Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam elected as new Lord Mayor of Dublin
Councillor Ray McAdam Elected as the New Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Councillor Ray McAdam Elected as the New Lord Mayor of Dublin. At this evening’s annual meeting of Dublin City Council in City Hall, Councillor Ray McAdam was elected the 358 th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding Councillor Emma Blain.
Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam has been elected as the 358th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding Councillor Emma Blain.
He was elected with the backing of 34 of the 63 councillors at this evening’s annual meeting of Dublin City Council (DCC), with Sinn Féin’s Kourtney Kenny garnering 22 votes.
While Fianna Fáil councillor John Stephens has been elected as Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Mr McAdam laid out a five-point plan to improve life for Dubliners in his first speech as Lord Mayor, focusing on issues like dereliction, city centre rejuvenation, inclusion and sport under the banner: Celebrating Dublin.
The Cavan man wants to launch a Lord Mayor’s Commission on a project he is calling Dublin 2050, which will develop a long-term vision for the city centre.
Councillor McAdam said: "As Lord Mayor, I want to challenge this council, every councillor and official present, to reimagine and reclaim our city centre, street by street. And what better place to begin than O’Connell Street.
"O’Connell Street should be a destination, not merely a thoroughfare or or a space we pass through, but a civic heart where people gather, they feel safe, they can celebrate. And where they belong.”
He said the street’s turnaround would begin this summer, as it played host to “music, festivities and pride”.
The Lord Mayor said: “Cities across the world are being reshaped by post-pandemic life, changing how we shop, move, gather, and live. Dublin can’t drift - it must lead. This Commission will bring people together from every part of city life to ask one central question: what should Dublin’s city centre feel and look like by 2050?”
He currently serves as chair of the council’s Protocol Committee and has served as leader of the Fine Gael group on Dublin City Council for seven years, most recently following the June 2024 Local Elections.
He is also a member of both the Housing and the Mobility and Public Realm Strategic Policy Committees.
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Over the next 12 months, Mr McAdam also pledged to build a statue on O’Connell Street honouring the role of women in securing Irish independence.
He also committed to creating a publicly-accessible Dublin vacancy map and pushing for the reuse of empty buildings.
"Let’s treat dereliction as a civic emergency, and respond with the ambition it demands,” he said.
A focus on accessibility and inclusion will also form part of his agenda, along with the establishment of a new platform called Let Dubliners Speak that would platform the views of young people in the capital.
In attendance for the swearing in of the new Lord Mayor was Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, who McAdam previously served as parliamentary assistant.
Several councillors made swipes at Mr Donohoe during proceedings, criticising government for a lack of funding for local councils and Ireland’s poor ranking in European league tables on local government.
The Lord Mayor was born in Cavan and raised in Northern Ireland, where he was educated at St Michael’s College, Enniskillen. He studied Philosophy and Political Science at Trinity College and worked in sales and as a political aide to Minister Paschal Donohoe before entering elected office.
McAdam will open a Book of Condolence at the Mansion House from Thursday 3 July to Friday 4 July for people to extend their sympathies to the family and the Capuchin Community of Brother Kevin Crowley.
Known across Ireland for his work helping the poor and homeless, Br Kevin founded the Capuchin Day Centre, based on Bow Street in Dublin, in 1969.
The Book can be signed 11am to 4pm on Thursday 3 July and 10am to 4pm Friday 4 July.
The Lord Mayor said, “It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Brother Kevin Crowley, Freeman of Dublin and one of our city’s most compassionate and selfless figures.
"Brother Kevin’s lifelong service to the people of Dublin — especially through the Capuchin Day Centre — stands as a beacon of kindness, dignity and quiet strength.
“He met need with generosity, hardship with humanity, and always treated every person who came through the door as an equal”, he added.