A FIANNA FÁIL councillor who has been returned for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court, charged with breaches of local government ethics legislation in relation to a land rezoning issue, was last night elected mayor of Killarney.
Cllr Patrick O'Donoghue (41), who was outgoing deputy mayor, was nominated by fellow Fianna Fáil councillor Brian O'Leary and seconded by Cllr Tom Doherty, also Fianna Fáil.
He was elected unopposed, receiving the unanimous support of his fellow councillors, who include independent, Fine Gael and Labour members.
Mr O'Leary was elected deputy mayor, defeating independent councillor Donal Grady.
Last month, Mr O'Donoghue, managing director of the Gleneagle Hotel group, appeared before the District Court in Killarney on two summonses relating to a motion to rezone the Gleneagle lands in March 2006.
He had earlier appeared before a hearing of the Standards in Public Office Commission. The commission found he had breached ethics legislation and the ethics watchdog sent a report to the DPP on the matter.
The charges he was sent forward for trial on last month are that between January 1st, 2006, and March 6th, 2006, at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, he influenced, or sought to influence, the decision of the council, and also that he failed to withdraw from the meeting at which the rezoning motion was discussed on the night of March 6th, 2006.
In proposing Mr O'Donoghue, Mr O'Leary referred to Mr O'Donoghue's background in tourism and his business acumen, as well as his experience over the past seven years as a councillor.
LIMERICK
After an 18-year wait, one of Limerick's most outspoken Independent city councillors was elected as the new mayor of the city last night. Cllr John Gilligan became the city's 812th mayor in a dramatic turn of events at City Hall that saw Fine Gael's Kevin Kiely, who was expected to secure the post, lose out by a single vote.
The result followed a break in a pact between Fine Gael and the remaining three Labour councillors on the council. Despite the agreement, Labour's Cllr John Ryan voted for John Gilligan, which ensured he had a nine-eight victory over Mr Kiely.
Mr Gilligan, who has had a seat on Limerick City Council for the past 18 years and who had never won the mayoralty before, was nominated by Cllr Lily Wallace, who said her colleague deserved a chance at this "ultimate role".
Mr Gilligan said it took him 18 years to get to this position, but it was "worth every minute of it". The 59-year-old father of five vowed to work for change during his mayoralty.
This would include continuing the development of the commercial heart of the city, supporting the regeneration project to improve housing stock and working to retain Limerick docks as a working port.
Mr Gilligan has also been vocal on the fight against crime in the city and has made repeated calls on Government to improve Garda resources in Limerick.
Fianna Fáil's John Cronin was elected deputy mayor.
CORK
Veteran Fine Gael councillor Brian Bermingham was elected lord mayor in succession to Fianna Fáil's Cllr Donal Counihan, as part of long-standing mayoralty pact between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour.
Mr Bermingham (61) said he was deeply honoured to be elected, particularly as this was the 40th anniversary of the election of his late father, Cllr John Bermingham, as lord mayor in 1968. An adult education officer with Cork city VEC, Mr Bermingham was first elected to Cork City Council in 1979 for Fine Gael and has been re-elected on each occasion since.
GALWAY
Fine Gael candidate Cllr Padraig Conneely was last night elected mayor of Galway city.
He was nominated as an agreed candidate under a Fine Gael-Labour-Green pact, defeating Cllr Michael Crowe (Fianna Fáil) by eight votes to seven.
Mr Crowe had been nominated by Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
Cllr Conneely has been outspoken on issues such as the controversial cost overrun in redesigning Eyre Square.
SLIGO
Labour councillor Veronica Cawley was elected the new mayor of Sligo. She was first elected to Sligo Corporation in 1999 and becomes the fifth woman mayor in the council's history.