New Mayor of Sligo elected

Sligo town has a new mayor and deputy mayor. At Sligo Borough Council's AGM today Cllr David Cawley (FG) was elected for the first time by 8 votes to 4 as Mayor of Sligo.

The youthful accountant was proposed by Cll Matt Lyons and seconded in a pact agreement by the outgoing mayor, Fianna Fáil's Cllr Rosaleen O'Grady.

Cllr Cawley was first elected to the council in 2004 and again in 2009.

Prior to the vote, Cllr O'Grady gave a stirring speech in which she implored the incoming mayor to continue the fight for the restoration of the vital cancer services to Sligo General Hospital.

A second nomination for the coveted and prestigious post came from Sinn Féin's Cllr Arthur Gibbons. He proposed his fellow party member Cllr Chris MacManus whom he said was now serving his third term in fifteen years but because of the pact system between the main parties he had been constantly deprived of the accolade of mayor. His proposal was seconded by Independent Socialist Cllr Declan Bree.

At the ballot Cllr Cawley won by four votes from the 12-person council.




























New Mayor, David Cawley receives his chain of office from outgoing mayor, Rosaleen O'Grady
                                                      Photo: SligoToday.ie

The post of Deputy Mayor went unopposed to Cllr Matt Lyons (FG) who had just completed a year as Deputy Chair of Sligo County Council last Friday.

In his address, Mayor Cawley said ‘I feel extremely privileged to stand here in front of my family, friends and my supporters, on being elected to the office of Mayor. I am proud and honoured to hold the position of First Citizen in my own home town.’

Sligo 400

‘I am assuming the office of Mayor in the midst of our ‘Sligo 400’ celebrations, and I believe this is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the history of our local Council, but also to consider how we can review and refine local government systems to better serve the general public. One of the highlights of the ‘Sligo 400’ celebrations will be the ‘Sligo Summer Festival’on the weekend of 11th August, this will be an exciting and colourful celebration of Sligo, and for me it copperfastens our reputation as one of the country’s finest festival venues.’

Parks and amenities

'As Chair of the Sligo Regional Sports Centre, I see first hand evidence of the vital importance of our sporting and recreational infrastructure and amenities. When you see the scale and quality of our Parks, landscaping and amenity programme in recent years, you get a sense of what this Council can achieve when it invests in our local communities. Taking the Cleveragh area as one example, the development of the football pitches, fitness and activity trail and exercise stations, I think this reflects
great credit on the elected members and staff for overseeing this excellent programme, a
programme which will continue over the next year.'

Community Spirit

'Another, and in my view very significant, source of pride is the spirit of our local residents, community and voluntary groups. As a Director of the Model and Hawkswell, I can see this energy and spirit in the area of arts and culture. But it is equally prevalent in the area of sports, community, music, environment, heritage and countless other local activities, and long may it be so.'
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Team-work

'I’m a great believer in teamwork, and I recognise the many strengths and huge experience of my colleagues. I know that, notwithstanding our varying political views, all of the elected members of Sligo Borough Council are united in one objective - the greater good of Sligo.

'As Mayor, I will work with the elected members and Borough officials, to advance our vision for Sligo in these challenging times to ensure that Sligo develops to it’s full potential as the Gateway City of the North West.

'In conclusion. I again want to thank my fellow Councillors for their contributions over the past years and I look forward to working with you again, especially over the next 12 months to benefit the citizens of Sligo.'