Seamus Kilgannon returns to Sligo County Council as he is co-opted for a third time

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The vacancy on Sligo County Council left with Tom MacSharry’s elevation to the District Court bench will be filled by former councillor Seamus Kilgannon following a convention held by the Fianna Fáil party on Tuesday night at the Sligo Park Hotel..

Speaking in the wake of his victory over Finbarr Filan, by 27 votes to 11, Mr Kilgannon paid tribute to his defeated opponent and outlined what he hopes to achieve during his time as an elected representative.

No stranger to political life, Mr Kilgannon was twice previously co-opted onto Sligo County Council and also served two spells as Cathaoirleach.

Reflecting on his victory, Mr Kilgannon admitted he was confident but also stressed he was never over-confident.

“It was a resounding victory, I had great support from the delegates,” he acknowledged. “You never know in conventions or selections, you just don’t know how people might change their mind. I had enough promises to get me over the line but there was campaigning going on right up until the last day. I was confident enough but not overly confident.”

Outlining how the process took place Mr Kilgannon said, “Finbarr and myself were brought into the room where the votes were counted and told the result and then they go back into the convention centre and announce it.”

A familiar face in local political circles, Mr Kilgannon alluded to his unsuccessful bid for election in 2024 and felt that good showing indicated there was sufficient support for him to try once more.

“I did stand in that area two years ago and was unsuccessful along with Tom MacSharry. I was a late entry into it because I was stepping in to fill the vacancy left by Cllr Rosaleen O’Grady when she withdrew on health grounds. The fact that I went for it two years ago, when it came up again I thought, why not test the water and see would I get co-opted and that’s what I did.”

While understandably delighted to have secured enough votes to clinch victory, Mr Kilgannon was magnanimous in victory when paying tribute to Mr Filan saying, “I have to commiserate with Finbarr, I know what’s it like to lose as well as to win and I must say it was a lovely, clean campaign.

"We all just went out and talked to the delegates and that was the end result. He was very honourable and I have no doubt he will be around to fight another day.”

With his victory in the ballot secured, attention quickly turned to returning to County Hall and taking his seat in the Council Chamber with Mr Kilgannon commenting, “Even before our selection convention they had it on the agenda for next Monday so I will have to present myself to the Council and I will be delighted to do so on Monday morning before the start of the meeting and apparently it is the second item on the agenda.”

Mr Kilgannon acknowledged housing remains an issue that needs to be addressed but he remains upbeat and positive when speaking about Sligo as a place to live and work.

“I’m very impressed with the amount of progress that has been made in the last number of years with money that is coming to Sligo with projects. I know everyone is telling me there is a huge housing crisis but as you drive around Sligo it is lovely to see the amount of sites opened up and the amount of houses being built and I certainly would be anxious to see that continuing and I will be supporting every effort that can be made to lobby for more and more funding to see can we help correct the housing crisis in Sligo.”

Sligo’s new found status as a ‘University Town’ is one that Mr Kilgannon is particularly proud of and he believes this will prove to be very beneficial for the region.

“We’re a University town and I did play my part, I spent my whole working life in the sector. I started off in the RTC, it became an Institute of Technology and I was on the governing body around the time it was formed into a University. I think that’s a mighty vote of confidence for this region that we can call ourselves a university town and have our young people study and graduate in their own town and then when they do graduate there are a number of industries and jobs around that they don’t have to leave and emigrate and bring their skills abroad.

“I will certainly be promoting that and I am member of the Sligo Leitrim Education Training Board and they are doing wonderful work in the whole area of further education and training plus also with the schools.

"Now there is a huge emphasis in the whole area of apprenticeships so I certainly will be anxious to help and do what I can to promote that where people can get skills that they can go worldwide if they wish but there is a shortage of skilled people now. If you look to get a plumber or an electrician they are just not there. We have to redouble our efforts in that area to get more and more people trained up so that they can get full employment.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.