Bolger co-opted onto council
GOREY’S Andrew Bolger from Ballycanew now holds the record as Wexford’s youngest sitting county councillor at the tender age of 22.
Bolger was officially co-opted on to the Council yesterday (Monday), and now takes up the seat vacated by Malcolm Byrne TD following on from last year’s by-election.
Receiving full support from the former Gorey councillor, Andrew won the most votes at a convention held by the Gorey branch of Fianna Fáil at the Ashdown Park Hotel last week, which saw him contest alongside Jack Redmond from Camolin and Gorey’s Michael Dwyer.
Today (Tuesday) Andrew will partake in his first sitting of Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District, and will vote upon the selection of a new Cathoirleach and Leas Cathoirleach.
He has so far had support from other councillors locally who look forward to working alongside a young person.
The recent graduate of Bachelor’s in Law (LLB) from IT Carlow said that it was a huge honour for him to serve as a councillor, and that he was very grateful for the support that all Fianna Fáil members had given him.
‘I would like to prove myself worthy, and work with constituents on the ground.
‘I would like to thank Jack Redmond and Michael Dwyer who have been very honourable throughout this campaign. I look forward to working with them both in the future’.
Hitting the ground running, Andrew has already begun collecting signatures for the petition for a third secondary school in Gorey and is campaigning hard alongside his colleagues and friends in Fianna Fáil.
Although not coming from a political background within his family, Andrew discovered a love for politics in his late teens.
‘ This started out for me about five or six years ago. I met Malcolm for a cup of coffee and he said he wanted to get more young people interested in politics.
‘Having seen him be a driving force in the Gorey area, it inspired me and I decided to join Fianna Fáil as I admired the policies and republican ideals.
‘With the co-option, you can never tell which way these things are going to go but I was overwhelmed with the result and the support that people have given me. It’s an absolute honour, and I hope to be able to prove to the people in 2024 that I can be a good councillor and run myself in the local elections then’.
Although Andrew said that Malcolm leaves behind big boots to fill, he said that he doesn’t feel that this adds pressure.
‘My parents have been very supportive as have my friends, but this is what I have love doing even as a private citizen and it’s an honour to be a voice for younger people in Wexford.
‘Already issues are coming in but I want to be of help. The way I will work is that if I find an issue, I’ll just ask. It’s not always about having all the answers, I’ll be engaging in listening and I’ll be bringing a book around with me so I’ll make a note of something and come back to the people concerned on it’.
Andrew sees that his background in law and his involvement with Ogra Fianna Fáil, most recently as Chairperson of the Wexford branch, will help him as a councillor.
‘I plan to continue studying to become a solicitor and I feel that the degree in law has helped me so far. If I ever need to draft a motion or legislative policy, I’ll be able to interpret that in the same way.
‘With Ogra Fianna Fail, we have worked on issues with young people and I now further encourage young people to get involved with politics here locally.
‘I’m living here in the town and as a councillor I will be supporting a new school in Gorey, as well as slowing down the brain drain of commuters and therefore supporting more jobs in Gorey.
‘I know that Gorey is a great place to live, but I want to show people that they can stay where their roots are and bring up families, living and working here’.
With a general election fast approaching, you should expect to see Andrew calling to your door.
‘I have loved canvassing in the locals, Europeans and the general and now we’ve an election coming, we need two Fianna Fáil seats in Wexford and we should be very ambitious’.