{"id":304763,"date":"2026-02-18T19:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/304763\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T19:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:38:12","slug":"limerick-mayor-suspects-strategy-to-make-role-unbearable-as-political-tensions-mount-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/304763\/","title":{"rendered":"Limerick mayor suspects strategy to make role \u2018unbearable\u2019 as political tensions mount \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Moran<\/a> has questioned whether there is a strategy by some to make his role as Limerick\u2019s mayor \u201cunbearable\u201d to \u201ccreate sufficient pressure that I might simply walk away\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s only directly-elected mayor made the remarks in a lengthy post on his website amid a row over Limerick<\/a> City and County Council\u2019s (LCCC)\u2019s corporate plan which was approved by councillors on Tuesday last week. <\/p>\n

The plan \u2013 which covers areas such as policy and governance over five years \u2013 was passed by councillors in Moran\u2019s absence as he had to leave a long meeting before it ended for health reasons. <\/p>\n

Moran, a former Department of Finance secretary general turned independent politician, was elected mayor in 2024<\/a>. He is the first holder of the office.<\/p>\n

In his online post addressing last Tuesday\u2019s meeting, he wrote: \u201cWe should have been debating the finer details of how local government should work under the reform of a directly elected mayor\u201d but \u201cinstead, it became something very different\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me personally, it was one of the lowest points since my election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moran also said, without naming any councillors, that a \u201cminority\u201d from Fine Gael and Fianna F\u00e1il \u2013 the largest parties on LCCC who he refers to in the post as \u201cFFG\u201d \u2013 \u201chave consistently opposed\u201d significant initiatives he has proposed.<\/p>\n

Moran wrote that the proposed corporate plan was \u201ccirculated months in advance\u201d, it was discussed in a workshop with councillors, and amendments were adopted or responded to \u201cmonths ago\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cYet on the day of formal adoption, without warning, extensive amendments were asked for\u201d adding: \u201cAll these demands were compiled by a small negotiating group for FFG.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy requests for time to get additional help to clarify unclear points to prepare a response were rejected out of hand,\u201d he claimed. <\/p>\n

He also said he \u201ctook seriously unwell\u201d at the meeting adding he \u201cmade it clear to the FFG negotiating team and also to key officials present that I was not happy with the latest proposals\u201d.<\/p>\n

He presented \u201cchanges which I wanted to see if the document were to be agreed\u201d, adding: \u201cIf they were not acceptable in full, I asked that there be a suspension of the meeting until I could be present to defend my positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moran wrote that there has been commentary \u2013 though he does not specify by whom \u2013 about his departure from the meeting. <\/p>\n

\u201cI did not leave in protest. Earlier that morning, I had attended hospital for cardiac tests,\u201d adding that during the meeting he experienced symptoms of concern. <\/p>\n

\u201cLeadership requires resilience. But it does not require recklessness. The intensity of the proceedings compounded an already physically difficult day and indeed year,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Earlier in the post under a heading of \u201ca pattern of resistance\u201d Moran wrote: \u201cSince my election, a small minority of councillors within the two \u2018ruling\u2019 parties have consistently opposed almost every significant initiative I have brought forward.\u201d Moran added: \u201cMany across the chamber engage constructively. But a small group have chosen a different path.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also claimed there have been \u201crepeated procedural obstacles placed in the way of my routine work\u201d. He cited how an adviser recently \u201cspent almost two hours negotiating\u201d to have work papers delivered from City Hall to Moran\u2019s home on a Friday afternoon while the mayor was abroad so he could work on them upon his return that weekend.<\/p>\n

Moran wrote: \u201cThese are not the actions of people seeking collaboration. They are the tactics of those determined to resist change and do all they can to ensure my term as mayor cannot be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also wrote that at the time of his election the people of Limerick \u201cchose not to have a mayor from either Fianna F\u00e1il or Fine Gael (FFG) who they might have suspected would form the majority in the council chamber\u201d.<\/p>\n

Without identifying anyone Moran adds: \u201cI have long suspected that the strategy of some has been to make the role unbearable \u2013 to create sufficient pressure that I might simply walk away\u201d and added: \u201cIf that is the case, it is profoundly disappointing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Limerick voted clearly for reform. They did not vote to continue the old order or to return to it. In choosing an independent mayor with the experience I brought to the election, they voted decisively for a break from the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il\u2019s leader on LCCC Cllr Michael Collins declined to comment. <\/p>\n

The Irish Times has sought to contact Fine Gael\u2019s leader on the council, Cllr John Sheahan, as well as LCCC itself for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Moran has questioned whether there is a strategy by some to make his role as Limerick\u2019s mayor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,7038,43],"class_list":["post-304763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-politics","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}