Former Garda Brendan to run in local election
‘MY PASSION IS PEOPLE - THEY MUST BE LISTENED TO’
RETIRED garda Brendan Thornhill is hoping to take on an altogether different public role by running for office.
He has declared his intention to run in the local election in May as an independent candidate.
Brendan retired in 2012 after more than 22 years as a community garda in Bray and 30 years as a garda altogether. An Irish speaker who also has a few words of Mandarin, he is Chairman of the Board of Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh in Bray.
He explained that he is running from the point of view of the community. ‘ That is where I made my name,’ he said. ‘ I met everyone, old and young and from all walks of life and went in to their houses, heard their stories,’ said Brendan.
‘I have taken time out to listen to people and people want to be listened too, it’s very important.’
He said that he knows that he as one person can’t change everything. ‘ But as Confucius said, every journey starts with a single step.’
He said that the people in the community are hurting. They are suffering, he said, as a result of things such as austerity and taxes.
‘ The whole thing is falling apart and people are very stressed out.’
Issues Mr Thornhill is keen to tackle include improvement of the appearance of derelict sites; tourism, employment, parking, and the promotion of the cliff walk.
He said that he believes there should be council reform in terms of payments like pensions, gratuities and termination payments to councillors.
Anti-social behaviour and drugs are important issues for Brendan who said that education is key in solving these problems.
‘My passion is people,’ said Brendan. ‘ They want to be listened to and to have a quiet life without hassles.’
Elderly people would be extremely important to Brendan. He said that they are very vulnerable.
You can sit back and relax in life or you can stand up and be counted, he said on his decision to run for election.
Brendan Thornhill can be contacted on (086) 3779085 or brendanthornhillvotenumber1@gmail.com.