New Co Council chairman
ENNISCORTHY-BASED Fianna Fáil councillor Keith Doyle is the new Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, following Monday’s AGM at council headquarters.
Cllr Doyle was first elected to the Town Council in 1994 and was elected to Wexford County Council in 2009 and again in 2014, following in the footsteps of his late father, Andy. The Doyle family, said Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy who proposed her party colleague for the role, had been involved in local poli- tics for five generations.
Cllr Doyle was seconded by his district colleague, Fine Gael’s Cllr Paddy Kavanagh who remarked that while it would be good to have someone from Enniscorthy in the chair, he knew that Cllr Doyle would be fair to everyone.
Sinn Féin’s Cllr Johnny Mythen was also proposed and seconded by Cllr Mick Roche and Cllr Davy Hynes respectively. Following voting, Cllr Doyle was elected on a vote of 23 to five.
Cllr Doyle said it was an honour for him to serve as Cathaoirleach and the ‘pinnacle’ of his political career, saying that when he had started out he’d never expected to end up in such a role. Of politics, he said it was difficult to be a politician unless it was in your blood, or you were mad!
Cllr Doyle said he intended to forego his chairman’s expenses, asking instead that the money be used to benefit projects in his home district of Enniscorthy.
He said that he did not want to outline a wish list for his year in the chair, other than to push the progression of major projects in the county, adding that he would probably push the Enniscorthy ones a little bit harder given that he was a ‘scalder’.