UNLUCKY 13 did it for Cllr Gerry McLoughlin when it came to the mayoral election this week.
The Labour councillor and rugby legend received 13 combined votes from the Fine Gael members
and his Labour party colleagues against four votes for the Independent candidate, Cllr Kathleen Leddin, proposed and voted for by her fellow Independent colleague, Cllr John Gilligan, Cllr Maurice Quinlivan, Sinn Fein and Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon, Fine Fail.
Earlier, Cllr Pat Kennedy, who withdrew as a contender, told a packed chamber in City Hall that he would not be opposing “whoever is supported by Fine Gael.
Before he surrendered his chains of office to the new incumbent, the outgoing mayor, Cllr Jim Long spoke of his efforts to attract in foreign trade and investment to Limerick during his term in office.
“The results of this will become evident in the next couple of years – I worked at interesting Slovenia, Estonia, parts of Germany and China and China in particular has identified Limerick and the Mid West as an area for investment, which will become evident within the next year or so.”
In his first speech as the 816th Mayor of Limerick, Gerry McLoughlin declared himself “very well prepared for the role of mayor and very well versed in the many plans for the city”
Referring to his love and interest in sport, he said he has learned that it is team work that gets results.
“I believe that by engaging with young people in sport, cultural activities and positive avenues of opportunity, we can create a new attitude among them and this alone can impact in a very positive way on the city and its residents – I assure you that I will be looking for ways to engage with young people over the next year.”
Pledging to make himself available to every community in Limerick, he said that a changing city such as Limerick calls for new ideas and innovative solutions.
“Just a few years ago, almost unnoticed, we passed a remarkable threshold – for the first time since the founding of this city languages emerged that are something other than English.
“This means a sea change for this city – those people are integrating and becoming as much Limerick people as all of us.”
Declaring his commitment to “get people back to work,” Mayor McLoughlin said:
“With the massive Regeneration investment by the State, I contend that Regeneration will count for nothing if the local labour force is not to the fore.”
