Thurles lady Mary Hanafin is the new Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoighre Rathdown council

Thurles lady, Councillor Mary Hanafin has been elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at the Council’s AGM.

Councillor Hanafin, (Fianna Fáil) was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2014 as a Councillor for the Blackrock Ward and has an extensive history in politics at a national and local level.

With a long family tradition in local politics, including her grandfather Johnny, father Des, aunt Binkie, brother John and cousin Seamus, Cllr Hanafin was first elected as a Councillor to Dublin Corporation in the mid 80’s. Following election as a TD for Dún Laoghaire in 1997, she served at the cabinet table in a variety of roles to 2011, including Minister for Children, Minister for Education & Science, Minister for Social & Family Affairs, Minister for Tourism, Culture & Sport and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Innovation.

Following her election to the role of Cathaoirleach, Councillor Hanafin outlined her main priorities for the year, which have both a local focus and wider view:

“The global pandemic has made us all look local and appreciate our open spaces and public areas. From the mountains to the sea we owe it to our citizens to continue to enhance our facilities, continue to improve our villages, and create inclusive and welcome spaces

“Education and innovation are two of our greatest assets, with 1,000 companies based in Sandyford and Cherrywood, with UCD and IADT providing top quality research and education. I aim to create partnerships internationally, perhaps with Silicon Valley, to build on this ambition & expertise.

“This is a very exciting time to be elected Cathaoirleach of DLRCC and I appreciate the cross-party support. I look forward to working constructively with my fellow councillors and the council executive,” she said.