Archive - Kilkenny political powerhouse Margaret Tynan does it again! (1974)

Miss Margaret Tynan is the first woman ever to be elected chairman of Kilkenny County Council.

At the first meeting of the newly-elected council Miss Tynan (Fine Gael) beat Senator Bob Aylward (Fianna Fail) by 14 votes to 12. And she had the support of her own party, the Labour Party and Sinn Fein’s Sean Walsh.

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Alderman Seamus Pattison TD (Labour) was elected vice-chairman also by 14 votes to 12 against John Fennelly (Fianna Fail).

Mr Walsh said that in deciding who he was going to vote for he must disregard political affiliations and choose on the basis of personality.

As Margaret Tynan was one of the only two women elected to the Council he was voting for her because he was in favour of women participating in politics.

“While I was selected by the Sinn Fein organisation and elected by the people to play an active part in the council - and I will play an active part on every issue that comes up - in deciding who I am going to vote for I must disregard political affiliations,” he said. “I must choose on the basis of personality.

“In my opinion the two people the council have served the public well but I think my choice must go to Margaret Tynan because she is one of only two women on the Council and I am in favour of women participating in politics.”

Now it’s Mayor Martin
In one of the more uneventful Mayoral elections of recent years, Ald Thomas Martin was chosen as Kilkenny’s First Citizen on Friday.

Proposed by his own party, Labour, and seconded by Fine Gael, he was elected unanimously - Fianna Fail and the Independents made no nominations.

Following his election, Ald Martin said he was conscious of three major needs for the city to which he would give his attention - housing, jobs and recreational facilities.

He would not place them in priority, but during his term of office as Mayor and as an Alderman on the Corporation he would work for the betterment of Kilkenny.

Leinster Title
The Kilkenny minor camogie team captured the first ever Leinster minor title by the narrowest of margins at Nowlan Park on Sunday.

And how close the game came to going to a replay. In the dying seconds a 30 by Mary Purcell was the winning score as Kilkenny beat Dublin by 2-3 to 2-2.