sinn Féin will soon take up the Chair of Dublin City Council which has an allowance of €65K on top of the basic salary. I won’t hear them seeking to abolish that.

“They currently hold the Chair on Dublin South Council and the Sinn Féin Councillor Fintan Warfield received an additional €30K for holding that Chair.  Finally, Sinn Féin Councillor Imelda Munster is currently Chair of the Housing SPC of Louth County Council which pays her €6K per annum in additional to her salary. That committee are obliged to hold only 4 meetings per annum.”

New look Louth County Council to meet for the first time this morning

The offices of Louth County Council

The first meeting of the new Louth County Council will take place later today.

This will be the first gathering of the local authority since the recent local elections and the abolition of the town and borough councils.

At the meeting the first chairperson of the new look council is expected to be decided.

The new council is made up of the following:

Dundalk South (7) – Tomás Sharkey (Sinn Féin), Declan Breathnach (Fianna Fáil), Maeve Anna Yore (Independent), Kevin Meenan (Sinn Féin), Jennifer Green (Sinn Féin), Maria Doyle (Fine Gael), Marianne Butler (Green Party).

Dundalk Carlingford (6) – Edel Corrigan (Sinn Féin), Peter Savage (Fianna Fáil), Jim Loughran (Sinn Féin), John McGahon (Fine Gael), Mark Dearey (Green Party), Conor Keelan (Fianna Fáil).

Ardee (6) – Pearse McGeough (Sinn Féin), Colm Markey (Fine Gael), Liam Reilly (Fianna Fáil), Tom Cunningham (Sinn Féin), Dolores Minogue (Fine Gael), Jim Tenanty (Independent).

Drogheda (10) – Imelda Munster (Sinn Féin), Paul Bell (Labour Party), Alan Cassidy (Sinn Féin), Tommy Byrne (Fianna Fáil), Kenneth Flood (Sinn Féin), Frank Godfrey (Independent), Kevin Callan (Fine Gael), Oliver Tully (Fine Gael), Richie Culhane (Fine Gael), Pio Martin Smith (Labour Party).

Adams thanks Louth electorate

Gerry Adams

Sinn Féin president and Louth TD Gerry Adams has thanked local voters for the support they showed the party in last week’s local and European elections.

The party returned their best ever result in an election poll with 10 of their 11 candidates earned seats on Louth County Council and the unlucky JJ Quigley only missing out by just four votes to Fianna Fáil’s Conor Keelan.

Adding to a great weekend for Sinn Féin in the area, Carrickmacross man Matt Carthy also got elected to the European Parliament having topped the poll in Louth.

Commenting on the matter, Deputy Adams said:

“I want to thank all those who voted for our local team of Louth County Councillors and for Matt Carthy for Europe. I also want to thank all our party workers, their families and all our candidates in Louth. Sinn Féin stood 11 candidates for Louth County Council and 10 were elected. I want to thank JJ Quigley for his hard work and commitment and his family for their support.

“Sinn Féin is now the largest party on Louth County Council, as well as across the island of Ireland. In the EU election Sinn Féin took 483,113 votes and four EU Parliamentary seats. The party now has 262 Councillors and is the largest party on eight councils.

“We are committed to using our growing mandate of Councillors, TDs, MEPs, MPs, and MLAs wisely and in the interests of citizens.

“Sinn Féin will also keep the commitments we made to the electorate.

“It is clear increasing numbers of citizens are seeking a new kind of politics. Some combination of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil has been in government since the foundation of this state. The old way of doing politics, as practiced by these parties, has failed.

“The message arising out of the elections is that citizens want change. They have rejected the ‘consensus for cuts’ represented by Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil. The electorate has endorsed Sinn Féin’s message that there is a fairer way.

“The result is also an endorsement Sinn Fein’s message of the need to reinvigorate the Peace Process and for an agreed, united Ireland.

“The huge vote for Sinn Fein also marks a profound change in the political landscape in this state. The Government dismisses this as a protest vote or, as the Taoiseach claims, a sign of frustration by the electorate. This is wrong. The Government has been sent a very clear message. They do not have public support for the damaging policies they are implementing.

