Council Affairs: Limerick Council goes live and loud

All the latest from the chambers of Limerick City and County Council from Limerick Post satirical columnist Sean Mellor.

THE Council has gone live! And blimey, what a party they threw for their first broadcast from the Dooradoyle chamber last week. It was like some mad as a box of frogs Fine Gael think tank managed by Basil Fawlty, complete with sharp tongues, flustered dispositions, and insolent tantrums.

We even had one councillor make a “holy show” of themselves – not that there’s any surprises there! Limerick City and How’s Your Father threw the whole kit and caboodle at their first live-streamed production to keep the 24 masochistic punters online titillated.

No better buachaill than Cllr Adam Teskey (FG), let me tell you, to put on a performance of exaggerated amplitude. He was in fine fettle, and took to the stage for a hammy performance that the O’Maras and Mattersons would have been proud of.

The Council’s Príomh Chomhairleoir, Cllr Tom Ruddle, had the unenviable job of trying to reign in his party colleague’s bluster and bravado. But once warmed up, there is no stopping the unyielding Teskey.

The aggrieved blue-shirt got in a strop over a motion of his being referred to Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) for their attention. He then threw his toys out of his pushchair as he wasn’t going to have his moment on the soapbox, or was he?

“I’m after coming in here when I should be out running a business,” Teskey fumed, when it was explained to him why his motion was referred elsewhere.

He even threatened to take over the chairing of the meeting from Cllr Ruddle, he was that ruffled.

The Príomh Chomhairleoir held himself in a dignified and composed manner, but there was no appeasing Cllr Teskey.

“You couldn’t chair the meeting. I’ll chair the meeting now in a minute,” he barked.

Thankfully, mammy, Cllr Ursula Gavan, was on hand with her wooden spoon to bring the mouthy Fine Gael boyo back into line.

“I too had a motion referred to an SPC and you would have received prior notice of that yourself before this meeting. You could have dealt with it rather making a holy show of yourself. A bit of cop on now,” she warned.

There’s no show like a Limerick Council show, and they certainly gave their bite-size live audience plenty to ogle openmouthedly at.

The whole item of the Local Property Tax (LPT) variation deserved its own live-streaming special with dancing girls and show ponies, there was such a web of intrigue. Just when we thought they were all singing from the same hymn sheet, too!

Then there was poor auld Cllr Liam Galvin (FG) looking for calls of “misogyny” to be retracted from inflexible Fianna Fail woman Catherine Slattery.