New Lord Mayor will be a ‘happy warrior’

THERE have been fresh calls for a directly elected Lord Mayor of Dublin after the chain of office was passed from Labour’s Andrew Montague to Fine Gael’s Naoise Ã? Múirí last week.

The appointment of the Clontarf ward councillor to the Mansion House came as no surprise as it was in line with a rotating arrangement by the two Coalition parties. Mr Ã? Múirí who is Dublin’s 343rd Lord Mayor, was elected by 32 votes to six for Cllr Mannix Flynn (Ind), the only other nominee, with 11 abstentions.

Cllr Clare Byrne (FG), a daughter of Fine Gael TD and former Lord Mayor of the city, Catherine Byrne, was elected Deputy Lord Mayor. Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein abstained in both votes and did not nominate candidates. Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick, Fianna Fail’s Group Leader on Dublin City Council, recommended that her colleagues abstain from the vote.

Meanwhile, the newly elected Lord Mayor said he wanted to be a

“happy warrior

?, turning the city into a

“happy home for all

?.

Mr � Múirí, an engineer who runs a technology company, expressed his desire to turn Dublin into a major digital hub. He also wants increased promotion of the capital as an attractive tourist destination.

“With Dublin Tourism being subsumed into Failte Ireland I think we have a unique opportunity to put the right structures in place now to ensure that Dublin is well promoted at home and abroad,

? he said.

“This is an area I will take a big interest in.

“I also believe we should launch a major initiative around the city to turn derelict sites into allotments or ecoparks for citizens with cooperation from NAMA.

?

In his speech the Lord Mayor outlined what’s

‘in’ and what’s

‘out’ for his term of office.

Accountable public officials are

‘in’ as is a

‘just doing it’ attitude while,

“beating up on the poor, the weak and those on social welfare

? is

‘out’.

“Excessive waffle and verbage in the Chamber are very definitely out – any offender in this area will be sentenced to a day of house arrest with Bono and Bob Geldof,

? he warned. The new Lord Mayor, who is originally from Galway and is a Gaeilgeoir, lives with his wife Fionnuala and their two daughters off Griffith Avenue.

Cllr � Múirí was first elected onto Dublin City Council in 2004 and was re-elected in 2009. Among those who congratulated him on his appointment was Gina Quin, Chief Executive of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

“As Lord Mayor, we look forward to the tradition of Cllr Ã? Múirí joining the governing board of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce,

? she stated.

“Dublin Chamber would like to thank outgoing Lord Mayor, Cllr Andrew Montague, for his positive contribution to Dublin City and the Dublin Chamber as a council member.

?