Cllr Alan has the cutting Edge to land Mayor’s role

INDEPENDENT councillor Alan Edge has been named as a frontrunner in this year’s mayoral race, ahead of councillors electing the new mayor of South Dublin this week.

The Echo understands that there is a loose alliance between sitting councillors from Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and some independents in South Dublin County Council.

This group is backing Cllr Edge’s nomination for the role of mayor, and the nomination of Fianna Fáil councillor Yvonne Collins for deputy mayor, according to Social Democrats councillor Eoin Ó Broin.

Cllr Edge was elected to South Dublin County Council in 2019 as a first-time election candidate for the Bohernabreena-Firhouse Local Electoral Area.

Prior to this, he spent over six years working as a criminal barrister in London.

As a councillor, he’s a strong proponent of the LGBTQ+ community, of which he is a member, and served as a campaign officer for the Ban Conversion Practices campaign.

He has also litter picked alongside local groups, such as the Dodder Valley Litter Mugs, and supports a ban on blood sports.

Cllr Collins was elected in 2019 for the Rathfarnham-Templeogue ward, is a solicitor and runs a legal practice in Rathfarnham village.

She supports the development of a Metro to serve Rathfarnham, Templeogue, Knocklyon, Ballycullen and Firhouse.

Cllr Collins also litter picks with local groups, including Rathfarnham Tidy Towns, and has an interest in protecting open spaces and playing fields in her area.

The Echo contacted Rathfarnham-Templeogue Fine Gael councillor David McManus to ask if his party will be nominating candidates for the roles of mayor and deputy mayor.

“The Fine Gael group [in SDCC] has yet to meet, sit down and discuss it,” he replied on Monday afternoon. “There’s no decision made as yet.”

The incumbent mayor of South Dublin, Cllr Emma Murphy, will hand over the mayoral chains to the newly elected mayor for 2023/2024 following a vote at an AGM in the council chamber on Friday, June 30.

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