Embattled Mullingar Town Council chairman Cllr Mick Dollard is bringing the body into “disrepute” and should resign, according to his two council colleagues who challenged his military service record at last week's meeting.
Green Party councillor, Betty Doran, rejected the claim that she had raised the chairman's military service for any political motive. Cllr Doran said she raised the matter because she had been listening to veterans air their disquiet over Mick Dollard's service in the Defence Forces for years, and had chosen to raise the matter now because of the 50th anniversary of the Irish UN Peacekeeping contingents.
She added that the Labour Party statement which was “littered with inaccuracies” was only distributed after an article in a national newspaper last Saturday. The councillor commented that Cllr Dollard had stated “twice to her knowledge” that he had served with the Defence Forces five times, which was not in keeping with his statement that he made the claim while speaking at an emotional occasion.
Cllr Doran noted that Cllr Dollard “boasted” of his participation in the UN mission in the Congo, when he officiated at a ceremony of recognition for the 4th Field Artillery Regiment in Belvedere, in his capacity of chairman of Westmeath County Council. She added that on the night of the Cathaoirleach's awards, the Mullingar Town Council chairman, when presenting a special award to the Dolan family, spoke of listening to Joe Dolan's music in the Golan Heights. Betty Doran also referred to several articles in the local media, where Cllr Dollard claimed to have served in five UN Missions in the Congo, Cyprus, and the Middle East.
The Green Party councillor believes that the chairman's position is 'untenable'. “He should do the decent thing and step down. I said that if he didn't step down, I would. However, I got that many calls from ex-army people in Westmeath and Longford after I was on the radio, asking me not to,” she said.
Her Town Council colleague Cllr Frank McIntyre, whose two cousins served in the Congo and whose son-in-law is an army sergeant, believes that the Labour Party, which he and his family supported for many years, has been compromised as a result of Cllr Dollard's actions. He added that Cllr Dollard claimed in a local newspaper that he had served in Jatoville in the Congo in 1962, though army records indicate that he did not join the Defence Forces until the following year.
Cllr Dollard said in a statement, “During my 25 years as a public representative, I have worked to the best of my ability to represent the interests of the people of Westmeath and of Mullingar, in particular”. He added, “Prior to my becoming involved in politics I was a member of the Defence Forces, as was my father before me. I am enormously proud of having had the opportunity to serve my country in the Defence Forces, including periods with the United Nations in Cyprus, during which time I also visited the Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.”
He continued, “As a public representative, I have also worked to promote the interests of both serving and former members of the Defence Forces. I regret that I inadvertently wore my father's Congo medal on the wrong side of my ONE (Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen ) uniform” (by tradition, former members of the Defence Forces wear medals awarded to their father, but these are normally worn on the right hand side ).
“I also regret that I gave the impression, speaking at an emotional occasion, that I had served with the Defence Forces in Congo, when my service was in Cyprus. I apologise if any offence was caused to members of the Defence Forces who served in Congo, and particularly to the relatives of those who lost their lives there. It is unfortunate that this has been made an issue of controversy by political opponents. I will continue to serve my electorate on Westmeath County Council and Mullingar Town Council. I am confident that the people of the area will continue to support me, as they have done in election after election.”
