New Mayor of Limerick aims to put ‘integrity’ at heart of term

WHEN HOSPITAL-based Fine Gael councillor Gerald Mitchell was unanimously elected mayor, he felt more than the weight of the chain of office on his shoulders - the hand of history was also present.

In the more than 800-year history of the office of mayor, he believes he is the first politician from rural south Limerick to take on the role.

With centuries to go back over, it’s hard to prove the claim.

But, up to 2014, the title of Mayor of Limerick was drawn from members of the old City Council, meaning it’s likely those who held the ancient office would have been drawn from the ancient city, and not the rural county.

All that changed nine years ago when the City Council merged with the County Council, paving the way for first citizens from Askeaton, Abbeyfeale, Croagh, Newcastle West as well as the traditional city area.

What is certain is it’s the first time in the single local authority that the mayor hails from south Limerick.

But the Mitchell family’s heritage runs through county politics like letters through a stick of rock.

Mayor Gerald Mitchell is an ancestral relation of Thomas B Mitchell, the first chairman of Limerick County Council, elected in 1889.

Thomas’s brother Edmond Mitchell also served on the first rural council.

And the new mayor’s grandfather Edmond J Mitchell served on Limerick County Council from 1928 to 1942.

Yet another relation, Thomas M Mitchell, was a councillor in the early 1940s.It's a heritage the new mayor is very proud of.

“The Mitchells have always had a motto down through the years - public service not self-service. I think it applies more today than ever. I believe in being transparent, upright. I’m a big man on accountability. We need to bring justice from the top down,” he said.

Mayor Mitchell will spend his year in office with more than half an eye on next summer's local council elections.

His party's grass-roots this week selected him to run again in Cappamore/Kilmallock.

It is here where the auctioneer began his journey into representative politics.

He was a late addition to the Fine Gael ticket in 2009, when voters abandoned Fianna Fail in their droves following the recession. Despite this, he missed out by only a handful of votes.

With a longer lead-in time in 2014, Cllr Mitchell beat the backlash against his own party - which had just introduced water rates - and was duly elected.

He held his seat five years on, increasing his vote again.

“When I went forward, the Mitchell name helped me because it is a very respected name in the community. I think I'd attribute that to my father Edmond, who was a very upright and principled man, and my mother Eileen,” he said.

“I'd be very fair, and I'd respect everybody regardless of their background. That’s a characteristic of mine. I like to help people, and I get a satisfaction from helping people without expectation,” Mayor Mitchell said.

The new mayor admits he initially did not think politics was for him - his family business E.J .Mitchell and Sons Auctioneers took up a lot of his time.

“I shied away at first. But one person said to me, shur, you’ve no enemies. Why don’t you go? I just wondered did I need it on top of my business and farming,” he explained.

In Pictures: National Day of Commemoration held in Limerick

While some councillors use social media more to get their message across, Mayor Mitchell believes nothing beats getting out and pressing the flesh.

“It's very important to personally call to the doors and meet the people. Facebook may be useful, but it’s never going to be the same as the personal touch,” he explained.

Posters imploring the public to vote ‘one’ to a particular candidate will start to appear as the election draws closer.

While his placards may bear that message, it’s something he’d never dream of asking his constituents directly.

“I’d always just say, ‘please support me, It’d be appreciated’. It works for me. Serving the people is a vocation for me,” said the mayor, who was educated at De la Salle school in Hospital, and graduated from Salesian College in Pallaskenry.

All politics is local, as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar found out last week when he met Limerick’s new mayor in Dublin.

Problems with overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick, sewage treatment plants in Limerick’s rural areas and changes to the planning laws to assist small communities were on the agenda.

“I think he got the message,” smiled Mayor Mitchell.

A father of one, his son Mark has just graduated and is set to become first male dietician in Galway University Hospital.

With the cost-of-living crisis, Mayor Mitchell believes money is “basically valueless” now.

And things are not working for the people whom Taoiseach Varadkar has pledged to represent, namely ‘those who get up early in the morning’.

He praised the Fine Gael government for switching away from a reliance on construction following the 2008 financial crash, but now believes it’s the time to “rebalance” things

“We are probably victims of our own success,” he said with reference to the number of jobs Ireland is creating as against the number of homes there are.

“We didn't concentrate on building. We concentrated on education, and attracting the foreign direct investment.”

One cannot interview the first citizen without bringing up the plebiscite which Limerick people voted on four years ago.

By a majority, the public approved plans for a directly elected mayor.

The legislation still remains tied up in the Oireachtas, and it’s unclear when Limerick will go to the polls to elect an executive mayor.

Councillor Mitchell campaigned against the idea, and still has reservations about the role today.

“We did highlight there were deficiencies in the power of the [directly elected] mayor. Did the people know what they are voting for? You are talking about a salaried role of €160,000, you’re talking about two advisors and a driver. Sometimes money attracts the wrong... If the person elected attracts himself to a certain groupings, we may have problems,” he cautioned.

Away from work, Mayor Mitchell says he loves relaxing at home.

“I love spending time in my new house and on my lands. That’s my little sanctuary, to get away and just relax and take a few walks. I'm living a mile in off the road, and when I wake up, I'm seeing nature at its finest. That's where I get away from it all,” he says. “I live a simple life, and I am a happy man. It's not about all the material stuff. My mission is to be content.

When I looked at my son with his masters in sports science, and he was a happy man, that’s when I define myself as successful," he said.

With running his own business and being a local councillor, Mayor Mitchell says he doesn't take too many holidays.

“I love what I do, and I'm happy doing it," he added.

It’s this attitude which will hold him in good stead for his year in office.