Calleary espouses meitheal ethos at Civic Reception

Minister of State Dara Calleary, receives his presentation from Ballina Town Council Mayor, Cllr Michelle Mulherin at the council’s Civic Reception  to honour his appointment.

Ballina grants Calleary Civic Reception


Anna-Marie Flynn

MAYBE he did see the extent of the decimation that lay ahead for Fianna Fáil but Ballina TD Dara Calleary certainly made it clear at a Civic Reception held in his honour in Ballina last Thursday that he was willing to work with politicians of any colour in the North Mayo capital.
Ballina Town Council had chosen to honour the town’s new junior minister with the final Civic Reception of their turn and,the chamber of the council was a hive of activity as the Quay native celebrated his promotion as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Labour Affairs.
Echoing opening words of praise from Town Clerk, Carmel Murphy, Mayor Michelle Mulherin, paid tribute to the newly-elected Minister: “It is a real honour for me to be here tonight to be able to host and bestow on you the highest honour which this town can give, to mark your promotion. It is fantastic for our county, and particularly for our home town of Ballina.”
Mayor Mulherin said that the trust put in Dara Calleary ‘in being entrusted with the business of service’ meant his elevation to Minister was hugely significant. “The role of Minister is about having someone in service of us; gaining the respect of the authority; and the authority given by our democracy. Dara Calleary has brought to the town an honour that most of us will never experience and I look forward to working together in the future, regardless of party affiliation.”
In his address, Minister Calleary said he was ‘deeply humbled’ by the award. “I am conscious that a civic reception is a rare occasion and I am extremely humbled to be in this position. I want to thank An Taoiseach for placing that faith in me. I had no appreciation of the reaction to the news locally until I returned home 36 hours after that telephone call. The support I have received has been fantastic and it is that continued support from my family and my friends that have got me to where I am now,” he said.
On a personal note, Minister Calleary thanked his family; and in particular his parents Sean and Doris. “I simply would not be a TD without them,” he said.
As a parting word, he said that he looked forward to working with ‘whatever configuration’ of people is around the table in the next term of the Town and County Council. “We have to wear our Ballina jersey and our Mayo jersey with pride. The idea of the meitheal is coming back into focus and working together lies at the essence of democracy. People put faith in politicians to work together and I hope I have done so with both councils to date. I don’t proclaim to have delivered everything but we certainly have made some progress,” he concluded.
Tributes were also paid to former Ballina Ministers PJ Ruttledge, Paddy O’Toole, Tom Moffatt and father of Dara, Sean Calleary; as well as recently deceased politicians, Gerry Moore, Sean McLoughlin, PJ Downey and Miko Browne.