Keena ‘proud’ as his Mayoral term comes to an end

The outgoing Mayor of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, Cllr Frankie Keena, spoke this week about his pride in being 'first citizen' of a town in which he was "born, reared, educated and worked," during his closing address to members at the conclusion of his one-year term of office.

Prior to passing on the Mayoral chain to his successor, Cllr Vinny McCormack, at Monday's Municipal District AGM, Cllr Keena said it was "a great honour" to attend numerous community events in his capacity as Mayor and thanked the many voluntary organisations who "contribute to the fabric" of the local area.

The outgoing Mayor noted the ongoing success of his Junior Mayor initiative which, he said, continues to play a prominent role in the educational lives of primary and secondary school students in the district.

"Having started the Junior Mayor initiative eight years ago it is great to see such strong participation from local primary and secondary students who have the opportunity to learn about local government and to raise issues of environmental concern to the local authority.

"The student voice is so important as we look towards the future," Cllr Keena said.

The Fianna Fáil representative reflected upon a number of key developments which made significant progress during his term as Municipal District Mayor.

"With housing a major issue in the district, it was great to see a number of residential developments granted planning permission. As Mayor I was delighted to sign the contract for the start of construction on the Plovers Wood housing development at Brawny. It is hoped that progress on this massive housing scheme will start shortly."

The outgoing Mayor also spoke of his "honour" at being present in Providence, Rhode Island, for the formal twinning of the US city with Athlone in March of this year.

Cllr Keena called for further progress to be made on the district's active travel programme, which he said would result in an easing of traffic congestion on the approach roads into Athlone.

"This issue has been personally prioritised at a number of district meetings and, while we have received presentations, it is essential that this work continues. We still have a long way to go with the ultimate solution being the provision of identified link roads throughout the town," Cllr Keena said.

The outgoing Mayor focused on the need to progress regeneration plans for the west side of Athlone "as a priority," while welcoming the "planned action" to be taken on the long-vacant former VEC building on Northgate Street "pending planning permission approval".

Cllr Keena also referenced his involvement with fellow councillors in the "unprecedented legal action" taken against the State's development of a proposed new accommodation centre for up to 1,000 male asylum seekers in Lissywollen.

"We have so far attended the High Court on seven occasions, with the case still pending," Cllr Keena said.

Commending the support received from the Municipal District executive in his capacity as Mayor, Cllr Keena also thanked his fellow elected representatives for the support shown to him during his term as 'first citizen'.