At a special meeting held last Monday, Cllr Tom Brabazon (FF) was elected as the 351st Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Cllr Brabazon’s election comes after former Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe, who was elected last Summer, was elected as a TD earlier this month in the 2020 General Election.
Cllr Brabazon received 34 votes from his fellow councillors at the meeting in City Hall, while 26 votes went to independent councillor Anthony Flynn, who ran in contest. Three councillors were absent.
Votes for Cllr Brabazon were cast by his own party, as well as councillors from Labour, the Social Democrats and the Green Party under the ‘Dublin Agreement’.
Cllr Brabazon will only hold the seat until Summer, however, when a new Lord Mayor from the Green Party is expected to be elected for the next term. This vote will take place in June, at an annual meeting of councillors.
The new Lord Mayor’s wife, Liz, and their three children joined him to celebrate following his election as the First Citizen of Dublin.
Fianna Fail’s Racheal Batten was elected as Deputy Lord Mayor at Monday night’s vote, defeating Fine Gael’s Colm O’Rourke for the seat.
Originally from Raheny, Cllr Brabazon first became a councillor in 2003, when he was co-opted to Dublin City Council following the abolition of the dual mandate.
He was then re-elected to the council a further four times, most recently in 2019.
In addition to voting for a new Lord Mayor, several councillor vacancies following the general election were also filled.
Trinity graduate Breege Mac Oscair filled Paul McAuliffe’s seat, whilst Daniel Keating filled SF’s Chris Andrews’ position.
The Green Party’s Patrick Costello was co-opted by former journalist Caroline Moore, while GP’s Neasa Hourigan’s seat was filled by Darcey Lonergan.
Social Democrat Gary Gannon’s seat was filled by Kath O’Driscoll.
