9 July 1997
Long serving Fianna Fail councillor Ms Margaret Adams was unanimously elected chairman of Westport urban council at the authority's annual general meeting on Thursday.
This is the third time Ms Adams has held the position as head of the council. She first held office for the term 1983-1984 and was elected a second year in 1991.
Margaret Adams is also distinguished in that she is not only the first women to ever take the office of chairperson of Westport urban council, but the only one in Mayo to hold such a position. She succeeds Fine Gael's Mr Dermot Langan who made his debut as chairman last year.
This year's vice chairperson is Ms Adams Fianna Fail colleague, Mr Declan Dever. He succeeds Mr Ollie Gannon of Fine Gael.
Margaret Adams follows a long family tradition in local politics; her father was also a former chairman of the urban council. Margaret has been a member of Westport urban council since 1974.
Her deputy, Declan Dever, comes from a similar background and indeed his father also served on the same council as Ms Adams' father.
Ms Adams was proposed for the chairman's position by Mr Sean Staunton and his nomination was seconded by Mr John Joe O'Malley. Mr Staunton said she was the unanimous choice of the Fianna Fail party.
The rotation system operated between the two main parties meant there was no opposition to Ms Adams taking the chair by the Fine Gael members.
Ms Adams told the meeting it was a great pleasure for her to become the first citizen of Westport for the third time. She thanked Mr Staunton and Mr O'Malley and her other colleagues for their support. Speaking of the professional manner in which outgoing chairman, Mr Dermot Langan, had carried out his duties, Ms Adams said he would be back to head the council in the future.
The year ahead would be a challenging one, she said. The council looked forward to the starting of the heritage centre and leisure facility on James Street.
Another priority of her's would be to provide low cost sites for young couples in Westport. "I would dearly love to see the council provide low cost sites for young couples. I will try and do my best to provide sites for young couples who can not afford to buy sites in this town.
"It is a great pity we have to lose our young people because we need these people living and working in this town."
Decisions would have to be made on the town development plan and discussions would start in September.
Ms Adams said another aspect she would explore is the concept of a one stop shop. It was necessary to implement this so the people of Westport could call in to the council offices and have all the necessary information provided for them instead of having to travel to Mayo County Council and Castlebar.
"It would lift the standing of the council in the town as the central development body," she said.
Ms Adams added she looked forward to working with her colleagues on the council and the council staff for the coming year. She was also looking forward to working with local development groups such as the Chamber of Commerce.
"We can make Westport the number one town in the country," she said.
Many tributes were paid to Ms Adams by her colleagues on her new appointment.
Deputy Michael Ring said: "You will bring style to the council as you always have. You will do a good job on behalf of the people of Westport."
Mr Patrick Durcan spoke of Ms Adams' commitment and energy and pledged his loyalty for the coming year.
Town Manager, Mr Padraic Hughes, said he looked forward to working with Ms Adams and assured of the full co-operation of all the council staff.
