THE “bockety” wheels have come off the Council’s wagon. The honeymoon is over and the ill-matched throuple are all sleeping in separate boardrooms.
There’s no more keeping up appearances, as digs are being thrown all over the place.
None of the hoo-haa in recent days is a big surprise, it was on the cards for some time. There have long been whispers of a potential shootout of O.K. Corral proportions between Mayor John Moran, Council management, and councillors. The sense was that Council members were gunning for our first citizen, and perhaps even preparing to go to war on budget day.
That the opening volley of this showdown was fired so publicly, on Joe Nash’s Live 95 morning show, did catch everyone off guard. As did the fact that Mayor Moran, the sheriff round these parts, shot first.
- External Walls: Up to €8,000 Grant
- Attic: Up to €1,500 Grant
- Cavity Walls: Up to €1,700 Grant
- Internal Dry Lining: Up to €4,500 Grant
But what did the Mayor say on local radio that irked the troops so? Nothing too salacious, really.
Mayor Moran, who has a habit of putting foot in mouth in Council quarters, spoke of expecting higher standards and sending back work he believed wasn’t up to scratch.
The bottom line is, he publicly took the view that he was elected to introduce higher standards and it did not go down at all well in City Hall.
Council Director General Dr Pat Daly quickly rallied to his outfit’s aid. An “internal” Council circulation – which made it into the local media’s hands faster than you can say ‘the scones are buttered’ – saw Dr Daly write that he understood and shared the sense of disappointment within the local authority that some of the Mayor’s remarks caused.
“While it is natural to feel disheartened, it’s important that we focus our energy on what we do best, that is, serving our community with professionalism, integrity, and pride,” he wrote.
With fears of further altercations ahead of Budget 2026, Dr Daly took the opportunity to stick a flag in the ground and highlight the importance of pulling together in the same direction.
I bet pulling in the same direction is exactly what some have in mind, much the same way the Spanish Inquisition encouraged a grand stretch in the morning.
But before we consider bringing back the rack for Budget 2026, can we take a second to remember the words of former US President Joe Biden: “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.”
This is the flip side of this whole Shakespearean faux pas — the power struggle between king and court and the civil unrest of local peasants.
Only last week at the Metropolitan District meeting, city councillors were feeling undervalued by the Mayor and the top brass on the top floor of Merchants Quay.
This age-old tune has resounded at the monthly Metro shindig since City and County Councils first started wooing one another back in the ancient days — 2014. Long before Mayor Moran ever entered their marriage bed.
All together now, ‘Our country cousins are getting all the pie! Divvy it up! Divvy it up! We’ve been short-changed, again and again, but that’s nothing new.’
Of course, there’s about as much love lost between city representatives and their country counterparts as there is Limerick motorists and the Mayor’s O’Connell Avenue beach.
As I pen this missive ahead of print deadline, another storm is already brewing at the adjourned mayoral fund meeting. More from me on that next week. Until then, unhappily ever after, indeed!
– Local Democracy Reporting Scheme