There were tense scenes in The City Hall in Sligo earlier today over the appointments of Mayor and Deputy Mayor to the Borough District.
Proceedings didn’t get off to a smooth start, with two newly elected Cllrs voicing their concerns over how their fellow colleagues decided to delegate the positions.
In the chamber today, Fianna Fáil Cllr Tom MacSharry was nominated for Mayor of the Borough District by Sinn Fein Cllr Arthur Gibbons.
However, just when things seemed over the line, newly elected Fine Gael Cllr Fergal Nealon made the shock proposal to nominate Labour Cllr Nessa Cosgrove.
Cllr Nealon claimed that there was an “inner cartel” working within the Council, giving positions to each other.
He also claimed that he and Cllr Cosgrove were excluded from such conversations.
Cllr Nealon further lashed out over Cllr MacSharry receiving the position of Mayor several times.
Speaking to Ocean FM news, Cllr Nealon feels that it doesn’t seem inclusive:
Outgoing Mayor Declan Bree pleaded with Cllr Nealon to respect the Chair but Cllr Nealon persisted in speaking over him.
Eventually things simmered down and Cllr MacSharry was elected Mayor.
Then, when People Before Profit Cllr Gino O’Boyle was nominated as Deputy Mayor, Labour Cllr Nessa Cosgrove proposed Cllr Nealon for the role.
This subsequently went to a vote with four local representatives to two voting in favour of Cllr O’Boyle for the position.
A disappointed Cllr Cosgrove feels that she and Cllr Nealon have been treated unfairly:
When asked over the comments made by Cllr Nealon in the Chamber, newly elected Mayor Cllr Tom MacSharry had this to say:
