Former County Manager John McGinley was a 'dedicated servant of local government'

The death took place on Thursday, February 23, 2017 of John McGinley, Limerick Road, Nenagh.  Mr. McGinley was County Manager of Tipperary (North Riding) County Council from September 1, 1978 until his retirement on August 5, 1999.

Originally from County Louth, John McGinley started his long career in the public service as a Grade III clerk with Bord Iascaigh Mhara in November 1952.  He held this position until December 1959 when he moved on to become a District Court Clerk in the Department of Justice.  

From there he went on to serve in the posts of Town Clerk with Cavan U.D.C., Borough Accountant with the Corporation of Sligo, Town Clerk with Ballina U.D.C. and Drogheda Corporation.  His last posting prior to his arrival in Nenagh was with Clare County Council where he was County Secretary and later Temporary Assistant County Manager.  

Joe MacGrath, Chief Executive of Tipperary County Council, paid tribute to John McGinley, saying “John was a dedicated servant of local government in Tipperary and served almost twenty-one years as County Manager.  

“During this time he made a significant contribution to the development of County Tipperary with major investment in the planning and provision of water and wastewater schemes including Thurles and Nenagh Regional Water Supply Schemes and Ballina Sewerage Scheme; new fire stations provided at Roscrea and Nenagh; acquisition of the former Technical School in Thurles (which became the headquarters of the County Tipperary Joint Library Service and is now the Tipperary County Council District Offices), the acquisition of the site for the Civic Offices in Nenagh and the Bypasses of Nenagh and Roscrea.  

“He was also at the helm when the first computers were introduced to the County Council and provided a special building for this purpose in the Courthouse Yard.  He had a lifelong dedication to the Library Service and was particularly proud to support the building of new libraries in Roscrea, Nenagh and Borrisokane.  

“His former postings as Town Clerk led him to take a particular interest in the Urban District Councils of Nenagh, Thurles and Templemore and he attended their meetings on a regular basis.  He participated on a development committee and engaged with the Regional Development Organisation and later with LEADER and the County Enterprise Board.  

“He was also extremely involved in Civil Defence and ensured they obtained equipment required and was a regular participant in their annual event in Lisdoonvarna.  During this time North Tipperary Civil Defence were regular winners of various competitions and this was something that gave him immense satisfaction”.

Cllr. Siobhán Ambrose, Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council expressed her sincere condolences to the McGinley family and in particular to his daughters Jacinta, Edel, Fiona and Sinead.  She said “on behalf of the members and staff of Tipperary County Council I would like to express our deepest sympathies on the death of John McGinley.  He served North Tipperary well during his time as County Manager and his legacy to the county is visible in the infrastructure and development which took place during his long term in office”.  

Outside of local government, John was also active in the F.C.A. where he served as a Commandant.  His other interests included travel, reading, doing the crossword in the Irish Times, walking and boating.  He was a foundation patron of the Nenagh District Heritage Centre and took a keen interest in the Ormond Historical Society.  

Over the years quietly in the background he did a lot of good work and contributed to the Missions.  In July 1993 he spent a month in Tanzania helping out with a DEVCO team to advise the Government of Tanzania in overhauling its local government system prior to funding engineering schemes with World Bank Finance.  

Following his retirement he was active on a number of bodies providing help and advice from his vast years of experience.  He was a regular participant on outings with the Council Retired Staff Association where he often regaled them with anecdotes and humorous stories.  He also served as a volunteer on Committees with Nenagh Credit Union.  He was an avid supporter of the Irish language and would regularly converse in Irish with anyone he knew had a similar interest.

John was pre-deceased by his wife Mairead (née Ruttledge) who died in July 2010.

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