Councillors’ praise for retiring Mayo Manager

Councillors’ praise for retiring Mayo Manager


Anton McNulty

A Standing ovation was afforded to Des Mahon (pictured), the County Manager of Mayo County Council at the end of yesterday’s Council meeting after he addressed the Chamber for the final time after 19 years in the top job.
The Roscommon native - who is one of the longest serving County Managers in the country - announced he was stepping down from his role three weeks ago and councillors heaped praise on him for all he has done for the county. They praised his foresight and courage for ‘transforming’ the county and said he had left his mark on every village in the county.
Mr Mahon began his job as County Manager on July 2, 1990 and among his achievements in that time was the purchase of Turlough House in Castlebar for £250,000 and the setting up of the Social and Economic Fund. He told the meeting that he has worked with 70 councillors and 19 different Cathaoirligh during his spell as manager and praised their commitment and courage in taking Mayo forward.
“This Council has always showed leadership and have never been afraid to make big decisions when the need arose. You gave £3million for Turlough House and that took a lot of courage and gave £50,000 to Mayo 5000, which spawned Riverdance. You agreed to the Social and Economic Fund and above all any local authority, Mayo has never been afraid to do the right thing. I have enjoyed everyday in my period of office over the past 20 years. I don’t know what the future is for local government but we are in a better place to go forward, than the Ireland I grew up in in the 1950’s and 60’s,” he said.
Among the achievements he reflected on was the establishment of the Jackie Clarke library in Ballina and the close links with the Mayo Diaspora around the world. He also paid tribute to his staff in the Council and had a special word of thanks for Clare Kenny and Muriel Finnerty, who he said carried out their duties with professionalism and discretion and ‘we never had a disagreement or a cross word’.
Mr Mahon’s wife, Olive, was present in the Council chamber and he paid a special tribute to her for supporting him in his career, ‘even if it meant moving house eight times’.
The Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr John Cribbin paid tribute to Mr Mahon saying that the county had improved under his stewardship.
“You can walk away with your head held high for all the achievements you have looked over in the county. I have met many former councillors and business people and they were shocked to hear of your retirement and they wish you the best of luck. The only time I was nervous was the day I was being elected Cathaoirleach but once I stepped into the Manager’s office you had the ability to make me feel at home and relaxed,” he said.
Fine Gael Chief Whip, Cllr Joe Mellett led the tributes to Mr Mahon saying that it was a sad day for the county to see him leave his role and thanked him for all the hard work he has done. He said that his best decision was purchasing Turlough House and said he should be proud of all his hard work.
Fianna FΡil’s Cllr MicheΡl McNamara congratulated him on his achievements saying he had shown great leadership.
“You have shown great leadership qualities - I don’t know how you do it - by looking after your staff and dealing with different agencies and councillors,” he said.
The majority of the councillors praised Mr Mahon for setting up the Social and Economic Fund which they said has left its mark on communities all over the county.
“You have left your mark in every village in the county,” said Cllr Jimmy Maloney, who joined the Council in 1991. “When I would go to conferences around the country you would hear, ‘Mayo God Help Us’. But you changed that and other counties are jealous of us because of the work you put in.”