‘From council chamber to burial grounds’: Tenanty balances dual roles as Ardee Cathaoirleach and funeral undertaker
Changing roles is part of everyday life for Jim Tenanty.
Newly elected Cathaoirleach of Ardee Municipal District, he brings more than three decades of experience as an independent councillor to the role.
But in the mid-Louth town he is perhaps best known for his job in dealing with the grief and loss of local families.
It’s a strange mix, an undertaker, and a political representative for the town he loves. The dual roles often intertwine, as tragedies make headlines, and council debates.
Yet, behind the scenes, he may be working with a devastated family to bury their loved one.
“It’s a stressful job, a really busy one, and you are dealing with families at the worst time,” he tells independent.ie.
At times, the transition between the two roles can be abrupt.
“I had to change my clothes to get to the annual Ardee Municipal meeting,” he says
Elected Cathaoirleach at the district’s AGM, he was nominated by Cllr John Sheridan and seconded by Cllr Rachel Kerley, who now assumes the role of Leas-Cathaoirleach.
“I’m very grateful for the nomination,” he said. “I’ll be as fair as I can too everyone and work as best as I can with council officials to help progress Ardee.”
A veteran of local politics, Cllr. Tenanty has now served three terms as Cathaoirleach at municipal level and held the position on four occasions when Ardee had its own town council.
While politics has evolved over the decades, he believes his connection to the area remains unchanged.
“Politics has changed so much,” he adds. “But I am local, and I am on the town every day, so people will always see me about.”
It’s a “big responsibility,” he admits, especially for a town like Ardee which is on the cusp of so much progression.
“It’s not just a title, but a role you have, to represent the whole community.”
The top three issues for the town? “Bypass, bypass, bypass,” he adds, saying that the proposed new road is “key to unlocking just about everything Ardee needs to progress.”
“People aren’t talking about much else, to be honest. If you get the potholes fixed and housing sorted, they are the big issues. But the progression of the town all comes down to the Ardee by-pass.”
Businesses are closing, he explains, as passing traffic isn’t providing much footfall.
The mid-Louth town does indeed have the unenviable reputation for traffic log-jams.
As a Louth rep on the AILG (Association of Irish Local Government), he highlights the telling response when he explains where he lives. “They say ‘oh that clogged up town that you can’t get through, avoid it all costs!”
It’s a reputation that a growing town “really doesn’t need” he admits.
“There’s been so much expansion, and so much new housing over the years, with many new families coming to live in the area. Progression is happening, but we desperately need the by-pass for the town itself to thrive.”
The glaring lack of hotel or tourist accommodation is another major issue for Ardee, he argues.
The issue has come into sharp focus this week, as a visiting delegation from Nettuno in Italy — Ardee’s twinned town — is unable to stay locally due to limited capacity.
“They have to stay in Dundalk because there are only about six beds available in Ardee,” he said.
“It’s shocking that visitors can’t stay in the town they are twinned with.”
With Louth County Council’s new tourism strategy being launched this week, Tenanty says he intends to push the issue.
“We really need to address this if we’re serious about tourism,” he added.