FIRST-TIME councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara is instantly likeable. With his radiant smile and mop of mischievous springy curls, you couldn’t but be taken with the young Social Democrat. A gentle and soft-spoken character, I was instantly impressed with the Caherdavin man when we met at the Belltable, writes Alan Jacques.
We shared a quick joke about our matching striped tops before Shane self-consciously poses for photographer Brendan Gleeson. After that, its coffee and a chinwag as I got to know the new City North representative.
Shane lit up as he told me how honoured he is to represent the area he was born and bred in. And you couldn’t doubt his passion and sincerity as he talked about leading with empathy and creativity, and bringing his long-held belief in accountability, transparency, and social solidarity to the Council chamber. It’s not hard to see how he was popular with voters in his electoral ward.
His working life as artistic director of County Limerick Youth Theatre, where he has worked since 2020, and his training as a psychotherapist with PCI College, gives him an astute perspective on the human condition. This awareness and understanding around what makes us all tick, one can well imagine, will certainly stand him in good stead in his role on Limerick City and County Council.
“I’m actually fascinated by how all my colleagues are going to be working, but it does also give me the tools to stay centred and watch if I become dysregulated, to watch my breathing, and keep an eye on other people and what their motivations might be and what their values are, and it’s also the work I do with my clients,” Shane explained.
A former Ardscoil Rís student, he has vowed to be a voice for the arts on the Council, in addition to advocating for mental health services, the environment, reliable public transport, supporting vulnerable communities, and in the areas of housing and healthcare.
“For me, this job is about championing people, kind of looking around and going ‘who’s not represented? Or ‘Who’s voice isn’t being heard?’, and how do I spend the next five years doing that. That’s the job.
“This is a great opportunity to help people and I’ve got the skills. I’m an artist so I’m bringing that creativity,” he insisted.
Hang on to why you’re doing this
The Council, he feels, has failed to deliver even the most basic services for the people in its charge. People, Cllr Hickey-O’Mara says, are crying out for the basics, and he wants to be a voice, particularly, for young people so they are not forced to emigrate.
“Most of my friends are gone, but I refuse for that to happen to the kids I work with. They don’t deserve that. They deserve to go off and go into a trade, or travel, or go to college, whatever they want to do. They deserve to be able to do that without the fear that they’re not going to be able to progress in their lives, or they’re going to have to leave their families or will have to raise their own families on the other side of the world.
“I have to hang on to that,” he says.
“My supervisor in psychotherapy always says you need to hang on to the real reason, the kernel, of why you’re doing this. And says you need to guard that, it is really precious, and mine, it’s those young people, and it’s helping people in general. That’s the point.
“I don’t care about a political career or whatever, I don’t give a sh*t. But what I do care about is helping people and having the opportunity to do that.”
‘We’re here to help each other’
Shane’s priorities for the next five years, he says, include championing the arts in Limerick with the aim of retaining artists in our city, supporting climate and biodiversity actions in order to safeguard Limerick communities, and providing proper funding to support young people, particularly in the areas of mental health and disability.
The newly elected council member also plans to advocate for improved local amenities including parks, playgrounds, libraries, and sports facilities. Fighting for provision of social and affordable housing and improving the city’s public transport are also high on his priority list.
“We’re here to help each other, and it’s all those things that promote connection in communities, they’re my focus. These are the things that actually bring people together,” he shares.
“I want to see a mentally healthy Limerick, and what is the most important thing for that is connection, and places for people to meet. So I’m organising meetings with community projects and men’s sheds and youth arts groups to discuss having youth art spaces where people can create.
“I think the lack of these spaces gives the message to young people that Limerick hasn’t invested in them, and that is really disappointing. Why would they continue in arts careers in Limerick?
“There’s so many amazing young people and they’re just leaving the arts or they are leaving the city. It’s heartbreaking,” he declared.
Tears on the campaign trail
I get the impression from talking to this passionate and grounded Social Democrat that people really opened up to him on the doorsteps during the election campaign. His empathy and listening skills as a psychotherapist obviously helped tear down personal barriers, leaving people feel safe to confide in Shane on a real human level.
“I had asked other candidates if people cried in front of them, because they cried in front of me, and I found that really hard to walk away from,” he tells me.
“It’s funny but people were saying there’s going to be so much hate because people are so angry over migration, but what really came up was people wanted the basics done, or they wanted help. A lot of people were grieving and just opened up. That happened on nearly every canvas and that really upset me. It broke my heart, and I have to work on my own ability to be strong for them.”
