FIANNA Fáil councillor Catherine Slattery could never be accused of being a shrinking violet.
A strong, outspoken, no nonsense kind of gal, the new Príomh Chomhairleoir (chief councillor) of Limerick City and County Council does not believe in holding her tongue when it comes to the betterment of the communities in her electoral area.
Passionate, plain-spoken, and persistent in her endeavours as a local representative in City East, she tells me she is now looking forward to working collaboratively with all councillors, the Mayor, and the Council executive to serve the people of Limerick.
At the recent Council AGM, Cllr Slattery became only the second person to hold the title of Príomh Chomhairleoir since its creation under the 2024 Local Government reforms. The role, which carries a one-year term, serves as the chairperson of the full Council and is elected by fellow councillors.
The chains of office were passed onto the Fianna Fáil woman from outgoing and inaugural Príomh Chomhairleoir Cllr Dan McSweeney (FG). Slattery deemed it a proud day for her and her family as she expressed the deep honour she felt for the trust placed in her by her Council colleagues.
“It’s a huge honour, especially when you consider that, when I first ran in 2019, I wasn’t from a political background. It was daunting, but I wanted to put myself forward, and I was delighted when I got elected,” she told the Limerick Post in an exclusive interview following her appointment to the new role.
“It’s an unbelievable honour,” she explains as we stroll around the People’s Park. “The messages and the phone calls and texts over the last couple of days to congratulate me was just fantastic, it’s fabulous.”
I get the sense that Catherine, who was straight into her busy work schedule soon after the chains of office were placed around her neck, is still pinching herself in disbelief.
A capable, hardworking, and tenacious captain of our local authority, she confesses that she is excited and nervous as she considers the year ahead.
But if her track record is anything to go on, she has nothing to fret over. In last year’s local elections, Cllr Slattery’s toil in the previous Council term was rewarded with a poll-topping vote of 1,894 — a vote that speaks volumes about the regard she is held in with her constituents.
‘I’m a people pleaser’
The Hyde Road-born councillor, who now lives in Old Cork Road, has learned her political trade working alongside Fianna Fáil stalwart Willie O’Dea TD as his secretarial assistant for the past 13 years.
A proud mother to Kate and Aidan, and doting grandmother to Brooke and Robbie, Catherine first entered politics because she felt her local community were underrepresented. Family and community oriented, she strongly believes that local people and their neighbourhoods need a voice so that they can be heard, and she has made it her business to be that voice.
I have to ask the former Scoil Carmel student, who once dreamed of being a nurse, if her younger self ever pictured her path taking her where it has today.
“Not in a million years,” she admits with bursts of laughter.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to be after I gave up on the idea of nursing, but certainly not a politician. You know what though, I’m delighted I did follow that path because I’m a people pleaser, I always have been.
“That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but it now allows me to get my voice heard and I get to help more people, which is brilliant. That really makes me happy.”
‘Willie has been very good to me’
Willie O’Dea, who was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1982, is not only Catherine’s employer, she also considers her party colleague as her greatest mentor and ally.
“Since I put my name forward to first run for the Council six years ago, myself and Willie have been working more closely. We are going to events together, meeting community groups, visiting people together to listen to their issues and help them sort it out. I have learned a lot from him and he’s been a great mentor and friend,” she says.
“Willie has been very good to me with advice and I suppose training me as well, without realising it.”
Seeing women in the top positions in politics is also very important to Catherine and she wants to see more balance around the political table — something she feels she is achieving for the people of Limerick City East.
“Even for my granddaughter, it was great for her to witness me getting the chains in the Council chamber because now this is natural for women in her mind to put themselves forward. So if you do nothing else, you’re empowering another generation for her and my daughter, who in fairness, is a very strong woman and I’m very proud of her,” she says.
Speaking of strong women, Cllr Catherine Slattery has proved a firm voice in the Council chamber in her six years as a local representative, and her tenure as Metropolitan Cathaoirleach in 2021/2022.
Were these outspoken and ‘not for turning’ qualities always in her makeup, or is this forceful leadership style something she has developed, I ask.
“I would say that I was always outspoken but I didn’t realise it was in me until I had to fight,” she suggests.
“People might always have seen me as argumentative but when you sit down there in the Council chamber, you’re glad you are argumentative, because you need to be strong. You need to have a voice. That’s what our communities need, that’s what I have been elected to do, speak up on behalf of the communities and that’s what I’m doing, and I love it.”
