FIRST term councillor Olivia O’Sullivan has been elected chairperson of the Limerick Metropolitan District as a result of a power sharing agreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
She is the third woman to be elected to the position in the past three years, succeeding Fianna Fáil’s Catherine Slattery who secured the chain of office from Fine Gael’s Sarah Kiely.
Cllr O’Sullivan, who was nominated by party colleague Mayor Daniel Butler, secured a 13 votes to four victory over Sinn Féin councillor Sharon Benson who was nominated by Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan.
Labour Party councillors Conor Sheehan, Joe Leddin and Ellena Secas abstained from the vote.
Cllr O’Sullivan, who was elected in the Limerick City North area in 2019, is a former columnist with the Limerick Post and works as a marketing and communications consultant.
Fine Gael councillor Dan McSweeney was elected as deputy chairman.
