Death takes place of 'leading light' in Mayo politics

THE death has occurred of former Mayo Fianna Fáil councillor Maragaret Adams who made history when she was the first woman to be elected to Westport Urban District Council.

Aged in her early 80s, Margaret Adams of Kings Hill, Westport died peacefully yesterday evening in the care of the staff in the Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar.

The Westport native made history when he became the first female to be elected to Westport Urban District Council during the 1974 Local Elections and was the sole female on that council until 1999 when Tereasa McGuire was elected. Ms Adams was also elected chairperson of Westport Urban District Council which later became known as Westport Town Council on four occasions.

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In 1999, she was also elected to Mayo County Council for the first time and she was reelected at every election up to her retirement from politics in 2009.

Adams came from a strong Fianna Fáil family in Westport and her father Charles Kenny had also served as a local councillor and a chairman of the Westport UDC.

Current Westport-based county councillor Brendan Mulroy who was first elected alongside Adams to Westport Town Council in 1999 said she was a positive influence on members of the Fianna Fáil party in Westport and blazed a trail for women in politics.

The late Margaret Adams pictured outside her home in Westport after she announced her retirement from politics back in 2013.

“She was a great character and enjoyed the fun and the wit. For a long time being the only woman in politics she was no shrinking violet. She would put people in their boxes very quickly and rightly so. She was a leading light in relation to ladies getting involved in politics and she ploughed the furrow for many more to follow her. She was a leading light in that regard.

“She was a dynamic woman in the world of politics and took everything in her stride. She was a massive influence in Westport and worked really hard for the whole West Mayo area.

“She was always involved in Fianna Fáil and in my early years she was the leading light along with a few others like Seán Staunton and Declan Dever. She will be a massive loss to the Fianna Fáil party in Westport but also in Mayo,” Cllr Mulroy said.

Ms Adams is survived by her husband Cecil and children Dermot and Deirdre as well as her daughter-in-law Maeve; grandsons, Kevin and Seán; brothers, Pat (Dublin) and Cormac (Westport), sisters Evelyn Horan (Partry) and Breege Staunton (Galway), nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and wide circle of friends.

She will be reposing in Navin's Funeral Home, Westport on Friday, February 21 from 5pm to 7pm with her Funeral arriving at St Mary's Church Westport on Saturday at 12 noon for Funeral Mass at 1pm. Cremation will take place afterwards in Lakelands Crematorium, Cavan at 4.30pm.