“The voters have called time on this government. They should change political direction or call a General Election.”

Tenanty claims final seat on Louth County Council

Jim Tenanty

Jim Tenanty held off the challenge of fellow independent Hugh Conlon to take the last seat on the new Louth County Council following yesterday evening’s recount at the Redeemer in Dundalk.

Just 23 votes had separated the pair in the Ardee electoral area on Sunday night, leading to Conlon calling for a recount.

However, it failed to change the outcome, with Tenanty holding on to take his seat on the new local authority.

That leaves things as follows:

The party breakdown reads as

• Sinn Féin – 10 seats
• Fine Gael – 7 seats
• Fianna Fáil – 5 seats
• Labour Party – 2 seats
• Green Party – 2 seats
• Independents – 3 seats

Meanwhile, the new council is made up of the following:

Dundalk South (7) – Tomás Sharkey (Sinn Féin), Declan Breathnach (Fianna Fáil), Maeve Anna Yore (Independent), Kevin Meenan (Sinn Féin), Jennifer Green (Sinn Féin), Maria Doyle (Fine Gael), Marianne Butler (Green Party).

Dundalk Carlingford (6) – Edel Corrigan (Sinn Féin), Peter Savage (Fianna Fáil), Jim Loughran (Sinn Féin), John McGahon (Fine Gael), Mark Dearey (Green Party), Conor Keelan (Fianna Fáil).

Ardee (6) – Pearse McGeough (Sinn Féin), Colm Markey (Fine Gael), Liam Reilly (Fianna Fáil), Tom Cunningham (Sinn Féin), Dolores Minogue (Fine Gael), Jim Tenanty (Independent).

Drogheda (10) – Imelda Munster (Sinn Féin), Paul Bell (Labour Party), Alan Cassidy (Sinn Féin), Tommy Byrne (Fianna Fáil), Kenneth Flood (Sinn Féin), Frank Godfrey (Independent), Kevin Callan (Fine Gael), Oliver Tully (Fine Gael), Richie Culhane (Fine Gael), Pio Martin Smith (Labour Party).

Drama at count centre as Keelan pips Quigley to final seat by just four votes

Some of the victorious Sinn Féin team at the count centre on Saturday with party leader and local TD Gerry Adams. From left: Edel Corrigan, Pearse McGeough, Gerry Adams, Imelda Munster, Tomás Sharkey, Jennifer Green, Tom Cunningham and Alan Cassidy

Conor Keelan won the final seat in Dundalk Carlingford by just four votes from JJ Quigley

There was drama at the local election count in the Redeemer last night after a recount was ordered to decide who took the last seat available in the Dundalk-Carlingford constituency.

In the end history repeated itself as Fianna Fáil’s Conor Keelan saw off competition from Sinn Féin’s JJ Quigley to take the final seat by just four votes – the same margin that independent councillor Alan Grehan pipped Fianna Fáil’s Donal Lynch by following a similar recount five years ago.

Initially there had been just two votes separating the pair before the recount but it failed to change the outcome.

The failure of Quigley to get elected was the one downside to what was an otherwise fantastic weekend for Sinn Féin, who saw 10 of their 11 candidates elected, with poll toppers in each of the four electoral areas.

As is always the case in elections, there were casualties with established councillors such as Eamonn O’Boyle, Jim Ryan, Jim Lennon, Finnan McCoy, Martin Murnaghan, Linus English, Michael O’Dowd, Sean Bellew and Oliver Morgan all losing seats.

For the first time there is the possibility also of a husband and wife team on the council with Sinn Féin’s Jennifer Green elected in Dundalk South, while her fiancé Alan Cassidy was elected in Drogheda.

Sinn Féin aside, the big winners included independent Maeve Anna Yore and Fine Gael’s John McGahon and Maria Doyle, who secured seats on their debut elections.

