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Limerick councillor refuses to apologise for Moyross letter
A LEADING Fianna Fail councillor who wrote to voters in Askeaton 'assuring' them that nobody from Moyross would be housed in the town has refused to apologise, despite strong criticism of his letter.
Just days before the local elections, Cllr Sheahan issued a letter to residents in Askeaton claiming that he had received "a very definite guarantee that there will not be any people coming from Moyross or any other part of Limerick to the new council houses" in Church Street in the town.
It has since emerged that no applications were made for social housing by Moyross residents.
However, the letter has prompted anger – with Mayor Kevin Kiely saying Cllr Sheahan should leave issues like anti-social behaviour to the gardai.
Speaking the Limerick Leader this Wednesday morning, Cllr Sheahan refused to back down, saying: "I will never, ever, ever apologise to anybody for defending the best interests of my own town and the people I represent. The contents of my letter were influenced by the concerns I heard from residents ... regarding unsociable behaviour. People living in Moyross have a better understanding of the fears of my community than some of my critics have."
Mayor Kiely said he thinks the controversial letter was just a piece of "electioneering" by the Fianna Fail councillor.
"But the people gave him his answer because he just scraped in. Like all communities, Moyross has a handful of people who want to cause trouble. But it's up to the gardai to sort these people out. Its not up to the likes of Kevin Sheahan to do this," Mayor Kiely added.
In a letter to the Limerick Leader, Dr John O'Brennan, a lecturer in European politics wrote: "Cllr Sheahan's outrageous slur on the people of Moyross represents the worst sort of crass populist politics. It betrays a mindset of overt discrimination."
Cllr Sheahan took the third seat in the Rathkeale electoral area last week, securing 1,326 first preference votes.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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