Retirement of Laois Councillor sparks sadness in Laois County Council

“I just want to take this opportunity at my final MD meeting to express my sincere thanks to my fellow councillors for the area, the chief executive, management team and the staff of Laois County Council.

It has been a wonderful opportunity to serve the people of the expanded Portlaoise electoral area. I witnessed firsthand the accelerated growth of the town of Portlaoise and indeed the towns and villages around it, not least my own village in Ballyroan. With that growth comes great opportunity, but also many challenges in terms of the delivery of infrastructure and services. I am pleased to have been part of a team in this chamber that responded to the needs of the people of the Portlaoise electoral area. 

As councillors, we get great support from the staff in County Hall and whilst I don’t want to name them individually for fear of forgetting one, they know who they are and I thank them sincerely for their work across each of the areas in the Council. There have been significant successes in developing our County town and I would encourage my fellow councillors to continue to focus on the projects that will make a difference and ensure they we leave our mark from our time in public life. 

They include the development of Portlaoise Library. I mention it because I was lucky enough to work there with so many great staff over the years. The new library on Main Street will be a focal point for the cultural, economic and educational development of the people of Portlaoise and indeed our county and it is imperative that we continue to support projects that give character to where we are from. 

I look forward with great interest to watching your work from afar. I have been very lucky to serve with so many excellent public representatives and officials down through the years. I also want to acknowledge those who have retired or are no longer with us and recognise their legacy. 

In conclusion, I especially want to thank my extended family in Ballyroan for their support and in particular Conor and Aoife. It has been a difficult couple of years for us all but it did allow me the time to make the right decision for us and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.”