Edwin McGreal‘A LEGEND’ and ‘the JM Synge of Mayo County Council’ were but a taste of the effusive praise laid at the feet of four retiring County councillors last week.
At the final meeting of Mayo County Council before the local elections on June 5 next the four current councillors who are not seeking re-election came in for high praise.
Labour’s Johnny Mee, Fine Gael’s Paddy McGuinness and Fianna Fail’s Frank Chambers and Seán Bourke are all retiring and the last council meeting before the local elections on June 5 saw all four honoured for their ‘commitment and service’ to the Council.
Cllr Gerry Coyle told the meeting that one of the great benefits he has enjoyed since becoming a councillor in 1999 was getting friendly with Johnny Mee.
“If joining Mayo County Council was great for one thing for me, then it was to get to know Johnny Mee. I got a great friend there and I was blessed to do so. Johnny you really will be missed.”
Described by Cllr Al McDonnell as ‘the John Millington Synge of Mayo County Council’ for his oratory prowess, Johnny Mee treated the chamber to his storytelling once more with feeling.
“I joined the Connaught Telegraph when I was 14. I was 75 on March 4. How do I do it? I walk Lough Lanagh every morning - I call it the Naples of the West. I feed the swans, talk to the robins and say my prayers. Every morning you get up is a good morning and I am grateful for that after a health scare earlier in my life. If you have your health, you have your wealth.”
Paddy McGuinness may have only joined Mayo County Council for the first time in 2004 but his impact in that time was ‘immeasurable’ according to Cllr Al McDonnell.
“I’m in the chamber 23 years and Paddy is one of the finest councillors to grace the chamber. He was a man of integrity and commitment. We’re losing a star and regardless of who replaces him, we’re losing out. He is a fine man, a legend.”
Praising his party colleagues, both absent from the meeting, Fianna Fail Chief Whip Cllr Pat McHugh described two men who had been great workers.
“Frank (Chambers) has been a councillor since 1979 and that is a huge commitment for anyone to give. He has had his fair share of ups and downs over the years and I have no doubt that the highlight of Frank’s political career was when he was a member of Seanád Eireann.
”Seán Bourke was a tenacious advocate for the people of Castlebar and he had a great grasp and detail of how council affairs worked.”
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