A FUNERAL director and farmer is hoping to add ‘councillor’ to his job description after the local elections.
John Michael Foley from Timoleague is running as a Fine Gael candidate in the Bandon Kinsale District.
Along with his wife Denise, and father John, he runs a third-generation family-owned funeral business in Timoleague and Clonakilty, and a headstone and monumental mason business.
The father-of-four also operates a beef cattle and tillage farm.
‘I’m a man of action and not just words and as the saying goes – if you want the job done, ask a busy man – and I believe that I am that busy man,’ he said at his campaign launch.
With just over a fortnight to voting day, he works in the mornings and takes to the campaign trail in the afternoons and evenings, prioritising funerals, emphasising the ‘great back-up from our loyal staff and family members’.
At the launch of his campaign, he said he got his interest in politics from his father at a young age, who had to juggle work and care needs after John Michael’s mother suffered an accident.
‘My parents worked hard all their lives. My father’s active involvement in politics came to an abrupt end in 1988 when I was just eight years old.
My mother had a life-changing accident leaving her paralysed and confined to a wheelchair.
This meant that my father had to look after my mother, four young children, and continue to run the farm and business.
‘I believe that this was a defining moment in my life. Thankfully my mother is still with us and we all help to look after her at home. With the exceptional help and support of our family and community, we emerged as determined individuals. Now it’s my time to give back to my community.’
