“I’ve been involved on a local level in politics since I was about 16, but when I went to college I got seriously involved. So when I came back home I wanted to do my bit for my community.” There won’t be too many 25-year-olds putting their names to the ballot paper next June when the local elections come around, but that’s what Jarlath Munnelly did in 2004. And the first-time candidate won a seat, becoming the youngest member of the current 31 county councillors.
The Killala-based Fine Gael councillor didn’t waste much time in getting actively involved in the nitty gritty of the council work and ended up chairing the Planning and Development SPC in the council. But it’s not just the big projects and plans for the future that make Munnelly tick, it’s the smallest things on a local level. “There are numerous small things that I’ve been able to do for the people in my area that make me as proud as any big achievement. Simple things like helping someone get a grant form filled out and being able to help them with where to go with it and who to speak to about it. Those sort of things are very rewarding for me.”
Being born and bred in Killala, Munnelly’s sense of pride in home drove him on to throw his hat in the political ring. “I grew up in Killala, always loved it, but going away to college for a few years and growing down there and opening my eyes to the world was great. But when you’re away from somewhere for a while and you come back home, you look at it in a whole different way and you can see the potential for it to grow and thrive. When I got back home and the oppoertunity came up to go forward for the council and try and do something for the town, it was something I couldn’t resist.”
Proper planning and devleopment are key for the county
When speaking about what needs to be done in the county to see Mayo grow and develop in the future, it becomes clear that Munnelly believes that proper planning and development is the key to the future. “I suppose one of the main things that I hold true is that proper planning needs to be implemented to make sure that there is sustainable growth in the county. You can have all the development you want in an area, but unless it’s controlled, and properly thought out you’ll end up with a mess. For my own locality we have the Killala town development plan which is coming out of the draft stages at the minute and I hope to see it come into action before the end of this term. To some people on the ground it might not seem as that big a deal. But it is a blueprint for the growth of a town which I think has so much potential.While Killala is obviously my home base and I know the ins and outs of the plan, this has been a county-wide effort. Under the planning SPC which I chair there are seven different local area plans going through the works. It’s a county-wide innative to give those major urban areas outside of the big three (Castlebar, Westport, Ballina ) a framework to work in and drive forward from in the future.”
On a more physical-level, the recent renovations to St Patricks Secondary School, Lacken Cross is something else that Munnelly is immensely proud to have been involved in. “Being a former student there and now sitting as the chairperson of the board of management, seeing that school undergo a multi-million euro rennovation and it turn into one of the finest schools in the country is a great achievemtent. Also seeing the road network improve to the beaches in Killala is something I’m glad I’ll be able to point at in the future and say, I was involved in that. And the sewerage scheme which is progressing a bit too slowly for my liking is something that will be a huge benefit to the town.”
Being the new kid on the block
While running as a first-time candidate is never easy, getting elected first time out can be a daunting task. However, Munnelly is happy with the way he has acquitted himself so far. “I’d like to think I’ve done a lot of good for the people who I represent, but that’s up to them to decide come next June. I’d like to think that more younger people would get involved in politics and we’d see a more even spread of the electorate in the council chamber, with more young people, women and minorities in the council in the future. I’m not saying that the current members are not doing a good job, they all are doing their best for the people who elected them. But it would be nice to see in the future a good spread of demographics in the chamber.”
With the new election boundaries being drawn up earlier this year, Munnelly knows he will face a tough challenge to get re-elected. “Well, straight off I’ll be down about 250 people who voted for me last time. But what I’m really concerned about is the people who are now cut off from their natural administrative hinterland in Ballina. Places like Kilfian and Lacken would assocaiate themselves with Ballina historically, not with Belmullet. Now they are going to find themselves on the periphery of the largest constituencey in Ireland and it could affect the level of service that they recieve from next year on.”
Munnelly is ready to fight for his seat and believes that his performance over the past four and half years will encourage people to vote for him again. “I have always tried to keep the people in the Ballina area informed of not just what I’m doing but what’s going on in the area overall. I have a fairly regular newsletter which I put out to tell them how things are going and I will be sending out 6,000 more before the Christmas. I hope that the people will see what I’m doing and how I’m working for them. There’s no point in just cracking up a big election campaign six weeks before the end and knocking on someone’s door and them looking at you not knowing who you are. You have to show the people that you’re there to serve them, being an elected offical is a great responsibility and not too many people get chosen to do it, so you have to do your best for everyone you represent. Not just half a job.”
