A decade of voting in a mayor for Clonakilty

THE people of Clonakilty will be voting twice this weekend – first in the European and local elections on Friday, and then, on Saturday, in their own town mayor elections.

Scoil na mBuachaillí is the venue on both days and everyone who has the right to vote on Friday, can automatically also vote on Saturday.

So, despite all the reports of Limerick being the first place to have a ‘directly elected mayor’ in Ireland, Clonakilty was actually ahead of the pack – and first voted in its mayor on May 23rd 2014 – making this the 10th anniversary of its introduction.

This year’s vote – as in the previous mayoral elections – has been organised by a sub-committee of Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage

‘We looked at this as being a heritage project because we can trace our history of town mayors back to 1605 and it was important for us that link would not be broken,’ heritage group member Tomás Tuipéar said at the time of the first vote.

The people of Clonakilty spotted an opportunity via the Putting People First: Action Programme for Effective Local Government document which allowed for ‘place-based representation’ to enhance and encourage participation in local democracy, after the municipal district councils replaced town councils.

Clonakilty was the first city or town to spot the opportunity to allow its citizens vote for a member of the public to represent them.

While Clonakilty’s mayor has no statutory powers – it is a figurehead position – they do have access to have a high profile role that allows them to lobby for change on issues that have a direct effect on the town’s future and prosperity.

This year there are nine candidates on the ballot paper: Yousuf Janab Ali; Brendan Collins; Anna Groniecka, Chris Hinchy; Anthony McDermott; Evie Nevin; Conan O’Donovan; Eileen Sheppard and James White.

All are standing as non-political, community representatives and five will be elected who will each serve one year in the voluntary role, in the order in which they are elected. Voting begins on Saturday 8th at 10am and runs until 7pm.

Mirroring the European and local elections process, it will use the single transferable vote system, allowing voters to place numbers next to the names on the ballot paper, giving their No 1 to the first preference, No 2 to their second choice, and so on.

An eligible voter is anyone aged 18 years or more, who normally votes at Scoil na mBuachaillí, which caters for voters in the Clonakilty urban and rural areas.

All voters are asked to bring ID, like a passport or driving licence, as well as proof of address, eg a recent household bill, bank statement, or polling card from the election the previous day’s election, as proof of identity.

The election count will be held at O’Donovan’s Hotel on Sunday, starting at 10am, and is open to the public.

The mayoral election process is undertaken on a totally voluntary basis by Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage members. Anyone with an hour or two to spare on Saturday is asked to help out at the polling station.

Contact 086-0833323 or email  [email protected].

Updates will be posted on the Clonakilty Mayoral Council and Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage pages on Facebook.