‘I’m really delighted I got the opportunity’ - New Kilkenny mayor speaks about taking up office

As one councillor put it at his inauguration, new Kilkenny Mayor John Coonan was proverbially waiting for a London bus in his political career.

After over 25 years of service on local authorities, the Fianna Fáil councillor was elected to the mayorship for the first time in 2020. Following this lengthy wait for an opportunity at the role, Mayor Coonan took the office for the second time in five years at the Kilkenny Municipal District’s annual meeting last month.

In a cruel twist of fate typical of that era however, the Covid pandemic hit the country just three weeks into his first term. Although there was plenty of important work still to be done in managing Kilkenny through the uncertainty of lockdown, the central mayoral duties of attending events and being a public figure in the city were completely curtailed.

Having just arrived to our meeting from an event marking the 50th anniversary of SOS, there are no such obstacles in his second term as he hits the ground running in its opening weeks. 

First elected to Kilkenny Corporation in 1994 and with a 40-year career in nursing behind him Mayor Coonan, now 74, is as enthusiastic as ever looking forward to the year to come.

“I’m only here in the very temporary sense doing my civic duties as the first citizen of Kilkenny, which is important that you do in a proper way, respecting the people who ask you to attend their event, and I’ll do my best for the next 12 months,” he says.

“I hope I will, that I’ll do my very best to represent the citizens of Kilkenny City. That’s all I can do, but I fully intend to do it with every ounce of energy that I have,” he adds.

Looking back on the uncertain times of 2020, the mayor affirms that local authorities performed well in the difficult circumstances despite the unfortunate impact it had on his first term.

“It didn’t just hit me or the Municipal District, it hit Ireland, so we had social distancing and all the rules and regulations that governed that which were prudent at the time for everybody’s health. I think we managed that well on a national level and a local level.

“If we compared Kilkenny City or indeed Ireland itself, to our nearest neighbour, I think we did pretty well with a virus that had never hit the world before and which most of us knew nothing about, but we had to play our part as public representatives locally.

“One of the side-effects of course was that there were no civic events, but I handed over after 12 months and I think about six weeks later, Ireland opened up and the next mayor took on the engagement,” he reflects.

Having been urged to pursue a career in local politics after serving as a nurse’s representative on the health board, it was always an ambition for Mayor Coonan to hold the office, an appetite which has only grown in the period since his first term ended.

“I’m really delighted I got the opportunity; I’m full of energy and I have my health,” he says.

“Was it my intention to reach the summit and be mayor? It absolutely was. I’m delighted that I’ve achieved it.”

Now focused on the work of the coming year, the mayor is keen to keep Kilkenny’s national reputation as a festival hotspot going with next month’s Arts Festival while funding has also been secured for a new Halloween festival in October.

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Another key issue on the agenda is the development of publicly accessible infrastructure and transport to continue the success of the two Kilkenny City bus routes which are in the process of being significantly expanded, something Mayor Coonan hopes to build on when the Kilkenny Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan is introduced.

“You can see the physical changes that are being made in Kilkenny, like the footpaths being extended, the upgrading of the public realm, the facilities for cycling and walking as well,” he outlines.

“Things are being modernised to give that very facility to the people to use cycling, walking and indeed now, the public transport system. So one of my priorities is to see that public transport will meet the needs of all the people in Kilkenny.”

“We have an extended city now and there are parts, because there are only two routes, that are not serviced by this public transport system,” he said. “My aim is once we have the urban mobility plan as part of the development introduced, we will extend.”

A lasting image from Coonan’s inauguration was the huge support present for him in the public gallery at County Hall. Family members and friends were gathered to witness him take office, and this backing is something which he has relied on in his long career.

“I need advice the same as everybody else. I might be a public servant for many years, but I still maybe forget the priorities that I should be keeping in the uppermost of my mind,” he accepts.

“I have one son, Aidan, and he’s been very supportive of me, and his three children as well, Ava, Emma and Sean. My wife Ann has been seriously supportive of me since I started in public life.”

“She’s gone through health challenges in recent times, but is ever as strong in supporting me for what I do in public service and is very encouraging to me. It’s important that that happens,” he says.

“People like that, your local family, are the ones who are closest to you in life as well, like local politics.”

Whatever one’s party allegiance or political ideology might be, the respect that Mayor Coonan holds for his office and his role in local affairs is clear in his concluding remarks: 

“I firmly believe in local politics and that’s why I’m involved in it, because I think it’s that part of democracy which is closest to the people. Every day of the week, you make representations at a local level, to do local things for local people, to develop and enhance your community, and the services that you provide as well.

“It can’t be any more local than that. I think that’s the essence of democracy.”

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