Dún Laoghaire Cllr stands down in time for Local Elections
Issued: 19 Deireadh Fómhai 2007
Statement by Kealin Ireland
Green Party Dún Laoghaire Councillor Kealin Ireland has announced her intention to resign her Council seat to make way for a new candidate for the Local Elections 2009.
Announcing her decision today, which will take effect from next week, Cllr Ireland said: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to contest the 2009 Local Elections and it makes sense to me to step down well ahead of polling day. I’ve had four great years. It has been an absolute privilege to represent the people of Dún Laoghaire. However, it’s now time to pass the mantle on to someone else who is equally passionate about local democracy and the environment.”
Councillor Ireland was elected for the first time in 2004, but was previously co-opted on to the Council following the death of Vincent McDowell in 2003. During her time on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Kealin worked on a range of issues; most prominently on the preservation of Dún Laoghaire Golf Course as a green space and, more recently, on the controversial issue of the proposed ten-storey development on the site of Dún Laoghaire Baths.
Councillor Ireland said her greatest achievement on the Council was to ensure that the high-rise private development on the Baths’ site did not go ahead. “When the development was first proposed in 2005, it was welcomed with open arms by every other political party. I was the only councillor to condemn it from the start. A year later, with the perseverance of Save Our Seafront and other groups, the proposed development was shelved and a modest, three storey public amenity was finally agreed.”
Councillor Ireland’s replacement on Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is to be Gene Feighery, a community activist in the greater Dún Laoghaire area. Ms Feighery founded Combined Residents to Save Open Space (CRSOS), an organisation originally established to save Dún Laoghaire Golf Club. CRSOS expanded over the years and now works with almost fifty residents’ associations in the county to lobby on a range of open space and amenity issues. Ms Feighery will take up her new role in November.
Councillor Ireland says that she remains hugely committed to the Green agenda and will continue to work enthusiastically with the Party and Ms Feighery to ensure maximum success in 2009.