The new Lord Mayor of Cork is Mr Damian Wallace of Fianna Fail. He was elected first citizen last night as a result of a 20-year pact between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour, the dominant members of the city council.
Independent members, including the Green Party, have opposed the arrangement. The Progressive Democrats, who have two members on the council, the Green Party, which has one member and Sinn Fein, which has a newly-elected member, Mr Don O'Leary, have no chance of achieving the mayoralty, but the major parties have agreed to offer some olive branches.
From now on it will be open to the Independent members and the representatives of the minor parties to take seats on many other boards, including the Vocational Education Committees, the South-West Regional Authority, the board of Cork Opera House and various school boards. ail TD and Junior Minister, Mr Dan Wallace, as Lord Mayor of Cork. He is one of three families who have had a father and son elected to the City Council. His father was elected as first citizen in 1985 during the year of the Cork 800 celebration.
The former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Peter Barry, became Lord Mayor in 1970 and he had succeeded his father, Anthony, who was elected to the same office in 1961.
Mr Sean French Snr became Cork's Lord Mauyor in the 1940s and Sean Junior occupied the position in 1976. Mr Wallace said after his election that his priorities would be to address issues of homelessness, housing and litter in Cork city, which had become a serious problem.
"We must make people responsible for the litter problem and we must show them that we are serious about it."
The electoral pact between the major parties ensures that next year there will be a Fine Gael lord mayor, the following year the office will revert to Fianna Fail and then the Labour party is assured of the office. Mr Wallace (30) runs his own financial consultancy business.
Also yesterday, Cllr Rosaleen O'Grady of Fianna Fail was elected Mayor of Sligo by a single vote. Six members of the Borough Council voted for Ms O'Grady, including the three Sinn Fein members, Alderman Sean McManus, his son, Cllr Chris McManus and Cllr Arthur Gibbons.
Labour's Alderman Declan Bree, a former Sligo Leitrim TD, received five votes, including those of the three Fine Gael members. Fianna Fail Cllr Seamus Dolan abstained, thus avoiding a tie should he have supported Alderman Bree.
The election of Deputy Mayor, an office being filled by the council for the first time, took a humorous twist when the name of Alderman Bree came out of the hat after a tie between Sinn Fein's Alderman Sean McManus and Cllr Matt Lyons of Fine Gael, both of whom received six votes each. Alderman Bree's name had, apparently, been unintentionally placed in the hat earlier in anticipation of a tie for the office of mayor. The name of Alderman McManus was eventually drawn for Deputy Mayor.
Cllr Declan McDonnell of the Progressive Democrats was last night elected Mayor of Galway, by a 9-6 majority thanks to a pact between his party and Fianna Fail to rotate the mayoral chain.
Currently the national chairman of the PDs, the city accountant defeated newly elected Labour Party Alderman Catherine Connolly, who was also supported by Fine Gael members. For the previous eight years, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael had operated an agreement to share the office. Meanwhile, Limerick has its first Fianna Fail Mayor in eight years when Cllr Jack Bourke (66) was elected by 10 votes to seven for Alderman Pat Kennedy, Fine Gael.
The new Mayor received the support of the three Labour members and Cllr Kathleen Leddin (Ind), wife of Mr Tim Leddin, a former Fine Gael member who retired this year. The new Alderman Michael Kelly (Ind) and Cllr John Gilligan (Ind) voted with the five Fine Gael members for Alderman Kennedy.
Mr Bourke is, with Alderman Kennedy, one of the longest-serving members of the City Council, having been elected 32 years ago. He has been mayor on two occasions, in 1967 and 1986.
Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon (FF) was elected Deputy Mayor. The new Mayor of Wexford is Mr Ken Howlin (53), the older brother of Mr Brendan Howlin TD. He was elected last night in the first pact mayoral election in the town for nearly 15 years. Since 1985 FF and Labour have rotated the mayoral chain between them.
Sinn Fein councillors have been elected to the chairmanship of two Urban District Councils in Co Monaghan.
Cllr Owen Smyth is the new chairman of Monaghan Urban District Council where Sinn Fein makes up the largest group.
Cllr Jackie Crowe has been elected chairman of Castleblayney UDC where Sinn Fein has two seats. Cllr Crowe is also a member of Monaghan County Council.