Fine Gael town councillor Ger Deere was elected to the position of mayor of Castlebar Town Council this week, while Sinn Féin councillor Therese Ruane was elected as deputy mayor.
After Cllr Ruane was elected to the position unopposed, Cllr Deere told the meeting, “We both go back a long way, back as far as national school even. I asked for Therese to be my deputy, Sinn Féin and Fine Gael might not agree on a lot of issues, but there is one thing that both I and Cllr Ruane agree on, and that’s the betterment of Castlebar.”
Cllr Deere was elected to the position of mayor earlier in the meeting having been nominated by Cllr Brendan Heneghan and seconded by Cllr Eugene McCormack. After taking the chain from the outgoing mayor, Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, Cllr Deere laid out his goals.
“My main focus will be on getting a greater community spirit and focus in the town. I will be working closely with the residents’ associations to deal with the issues they have, and I must compliment Cllr Noreen Heston on her work with them over the past year.”
Cllr Deere went on to say he hoped to see greater involvement in the town from young people. “We need to engage more with the youth of the town,” he added. “They are the future of Castlebar and we need to connect with them more.”
The promotion of Castlebar as a tourist destination and as a commercial centre were two other goals cited by Cllr Deere, as well as a wish to see Mayo County Council purchase the old Imperial Hotel for municipal purposes. “We have to actively promote Castlebar, engage with projects like Destination Castlebar and the local Chamber of Commerce to get as much promotion of the town as we can,” he said. “We also have the Peace Park in the town which is a major attraction and should be given as much promotion as possible.”
