Livin' on a prayer: council chairman breaks tradition

Meath County Council hasn't a prayer...at least when it comes to opening its monthly meetings. It had been the practice of councillors to open their meetings with a call to God to bless and guide their proceedings but it appears that the custom was dropped since the election during the summer of new cathaoirleach, Eoin Holmes. Some members were taken aback at Monday's September meeting of the council when the cathaoirleach went straight into the business of the meeting without asking the meeting administrator to recite the prayer. This was questioned by Fianna Fail Cllr Jimmy Fegan who drew attention to the fact that the prayer had not been said and queried the decision to drop it. It was also mentiooned by Cllr Bill Carey who said he had been instrumental in instigating the prayer at the opening of meetings many years ago. Contacted yesterday (Tuesday), Cllr Holmes said that there was nothing in the council's standing orders which said that proceedings should be opened with a prayer. He said he had run this week's meeting in accordance with standing orders. "I'm trying to run the meetings in a very businesslike and efficient manner. It's my intention to get the work done on behalf of the community we represent," he said. He said that there was nothing in standing orders which said that meetings should be opened with a prayer. The Labour councillor added that he was in favour of having the monthly meetings of the council streamed online. Cllr Fegan said yesterday that he thought Monday was the first occaasion in 29 years when proceedings in the council chamber had not been opened with prayers. He said he felt the decision had been made "intentionally" and felt the Labour Party was trying to do something similar at national level. "It is in standing orders that proceedings begin with a short prayer," he said. "I don't see the sense of breaking a long-standing tradition. I don't think a prayer will harm anyone, I certainly wouldn't like to see it banished out of the chamber. We are a largely Christian country and I think the people we represent would not object to us saying a prayer at the start of meetings," added Cllr Fegan. Councillors decided on Monday that the matter be referred to the council's protocol committee.