James Geoghegan elected as Lord Mayor of Dublin

Fine Gael Councillor James Geoghegan has been elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.

The 39-year-old, who is a father of three from Ranelagh in south Dublin, has been a Councillor since 2019.

He contested the last by-election in Dublin Bay South for his party.

The practicing barrister is the 365th Lord Mayor of Dublin and will take up residence in the Mansion House with his wife Claire Cummins and their three young children Hugh, 6; Harry, 4 and Lila, 2.

Mr Geoghegan was elected by a coalition of Councillors on Dublin City Council which is made up of members from the Fine Gael, the Green Party, Fianna Fáil and Labour.

He won by a vote of 32 to 25 cast for the Social Democrats Councillor Daniel Ennis.

There were four abstentions including from Independent candidates Councillors Gavin Pepper and Malachy Steenson.

He succeeds Fianna Fail’s Daithí de Róiste as the capital’s new Lord Mayor.

Speaking following his election this evening, Mr Geoghegan said he was ready to get to work on behalf of the people of Dublin.

He described the position as “an extraordinary honour”.

“I want to use it to help deliver for Dublin,” he said.

Mr Geoghegan said: “Our four political parties have come together to get a new deal for Dublin to properly fund our city services.

“It is over 30 years since Dublin was the European capital of culture.

“During that time, we saw a real focus on urban renewal in parts of our city that were previously run down, including Temple Bar.

“We need that level of joined up thinking and ambition today and we are determined to deliver that.”

Mr Geoghegan said one of his key priorities is to support the implementation of a strategy to make Dublin become the first autism and neurodiverse friendly capital city in the world.

“While the statistics vary, up to 5% of the Irish population are estimated to be autistic and I want to ensure that everyone in our capital city has the same opportunities to live, work and play and that we can develop a best in standard for others to follow,” he said.

Mayor of South Dublin County Council

Fine Gael Councillor Baby Pereppadan has been elected as Mayor of South Dublin County Council after the council’s annual meeting in County Hall in Tallaght.

Mr Pereppadan, who represents Tallaght South, succeeds Independent Alan Edge in the role.

Independent Councillor Alan Hayes was also elected as Deputy Mayor.

Mr Pereppadan said that he “looked forward to working across party lines and with staff here at the council to make south Dublin a more inclusive place to live, work and build a family”.

“This position is not just a title. It’s a commitment to the residents of South Dublin, to listen, to advocate and to work tirelessly for the betterment of our community,” he said.

Mayor of Fingal

Labour Councillor Brian McDonagh has been elected as Mayor of Fingal after a meeting of Fingal County Council in Swords.

Fianna Fáil Councillor JK Onwumereh was also elected as Deputy Mayor.

Mr McDonagh, who represents Howth-Malahide, was first elected to the council in 2014.

Mayor McDonagh said it was an honour to be elected as the first mayor of the council’s five-year term.

The newly elected Mayor of Fingal said his priorities would include the issues of housing, community services, active travel and the delivery of community infrastructure.

“I am looking forward to now getting to work to help ensure we are delivering the services that the people of Fingal deserve,” he said.

Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

Fine Geal Councillor Jim O’Leary has been elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at the Council’s Annual General Meeting.

Fine Gael Councillor Kazi Ahmed was elected as Leas Chathaoirleach.

Councillor O’Leary was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2004.

His grandfather James Reidy was also Lord Mayor of Limerick, where this year Independent John Moran became the first-ever directly elected mayor in Ireland.

Mr O’Leary said his priorities including guiding the work of the next Corporate Plan, housing delivery, continuing the work on the Friendship Agreement with Palo Alto in California and overseeing projects such as the Ballinteer Community Centre and objectives in the Dundrum Local Area Plan.

He said that he is “committed to ensuring consistent progress and updates on key projects across the county”.

Additional reporting Dimitri O’Donnell