Labour Party representation on Mallow Town Council was reduced from four to three this week following the resignation of Cllr Jerry Mullally from the party, and the councillor has given a strong indication that he may contest the upcoming elections for the Mallow/Kanturk electoral area as an independent. Speaking to the Mallow Star, he said he had been unhappy with the Labour Party for some time, particularly the decision before the last Co. Council election when Ronan Sheehan was added to the ticket and won the seat previously held by Cllr Mullally. “I didn’t like what happened at the time, and since then I felt isolated and was not being told things,” he said. He added that the Labour Party selection convention for the forthcoming local elections will be held next Monday, and “if there were two candidates I would be a loser”.
The councillor sent a letter of resignation to party leader Eamonn Gilmore this week, in which he cited a number of items which contributed to his decision, such as the decision to abolish town councils, the introduction of property tax and water charges, and numerous budget decisions affecting the elderly and most vulnerable. “The Labour campaign was for ‘a fairer society’ but the Labour Party quickly forgot about the people who voted for them,” he claimed.
Jerry Mullally has been a member of Mallow Town Council since 1999 and served as mayor in 2006/2007. He was a member of Cork Co. Council from 2007 to 2009, and is current chairman of Mallow Town Council Joint Policing Committee.