This article is from page 37 of the 2007-12-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
MAYOR of Clare Cllr Patricia Mc- Carthy was guest of honour at the last Kilrush town council monthly meeting of 2007.
The Kilrush native thanked the town councillors for affording her the honour. “We all remember where we come from and | am very hon- oured,’ she said.
Describing her as “a fine lady and politician” mayor of Kilrush Cllr Tom Clyne (Ind) said *“*“We are very proud of you here in Kilrush.”
The councillors all paid tribute to the mayor’s handling of the “Shan- non Crisis” and Aer Lingus’s plans to move the Heathrow slots to Belfast.
“IT admire Patricia for the stance she has taken on Shannon Airport and the hospital. Patricia is always at the forefront to put up a fight,” said veteran Cllr Jack Fennell (Ind).
‘For this year we couldn’t have had a better mayor,’ said Cllr McMahon fey itete
“I don’t think anyone could have done a better job.”
Cllr Deirdre Culligan said, “I was so proud of you down in O’Connell Street Limerick at the Shannon pro- test and to see you speak.”
Fellow county councillor Tom Prenderville (FF) also paid tribute to the Shannon councillor and mayor.
“You have been a marvellous am- bassador for County Clare,” he said.
“She has never forgotten her roots. I remember Patricia in Clare County Council in full voice in defence of Kilrush.”
“Patricia McCarty is one of those people who could size up something and go in and fight and it may not al- ways be the popular thing.
‘She was a great loss to Kilrush and I would love to have worked beside her in the Kilrush electoral area.”
“I know Sissy Roughan (former chair of Kilrush Town Council) would have been very proud.
“I love her to bits and not only be- cause we were classmates but because she has great honesty,” he said.
“I don’t recognise myself in half of what has been said because I can
be very stubborn and very thick and very argumentative,” said Mayor McCarthy with a laugh.
She told the councillors that Kil- rush was a great example of a town in transition.
While it was a bustling market town in her youth, the closure of the West Clare Railway hit the west Clare capital hard, but things have improved in the last year.
“It is good to see it coming to the fore again and people investing in the town.”
“There was an element that took control of Kilrush for a while. I am glad that has being reversed and the community had now taken back con- trol.”