Sean Gillan, former city manager of Waterford and later county manager of Roscommon, died recently. He was memorable not only for his tall and gracious figure, but also as an outstanding colleague of unyielding integrity and commanding vision.
Sean was born in Newport, Co Mayo, in 1909. Having completed his secondary education with distinction, he graduated from UCD in arts, education and library studies cum summa laude. He also undertook military training with the OTC.
After a short spell working in Maynooth Library and the Irish Press, he obtained a position as an English teacher at the Christian Brothers secondary school in Dingle, Co Kerry. During the 1939-45 Emergency he joined the LDF and was company leader of "B-Company" in Dingle, and later promoted district staff officer. He also co-founded the Dingle Development Committee, which he served as honorary secretary from 1939-45.
It was this experience which prompted his change of career to local government. In 1945 he began as a social assistance staff officer with Galway County Council. Early in the course of this work at Kilronan, his offer of "social assistance" - i.e., a ride on his hired jaunting car to a young English lady, Pauline Courtney - proved a lifelong journey. He married Pauline 18 months later in 1947.
His promotion in local government was rapid. In 1947 he became town clerk of Athlone, and within two years was appointed town clerk of Galway, in November 1948.
In Galway he effectively reversed the major housing shortage which existed at that time. During these years, his accessibility to townspeople seeking help, housing or grants became legendary. His social concern frequently extended well beyond official work. In the mid-1950s he very effectively spearheaded the fundraising for the GAA Pearse Stadium in Salthill.
Sean's energy and vision did not go unnoticed. John Garvin, the then Secretary of the Department of Local Government, described him as "the most promising local government officer of the day". In 1959 he was appointed by the Minister for Local Government as city manager to Waterford, which had dramatic fiscal and other difficulties. His resilience, however, won him significant respect, both locally and among colleagues.
Here again, the pressing need was for housing development in a city without space. Through major land purchases he achieved expansion of the city borough, which not only opened a solution to the housing problem but also enabled the development of a planned industrial estate, the first of its kind within a city or town in Ireland, and a model in its own time. These type of estates have since become an important part of town planning.
In 1966 he was appointed to Roscommon. It had become an era of county development teams: facilitating tourism (in areas such as Lough Key), housing, halting sites for travellers, EEC grant opportunities - all of which he embraced with enthusiasm. Roscommon, his final posting, had another, personal meaning. His mother, who inspired his altruism, was from the county. She was a McPartland from Lisanoran Farm at Hillstreet, with a family tradition of social concern going back to Famine times.
Sean was very much an indigenous West of Ireland man with a mercurial humour and vigour. His deep Christian faith, shared by his wife Pauline, was never ostentatious but found expression through deed and action. His striding style and passionate sense of public duty left an indelible glow in the minds of his pupils and colleagues alike.
Ar Dheis De go raibh a anam usail.
J.F.C. & J.E.G.