Laois County Council are set to have their newest member after he was officially selected to fill a vacant seat.
Ballyroan native Barry Walsh will take the seat left vacant following the retirement of long-serving councillor Mary Sweeney last year.
He was the only candidate at last night’s virtual convention which was chaired by Minister of State Peter Burke.
Former Councillor Mary Sweeney was present with her daughter Aoife and son Conor.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was also present and he expressed his appreciation for all Mary has done and her incredible record of service. He congratulated Barry and wished him all the best.
Cllr Sweeney thanked everyone for her support. She explained that taking a step back from politics was a hard decision but it was the right decision.
She assured Mr Walsh that she is fully behind him and expressed her heartfelt thanks to all.
Barry Walsh congratulated Mary and recognised her contribution to public life.
Deputy Charlie Flanagan expressed his gratitude and good wishes to Mary for her enormous contribution right across Laois. He recognised Barry’s expertise and offered him his full support.
Mr Walsh, who is aged in his early 40s and is a self-employed Quantity Surveyor, has been involved in numerous community projects in the Ballyroan area.
Educated in Ballyroan BNS and Heywood, he lives in the area with his wife and three young children.
He is the current chairman of Ballyroan-Abbey juvenile GAA club and vice-chairman of the adult club.
He has also been heavily involved with the field development in the local GAA facilities as well as a key figure in organising Ballyroan’s country music festivals in recent years.
Mr Walsh will continue a long tradition of Ballyroan having a member of Laois County Council, following on from both Mary Sweeney and Charlie McDonald who have served before him.
Mary Sweeney – who was first elected in 1999 and was successful again in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 – announced her retirement from local politics last September.
However, she only officially finished in the role at the end of December at which stage the process for finding her replacement began.
Mr Walsh will bring Fine Gael’s numbers in the council back to seven as he joins Willie Aird and Thomasina Connell in the Portlaoise Municipal District as well as Aisling Moran and PJ Kelly from Graiguecullen-Portarlington and John King and current Cathaoirleach Conor Bergin in Borris-in-Ossory/Mountmellick.
The next Local Elections are due to take place in May 2024.
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