Local Faces: Anne May

REGULAR readers to this feature will be familiar with my fondness for Ballyfermot, writes Ken Doyle.

Having grown up down the road in Clondalkin, yours truly was educated in good old Dublin 10.

It could be said that Ballyer is responsible for all of the success I’ve had in my life, and my standing in society today.

Imagine my excitement then to find out that Ballyfermot has a new Honorary Lord Mayor.

Her name is Anne May and she’s one of those great people that has made Ballyer such a cohesive and strong community for many years now.

It was a giddy thrill for me to get the scoop and sit down with Anne to hear the story of how a Ballyfermot girl from Clifden Road rose to inherit the mayoral chains (for a year) and represent her beloved community at all manner of political and social bunfights throughout 2026 and some of 2027.

Before Anne tells us her story, I’ll just add that she is one of those people who absolutely refuses to accept any individual praise.

She’s Ballyfermot to her boots and about as far as one could ever be from a braggart.

Modest to a fault. As well as being disarmingly honest she’s hilariously funny too.

Before we start, she tells me somewhere ominously, “My mother always said I was trouble with a capital T and I can assure you I still am!”

As is traditional around here, we start with Anne’s early days.

“Well I’ve lived in Ballyfermot my whole life, on Clifden Road in fact.

‘I did my Junior Cert and my grades were fine, but school wasn’t really for me.

‘I was 16 when I got my first job working for First Electroplating in Chapelizod.”

“From there, I took a job at a place called Cheesebrough, who made Vaseline.

‘The company merged with Pond’s some time later to become ‘Cheesebrough-Ponds’ and then, almost inevitably, the company was bought out by Unilever in 1987 and moved out of Ireland.

Sadly, soon after, a period of ill-health curtailed Anne’s employment options, so she did what all proper Ballyer girls do.

She recalibrated, adjusted her sights, and got stuck in with the voluntary work which would prove to be so valued by her bosses and peers.

“I did and I also made sure that otherwise I continued to do the things I loved doing.

‘I went to tons of concerts, went travelling and so on. I did what I could, when I could. I still had a great time.”

Presently, the Nineties arrived and Anne got involved in her first piece of voluntary work when she put herself forward to help out in a class in the Dominican College for members of the Traveller community.

“I taught arts and crafts to all of the youngsters present and I was immediately hooked.

‘It was a great experience and the kids were really getting something out of it.”

Of course, there was no stopping her after this. “I then got involved with a disabled drama group over in Cherry Orchard and that was another wonderful project I was really proud of.

‘I really loved helping out and I became involved with more groups and initiatives, just helping out and being an extra pair of hands or a friendly face whenever that was needed.

“Then, five years ago, I got a mobility scooter and life changed again.

‘Suddenly I was able to get to places I couldn’t before.

‘It was great to be able to get out to see and meet people.

‘The problem was that I could now see a lot of the issues disabled people have to face every day.

‘I soon got to my first forum meeting in Ballyfermot and quite strongly raised the issue of disabled access to local buildings and public areas.

‘It’s really not complicated. The government are always talking about inclusion.

‘When disabled people can’t get to events because of the infra-structure, well, it’s not very inclusive is it?

To be fair, Dublin City Council have done some great work with us and a five-year plan is now in place and things like access ramps are gradually being fixed.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Anne is heavily involved with Age Friendly Groups and Autism groups in her area and hers is always the first arm that goes up when a local good cause needs a dig-out.

When it came to the big prize itself, Anne really outdid herself. She raised €11,870.69 to be split between two deserving local charities,

Together FM, Ballyfermot local radio station and St Matthew’s Family Resource Centre for their ‘From the Womb to the Tomb,’ initiative.

This was what clinched the Lord Mayor position for her.

She also speaks passionately about the Dementia group she helps with on the last Thursday of every month, working alongside the fabulous Linda Dunne.

This takes place in Ballyfermot Library.

Then there’s Wednesday mornings at the Ballyfermot Adult Learning Together get together.

This group brings many and varied speakers who provide no end of interesting discussion topics and learning opportunities.

She also waxed lyrical about the great number of groups at St Matthew’s FRC running courses in everything from Crafts to Gaeilge.

When it comes to thank you, we honestly don’t have time to list them all here.

Anne just expressed her sincere thanks to all of the people with whom she’s worked with and learned from over the years.

“I might be wearing the chains, but they belong to those people every bit as much as me.”

She also makes sure to mention her Mam Aileen, who sounds like quite the character herself.

Also her late Dad, known as Con or Bill. Then there’s husband Dave who must hardly see Anne with her schedule!

“He’s great,” she uncharacteristically gushes.

So, if you need to understand all about Anne May, a good start would be with the words she said when I asked her what annoyed her, “Well I hate liars and I hate greed.”

That along with her life of constant, selfless and completely sincere volunteer work adds up to a Lord Mayor with a fine set of principles if you ask me.

Ballyfermot’s lucky to have her.