"He's a local lad here from Carpenterstown, he's a local schoolteacher," said Fine Gael Councillor Ted Leddy, who proposed the motion. "A mural or something like that would be very appropriate."
Councillors have backed a proposal to honour GAA star Ciarán Kilkenny in Dublin 15, maybe with a mural, following his retirement from inter-county football in July.
"He's a local lad here from Carpenterstown, he's a local schoolteacher," said Fine Gael Councillor Ted Leddy, who proposed the motion.
He started playing for Dublin in 2012, and he just finished his career this summer, Leddy said. "In those years, he has won eight senior All-Ireland medals, and that is really quite outstanding."
Leddy's motion proposed "installing a public and permanent marking in his honour". Speaking to propose the motion, Leddy said he thought "a mural or something like that would be very appropriate. I don't know where."
Councillors from across parties spoke up to support the motion at last Thursday's meeting of the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart/Castleknock/Ongar Area Committee of Fingal County Council.
"I have watched Ciarán Kilkenny on many, many, many, many occasions in Croke Park," said Sinn Féin Councillor Angela Donnelly. "He teaches, himself, in Ongar, I think it is. He is a very, very worthy candidate to be honoured in Dublin 15."
Yes, said Aontú Councillor Gerard Sheehan, he teaches at a local school, "Where my kids are going, so we've had the honour of having him teach some of my kids. So he's a great man, I'd happily support the motion, and I can think of a wall up here in Ongar where we could put the mural."
Solidarity Councillor John Burtchaell said he met the "legendary footballer" in Wexford "a number of years ago" at a Dublin vs Wexford hurling match. Kilkenny "was out injured at the time and that's why he was supporting the hurlers", he said.
"We had a very good night on the town afterwards, I can" – Burtchaell laughed – "mention this now because Ciarán has retired and no manager will be dropping him off the team".
Labour Councillor John Walsh said that "He's an outstanding role model and I think it's important that we honour, you know, outstanding sports people in our area. And it establishes a precedent to do that actually. I think that'd be very positive."
Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom Kitt also said he supported the motion, but he wondered about setting that precedent. "I mean there's other players too who could be in line with that, and I think if we set a precedent giving one player we'll have to give them all," he said.
Burtchaell raised a similar point while supporting the motion. "St Brigid's [GAA Club] may have something to say about this as well," he said. "They have a couple of legendary footballers too. Paddy Andrews in particular, has seven All-Ireland medals."
Leddy, though, said he didn't think there'd be a problem with singling Kilkenny out.
"Obviously there's other sportspeople that might deserve it, but I think a lot of Ciarán Kilkenny's colleagues would humbly admit themselves that Ciarán was particularly special, and his achievements were particularly special so I don't think there'd be any difficulty with that," he said.
Chairing the meeting, Fianna Fáil Councillor Eimear Carbone-Mangan said she supported the motion too. "But I just want it noted that I grew up in a house that supported Cork GAA."
Now, a plaque or statue in Kilkenny's honour would be against the council's naming and commemorations policy, said Aoife Sheridan, a senior executive officer in the council's Corporate Services Department.
That policy for the naming of infrastructure and installation of commemorative monuments or plaques, says that "Proposals to commemorate living persons will not be considered".
"But there may be something else that we could do," Sheridan said. "I think Councillor Leddy mentioned a mural."
The committee agreed to support the motion, and the idea was referred to the council's Naming and Commemorative Memorial Assessment Committee.
Lauren Fernandes noticed menus and flyers all over with the same sterile look, and thought: what if she could help out small businesses which can't afford creative work, usually?
A local GAA club works with children with additional needs, said one councillor. “They have children with needs that need to be met and the closer they can be dropped off to the pitch, the better.”
"So, unfortunately there was no goals ordered," Derek Farrell, a council manager, told councillors at a meeting this week.
About 38 percent of the club’s adult membership saw active service during that war, and 18 were killed in it, club president Brendan Smith said at an event Wednesday night.
