Councillor Peter Kavanagh elected mayor of South Dublin

By Maurice Garvey 

INDEPENDENT councillor Peter Kavanagh was elected Mayor of South Dublin County Council on Friday evening, vowing support for action on green policies, equality, inclusion and looking forward to an “exciting 12 months ahead.”

Cllr Kavanagh takes over the reigns from Cllr Ed O’Brien (FF), who held the position for the last year and handed over the mayoral chains to Clondalkin man Kavanagh following the vote.

Cllr Peter Kavanagh from Clondalkin announced as new mayor this evening 

A vote amongst the 40 members of the chamber saw 26 in favour of Cllr Kavanagh, six votes for Cllr Ronan McMahon (Ind) and seven abstentions.

Cllr Kavanagh was nominated by Fianna Fáil and the Green group.

Fine Gael nominated Independent councillor Ronan McMahon for mayor.

Outgoing mayor Ed O’Brien congratulates new mayor Peter Kavanagh in council chambers this afternoon

The ruling group of the council (FF/FG/Green) came under fire from some members for putting forward two nominations for the roles on mayor and deputy mayor.

Cllrs Mick Duff and Pamela Kearns (Lab) said it was a sign that the ruling group was “fractured”, with long term Cllr Duff noting it was the first time he saw such a move, despite a commitment in place by the ruling group to nominate a Green Party member for mayor in the third year of the council.

Cllr Ed O’Brien thanked all for their support during his term in a challenging year, emphasising his respect for the “significance of the office.”

SDCC Chief Executive Daniel McLoughlin praised Cllr O’Brien as “fantastic in everything he did” in the role as mayor and that he was delighted to stand beside him.

Green Party councillor Laura Donaghy was elected deputy mayor.