Athlone-Moate Municipal District has a new Mayor

Kilbeggan-based Cllr Liam McDaniel is the new Mayor of Athlone-Moate Municipal District, taking over from his FF party colleague Cllr Aengus O'Rourke.

The Fianna Fáil representative was elected first citizen of the sprawling electoral district at the council's AGM which was a hybrid meeting with some members in the chambers and others calling in online on Monday afternoon.

Proposing him for the top job, Ballymore's Vinny McCormack stated that Cllr McDaniel is a popular and hardworking councillor for many years, coming into this chamber from the Mullingar side following the change electoral boundaries two years ago.

Heavily involved in community groups, he quipped that Cllr McDaniel is hugely popular in GAA circles, even more so now that he has given up refereeing matches.

That proposal was seconded by Green Cllr Louise Heavin, who said that he has been a huge support in her time on the local authority, and he will be a great Mayor.

She stressed that it is also good to have a Mayor from the other side of the district, underlining the importance of towns like Moate and Kilbeggan having focus and representation.

On taking the hot seat, Cllr Liam McDaniel said he was “honoured and proud” to become Mayor of Athlone-Moate Municipal District, thanking his fellow members for their support and guidance since he came into local politics five years ago, something he was unsure about at the time, but he is very glad now that he did.

Looking forward to the challenge of the year ahead, he thanked his family - his wife Ann, who was in the chamber, and daughter Nicola, before speaking movingly about his late mother May, who passed away on May 28 last in her 90th year.

“She gave me probably the best advice of all about going into politics. She said, 'if you're no good at it, you'll find out quick enough'. She said you should be honoured that you're being asked to represent the people, and I suppose that's what I took, that simple advice, and I'm happy I listened to her.”

He also thanked an excellent outgoing Mayor, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, and he pledged to continue to tackle the issues like illegal dumping and housing brought to the fore by him on a district-wide basis during his term.

Referring to the fact that he represents the rural end of the district, the Kilbeggan man said that Athlone-Moate Municipal District is probably one of the biggest outside of the big urban areas, and he wants to ensure that every area from Athlone to Rathowen to Rahugh to Ballinahown and Tang get the “best service” from the council.

“I look forward to serving the area as Mayor and continuing the excellent work achieved over the last two years,” he commented before receiving best wishes from the members and the executive for his term.

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, who received huge praise for his Mayoral stint in hugely difficult circumstances, was elected Deputy Mayor after he was proposed by Green Cllr Louise Heavin and seconded by his party colleague, Cllr Frankie Keena.

Earlier, the outgoing Mayor declared the past year "a real honour" despite the way Covid brought tragedy and changed everyone's life.

"As mayor it has been exceptionally busy, albeit in a different way, there were very few events or gatherings to attend but I have never been as busy with representations and contact from the public.

"The amount of contact I received in this past year was simply colossal and at times to be honest, it was almost unmanageable. The role of a councillor is no longer a part-time one, that now is a myth. It is without doubt a full-time role where availability is quite often expected 24/7, 365 days a year," he noted.

"I used the past year as an opportunity to link in closely, albeit remotely most of the time, with Residents Associations and community groups as much as possible and therefore getting close to these all-important organisations. They are doing great work and deserve all the support we can give them."

He said the subjects that he received most contacts on were dumping, housing and anti-social behaviour - in that order.