Councillor claims colleagues are seeking back-door medals when it come to Mayoralty
Local councillor Niall Dennehy has reiterated his stance on the position of Mayor of the Clonmel Borough District by claiming that there is no Mayoralty and his elected colleagues are seeking ‘back-door medals’ in relation to the position having been comprehensively beaten in the 2014 championship.
Cllr Dennehy was referring to the abolishment of the old Corporation/Borough Council in 2014 and with it the standing of Mayor, stating that there was widespread support across the entire community for a poll to be carried out on the return of the old format.
Cllr Dennehy said that some of the elected representatives present at this week’s Clonmel Borough District meeting had previously had the privilege of being elected Mayor of the centuries old abolished Corporation/Borough Council.
“Some of us continue to seek back-door medals having been beaten in the championship in 2014,” said Cllr Dennehy. “There is no longer a championship, there is no All-Ireland, there is no mayoralty, there is no medal,” he claimed.
In response to Cllr Dennehy, Mayor Michael Murphy said the abolishment of the Boroughs Councils and the status around them was a mistake and he strongly supports any moves to reinstate Clonmel as an independent borough that can act within its own autonomy but said he took issue with Cllr Dennehy’s back-door medal reference.
“I think everyone saw the emotion when I received the Mayoralty. Not withstanding the changes that have been made it is enshrined in the appropriate statutory instrument. I don’t see my role as some way of wearing some kind of medal. For me it is about taking the baton from the outgoing Mayor of the time, driving the combined ambition and vision that we have for our town, acknowledging the opportunities but also acknowledging the challenges and then being committed to that role.