Mallow Town Council held its final public meeting on Tuesday night before the council disbands on May 31st, bringing to an end 108 years of a council in the town. All nine councillors were present in the Council Chamber for the final meeting, presided over by Mayor John Griffin, with Town Clerk Kevin Curran, Manager Tom Stritch, and Engineer Keith Jones. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Ronan Sheehan said, “I really believe it [the council] will be missed. We’re ending the council while the rest of Europe is going the opposite way. It’s a historic and sad day.” Mayor Griffin said, “I’m going to miss the council”, while Cllr Dan Joe Fitzgerald expressed a hope that he had been of benefit to the town over the 20 years he served in office.
The council will officially disband on May 31st, by which time the results of the Municipal Authority election will be known, though an announcement remains to be made about where the new council will meet. Five of the current town council members are not going forward for the new council, the four candidates seeking seats on the new authority being Melissa Mullane, Noel O’Connor, Dan Joe Fitzgerald and Ronan Sheehan. For a full report on Tuesday’s meeting, see the Council Sketch on page 18.