Independent councillor Ben Brennan will chair the Graiguecullen-Portarlington Municipal District of Laois County Council for the next 12 months after he was elected to the position at this afternoon’s AGM.
After a 3-3 tie between himself and Fine Gael’s PJ Kelly, the two names were put into a hat – with Cllr Brennan the one ultimately drawn out by Gerry Murphy, Director of Services in Laois County Council.
Cllr Brennan’s election to the role comes after he had been unsuccessfully nominated for chair or vice-chair every year since he was first elected way back in 2009.
“Fourteen years trying,” said Cllr Brennan when the results were announced. “It had to go my way eventually. If you keep kicking it in around the square, you’ll eventually get a score!”
An agreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, who had four of the six seats in this district, had been in place since 2014 meant they divvied up the various jobs between them.
But Aisling Moran’s decision to leave Fine Gael and vote with Cllr Brennan and Sinn Féin’s Aidan Mullins meant that it was split down the middle.
This year’s AGM followed on from the drama of last year when Cllr Moran, despite being with Fine Gael at the time, was supported by Cllrs Brennan and Mullins. On that occasion, though, Cllr Paschal McEvoy’s name was drawn out of the hat and he served as chairperson for the year, finishing up in the position today.
Two years ago, Cllr Brennan was actually elected as vice-chair in a bizarre scenario that saw Cllr Moran decline her own nomination and instead propose Cllr Brennan.
The saga is a now-annual event at the AGM of this particular district of Laois County Council where Cllr Aidan Mullins proposes Cllr Brennan. Previously the numbers were stacked against them though they did appeal for the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael side to end “the unfairness” and “exclusion politics”.
“Before we go to an election, I’m making an appeal for the 10th year in a row (the length of time he is in the council) and proposing Ben Brennan,” said Cllr Mullins.
“I’m asking once again for the opportunity to give Ben a shot. I’m just asking for once to step outside the norm of how we operate.”
Sitting chair Paschal McEvoy (Fianna Fáil) said he respected Cllr Mullins’ stance but that “we take part in the system”. “Other parties would do the same.”
As it turned out, after the procedure where Cllr McEvoy, Cllr Padraig Fleming and Cllr PJ Kelly all voted for Kelly and Cllr Mullins, Cllr Moran and Cllr Brennan voted for Brennan, the draw was made.
The same process was followed for the vice-chair, where again it finished in a 3-3 tie between Cllr Mullins and Cllr Fleming. Again the luck of the draw went in favour of the challengers with Mullins’s name drawn from the hat.
Cllr Moran declared the result “absolutely brilliant”, saying that both councillors are “so passionate about your areas”. “You’re here to make people’s lives better.
“I could nearly cry, I’m that delighted for you.”
Prior to the vote, outgoing chairman Paschal McEvoy was roundly praised for his contribution over the past year.
The Municipal District meetings now take a break for the summer months with the next meeting set to take place on Wednesday, September 13.
A full County Council meeting takes place this coming Monday.
SEE ALSO – Check out more stories here from Laois County Council
