Councillor Pamela Kearns was elected Mayor of South Dublin on Friday afternoon
Pamela Kearns honoured to be elected new Mayor of South Dublin
Labour councillor Pamela Kearns has been elected as Mayor of South Dublin County Council for the 2025/26 council term.
Elected for the Rathfarnham-Templeogue area in the 2024 council elections, Mayor Kearns has served continuously as a councillor since 2009, making her the longest serving woman and “mother” of the council.
She was nominated for the position at the councils AGM on Friday, June 27, by her Labour colleague Cllr Joanna Tuffy, and seconded by Cllr Mick Duff, who previously was a member of Labour and had been first elected alongside Mayor Kearns.
Mayor Kearns thanked her fellow councillors for “the honour that they have bestowed upon me here today and elected me as mayor of this great county”.
“I am fully conscious of the responsibility attached to that role, and I want to assure you that I will work tirelessly to ensure that your faith in me is warranted.
“It is my intention to execute my role as mayor with fairness, compassion and integrity, and to do less would be a dishonour to the great mayors in this room who have actually gone before me.
Out-going Mayor Baby Pereppadan passes the chain of office to new Mayor Pamela Kearns in County Hall on Friday afternoon
She acknowledged the support of family, including her parents, in-laws, and siblings, and highlighted the values of acceptance and kindness instilled by her upbringing.
“I am here to listen to advocate and to represent you. I’d like us to move forward together with hope, courage and a belief in the power of love over hate, truth over lives, and I really look forward to the coming year,” Mayor Kearns said in conclusion of her acceptance speech.
She also acknowledged Cllr Darragh Adelaide of People Before Profit, who was also nominated for the role by his party colleague Cllr Jess Spear and newly independent Cllr Madeline Johansson, and pledged herself to working with all councillors across party lines.
Cllr Trevor Gilligan of Fianna Fail, who is the longest serving male councillor on South Dublin County Council, was elected as Deputy Mayor.
