‘The ultimate honour’ — Fianna Fáil councillor chosen to lead Thurles district for coming year
A Tipperary councillor has said it is the “ultimate honour” to be chosen to lead his district for the coming year.
Fianna Fáil councillor Sean Ryan was elected to the position of Cathaoirleach of the Thurles Municipal District at the June meeting, marking his third time holding the role.
Cllr Ryan was proposed for the role by fellow-Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Smith, and seconded by Fine Gael’s Willie Kennedy, and said that he steps into the role in an exciting time for the district.
“I want to acknowledge the support of my family, my colleagues and the people of this district,” Cllr Ryan said.
“I especially want to thank the people of my home parish Moycarkey-Borris who continue to inspire the work we do every day,” he added.
Cllr Ryan takes over the chair from Cllr Peggy Ryan, who held the post for the last year, with the incoming Cathaoirleach paying tribute to her.
“You represented our district with distinction and you have done yourself, your parish, and your family proud,” he said.
“This is an exciting time for our district, with several projects in the pipeline. The public realm at Castle Street, Roscrea is set to undergo extensive work, hot on the heels of a new library in Templemore, a masterplan is being developed for phase one of the new business park for the town, while in Thurles we have the opening of Market Quarter,” Cllr Ryan said.
Speaking to the Irish Independent after his election, the Fianna Fáil councillor said that it was a great honour to be selected to lead the district for the third time.
“It’s a huge honour to get elected, and I’ve been elected twice - in 2019 and 2024 - but to get the Cathaoirleach of your district is the ultimate honour,” he said.
Cllr Ryan said he has a number of key priorities for the year ahead.
“I’d like to see Turtulla Cross developed, it’s an area that’s a national road, it’s very dangerous so something needs to be done about it.
“I’d also like to see the CCTV advanced for my home area of Littleton, it was 10 years ago we got the funding for it, but because of the GDPR quagmire, we haven’t been able to get that project over the line.
“I’d also like to see something done with the public realm and the dereliction in my home village of Littleton, it’s something that I hold dear and that I’d love to see done,” he added.
Cllr Ryan said that housing would also remain at the top of his list of priorities, adding that in Tipperary, and in the Thurles Municipal District, there isn’t enough housing for people.
“I hope that housing delivery will continue and we’ll get more houses for people because it is the biggest issue that I get contacted on every day, and at the moment we just don’t have enough homes for people, and that’s something I’ll be pushing,” he said.
Councillor Shane Lee was elected to serve as Leas-Cathaoirleach, after being proposed and seconded for the role by Cllr Michéal Lowry and Cllr Jim Ryan.