Inishowen Councillor Paul Canning has been elected as the new Cathaoirleach and ‘first citizen’ of Donegal.
The Fianna Fáil councillor from Manorcunningham takes over the role from Independent Councillor Niamh Kennedy.
An experienced architect, Cllr. Canning has served as a county councillor for 14 years.
He was first co-opted onto Donegal County Council in 2011 when fellow Fianna Fáil politician Charlie McConalogue was elected to the Dáil.
Cllr Canning was joined in Lifford by his family, including his parents, his wife Stephanie, and daughter Vanessa, alongside party colleagues Minister of State McConalogue and Senator Niall Blaney for the occasion.
In taking his seat at the head of the Council Chamber, Cllr Canning thanked everyone for putting their trust in him.
“It’s an honour for me and my family to get this opportunity,” he said.
“I hope to be fair, honest and straight with everyone.”
Looking to the year ahead, Cllr Canning said the council must “put in an extra shift” to ensure government-supported developments are progressed
On housing, he said: “We are slowly getting to grips with the housing crisis but there is a hell of a lot more work to do and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Cllr Canning also called for more promotion of Donegal’s tourism offerings and its unspoilt landscape.
“We are not a quarter of the way there of promoting our county,” he said, saying that more must be done for North Inishowen in particular.
To all elected members and the executive, he said: “I look forward to working with you all this coming year in the hope of making Donegal a better place to live for everyone.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly from Glenswilly was elected this year’s Leas-Cathaoirleach, taking over from Fine Gael councillor Jimmy Kavanagh.
Outgoing Cathaoirleach Niamh Kennedy, who represented Donegal locally and all over the world, said it was a “great year” in which she visited most of the county, welcomed visitors and made great friends.
Among the highlights during her term were the nominations of Jim McGuinness and Enya for the Freedom of the County. She also oversaw the official designation of the first Sunday of September as ‘Donegal Camino Day’.
Cllr Kennedy also proudly raised €7,525 for the Donegal Domestic Violence Services through her “Cathaoirleach’s Concert” in An Grianan Letterkenny in April.
“It was a pleasure to represent the county and I was very proud to do so,” said Cllr Kennedy in her closing remarks.
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