Mayor of Limerick left finance job over 'prying' into personal life

MAYOR John Moran has revealed he left his role at the Department of Finance over “prying” into his private life - including the taking of photos at the back of his home.

Limerick’s first directly elected mayor served alongside former Finance Minister Michael Noonan as director general between 2012 and 2014.

With Ireland fighting a recession, his role as one of the country’s most senior civil servants put him under intense scrutiny.

Now, as part of an in-depth interview with Limerick Live as he reaches his 100th day in office, Mayor Moran has lifted the lid on his departure.

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Although Mr Moran is now openly gay - and in a long-term relationship - at the time he was not ‘out’, and said then his departure was related to Ireland’s exit from the bailout.

“People had started to pry into my private life. Not particularly knowing what they were prying into. I had a photograph taken at the back of my house because I had commented on housing policy. It was clear one of the newspapers had been given a file or had a file to try and work out what they could find out about John Moran,” he said.

He said he wanted to “manage” the process of coming out in his own way, and was concerned this would not have been possible had he remained at the Department.

Mayor Moran admitted he “underestimated” the level of interrogation around his private life which he says is “irrelevant in terms of my ability to do the job or not to do the job.”

Following his election as mayor, The Ditch website published information around the income he is making from rental developments in Ireland and abroad.

He said while he was “saddened” by the coverage, he was heartened by the reaction from many in Limerick.

“People of Limerick basically said - we know, and we voted him in. We want someone who knows how to do property, who has experience in banking and all these other areas,” he said, pointing out information on his financial background was published on his own website before polling day.

“I think they thought they had some kind of scoop,” said Mayor Moran.

He acknowledges he has been fortunate in life. With this in mind, he feels a “duty to pay” to Limerick through his work as mayor.