It was also a good weekend for the Green Party, with both Mark Dearey and Marianne Butler retaining their status.

The only remaining seat still to be decided is in Ardee, where a recount will take place this morning at 10am at the request of Hugh Conlon, who lost out on the final seat to fellow independent Jim Tenanty by just 23 votes.

The party breakdown look as follows:

• Sinn Féin – 10 seats
• Fine Gael – 7 seats
• Fianna Fáil – 5 seats
• Labour Party – 2 seats
• Green Party – 2 seats
• Independents – 3 seats

There will also be a record number of women representatives, with seven female councillors elected.

As things stand the new County Council will look as follows:

Dundalk South (7) – Tomás Sharkey (Sinn Féin), Declan Breathnach (Fianna Fáil), Maeve Anna Yore (Independent), Kevin Meenan (Sinn Féin), Jennifer Green (Sinn Féin), Maria Doyle (Fine Gael), Marianne Butler (Green Party).

Dundalk Carlingford (6) – Edel Corrigan (Sinn Féin), Peter Savage (Fianna Fáil), Jim Loughran (Sinn Féin), John McGahon (Fine Gael), Mark Dearey (Green Party), Conor Keelan (Fianna Fáil).

Ardee (6) – Pearse McGeough (Sinn Féin), Colm Markey (Fine Gael), Liam Reilly (Fianna Fáil), Tom Cunningham (Sinn Féin), Dolores Minogue (Fine Gael), Jim Tenanty/Hugh D Conlon (Independent).

Drogheda (10) – Imelda Munster (Sinn Féin), Paul Bell (Labour Party), Alan Cassidy (Sinn Féin), Tommy Byrne (Fianna Fáil), Kenneth Flood (Sinn Féin), Frank Godfrey (Independent), Kevin Callan (Fine Gael), Oliver Tully (Fine Gael), Richie Culhane (Fine Gael), Pio Martin Smith (Labour Party).

Full results for each electoral area are also available on the Louth County Council website – Dundalk Carlingford, Dundalk South, Ardee, Drogheda.

End of an era as Dundalk Town Council holds last ever meeting

Members of the last Dundalk Town Council with council officials at last night’s meeting in Dundalk Town Hall

It was the end of an era last night as Dundalk Town Council held its last ever meeting at the Town Hall.

The local authority has been in existence for 115 years from 1899 to the present but will cease to exist from next month as Louth County Council is due to take over the running of the town after Friday’s local elections as part of a government cost-cutting initiative.

A special Mass was held in St Patrick’s Cathedral last night to mark the occasion, followed by a reception in the Town Hall where a plaque was unveiled by Cllr Eamonn O’Boyle, the council’s last ever chair, marking the 115 years of the Town Council.

Presentations were also made to retiring councillors Martin Bellew and Harry Todd, while there was also a presentation made to the council’s last Town Clerk, Frank Pentony.

The last ever council consisted of: Martin Bellew (Independent), Eamonn O’Boyle (Fine Gael), Jennifer Green (Sinn Féin), Harry Todd (Sinn Féin), Maria Doyle (Fine Gael), Oliver Morgan (Independent), Conor Keelan (Fianna Fáil), Mark Dearey (Green Party), Jim Ryan (Independent), Kevin Meenan (Sinn Féin), Marianne Butler (Green Party) and Sean Bellew (Fianna Fáil).

Dundalk Town Council chairman Cllr Eamonn O’Boyle makes a presentation to Town Clerk Frank Pentony

Dundalk Town Council chairman Cllr Eamonn O’Boyle unveils a plaque in Dundalk Town Hall marking the council’s 115 year existence alongside retiring councillors Martin Bellew and Harry Todd

 

This week’s Dundalk Leader

This week’s Dundalk Leader leads with the story of the one-year anniversary of the killing of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe. There’s also coverage of the queue for Garth Brooks tickets on Park Street, while Fianna Fáil councillor Conor Keelan has called for an anti-dog fouling initiative in the town.

All that and more in this week’s Dundalk Leader, which can be read online for free here.