Tributes paid to retiring members
TRIBUTES WERE paid to three retiring members of Wicklow County Council on Monday during the last meeting of the current council.
However only one of the three members, Cllr. George Jones, was present as Cllr. John Byrne and Cllr. Conal Kavanagh had already left.
The tributes were led by Cllr. Jimmy O’Shaughnessy who said Cllr. Jones was retiring after 35 years service on the council while Cllr. Byrne had 50 years service. Cllr. Kavanagh, he said also served the people of Wicklow for over a decade. ‘ They have all done Trojan work’.
Cllr. Edward Timmins, a party colleague of Cllr. Jones, said when Cllr. Jones spoke, he did so with authority and ‘people put value on what he says’.
Cllr. Chris Fox noted that Cllr. Byrne and his family had repre- sented the people of Wicklow since 1918 with both his father and grandfather being elected representatives as well.
Cllr. John Brady said Cllr. Byrne would be a huge loss to the people of Bray.
Cllr. John Snell thanked Cllr. Jones for his fairness.
Cllr. Jones thanked the members for their kind words saying it had been a privilege to represent the people of Wicklow since 1979 adding he had successfully contested a whopping 12 local elections.