Cllr. Joe Conway (Ind) has been elected as the new Mayor of Waterford City and County.
He was proposed by Cllr. Joe Kelly and seconded by Cllr. Lola O’ Sullivan at the AGM of the Plenary Council held in City Hall this afternoon (Thursday, June 29th).
Cllr. Conway becomes the first Mayor of Waterford City and County from Tramore. He has a long and distinguished career in local politics, having been elected to Tramore Town Council in 2004 to Waterford County Council in 2009 and to the amalgamated City and County Council in 2014 and again in 2019, representing the Tramore/Waterford City west EA. Cllr. Conway also served as Mayor of Tramore for two terms in 2007/8 and 2012/3.
From 2005 to 2009, Cllr. Conway represented Irish local government as a delegate to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Cllr. Conway is a graduate of UCD’s School of Politics and has a deep affection for Irish history and An Ghaeilge. He currently serves on the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Married to Sandra Dunphy, they have three children, Donncha, Ailbhe and Niamh.
Following the Plenary AGM, Waterford’s newest Mayor said, “I feel enormously privileged and honoured to be elected Mayor here today, following in a tradition that goes back well over 700 years in this astounding and historical city.”
Mayor Joe Conway and family.
He thanked proposer and seconder Councillors Kelly and O’ Sullivan, his predecessor Cllr. John O’Leary, his Council colleagues, Waterford City and County Council Chief Executive, senior management team and fondly recalled those “who may be watching us from a happier place afar,” Davy Daniels, James Tobin, Billy Kyne, John Carey, Dan Cowman and Ben Gavin.
Waterford’s newest Mayor paid special tribute to his wife of thirty-nine years, Sandra, “an Abbeyside lady who brought me to Waterford and who with me gave to the world and Waterford our three gorgeous kids, Donncha, Ailbhe and Niamh.”
He continued with a “charming adage from President Abraham Lincoln which goes something like this ‘The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation, because she never cackles until the egg is laid.’”
In conclusion, Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr. Conway said, “So hopefully at the end of my term as Mayor – if God gives me good health – I will be able to look back on a fruitful year of endorsing the commercial, professional and community life of Waterford, promoting our image and products, forging strong relations with our neighbouring LAs (Local Authorities) and our twin cities, co-operating with Government in consolidating the Gaeltacht service town status of Dungarvan, and enhancing our environment by developing our Local Authority Climate Action Plan.”
Cllr. Declan Doocey was elected as Deputy Mayor of Waterford City and County.
