Limerick man flies to role as mayor of London borough on the doorstep of Heathrow Airport

A LIMERICK man has been elected the first citizen of one of London’s 32 boroughs.

John Doran, who hails from Thomondgate, secured the chain of office to become mayor of the London Borough of Spelthorne.

Based in outer London, to the west of the city, the area covers a number of areas on the doorstep of Heathrow Airport.

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Mayor Doran lives in Stanwell, a village which is set to be hugely impacted by the addition of a third runway to London’s main airport.

Born and raised in Thomondgate, on the city’s northside, he turned out for Thomond rugby club at junior level for two years, before leaving Limerick at the age of 20.

He took a job with the Royal Air Force, before moving to work in the freight department of Heathrow Airport.

A Limerick man at heart, the mayor declared: “I’m definitely a soda cake!”

He was a relatively late starter in politics, being elected as a Labour councillor into Stanwell Borough Council in 2019, at the age of 79, and was re-elected four years on.

He joined his wife Susan, a past Mayor of Spelthorne, in the chamber.

Asked how it felt to be elected mayor, he said: “Great! I am the first Irish man, and the first Limerick man to have the role as far as I am aware!”

He admits that his recent visits home to Limerick have mainly been for “weddings and funerals”.

“More funerals than weddings sadly,” he said.

The eldest of six children, only two of his five siblings remain, one being his brother Stephen, an accountant based in O’Connell Street.

Mayor Doran recalls growing up in Clancy’s Strand, between the Curragower Pub, St Munchin’s Church and the Treaty Stone.

Unlike here in Limerick, where there is a directly elected mayor in place, Mayor Doran will serve just a one-year term, which will expire in May next year.