French elected Trim Cathaoirleach for fourth time

Fine Gael councillor Noel French was elected Cathaoirleach of the Trim Municipal District area of Meath County Council for the fourth time at yesterday's AGM.

It is the second time during this council term that Cllr French will hold the office and he takes over the chains from Cllr Joe Fox who had been cathaoirleach for the past two years.

Cllr French, who was first elected in 2014, previously served as cathaoirleach in 2015/16, in 2017/18 and also 2019/20.

He said it was a "huge honour" for him to take on the role and was looking forward to working with councillors and officials over the coming year.

"This council is a positive council, it is a forward looking council and we work well together. We have achieved a lot together but we don’t achieve anything without the officals. It is a partnership and we are here to support the officials," he said adding that they were very lucky in Trim to have positive and forward thinking officials.

As they headed into the last year of the council before the local elections next year, Cllr French said he hoped the continued the positive work and achievements they had over the last four years.

He also expressed his hope that with new council buildings now available in Enfield and Ballivor that some of their meetings could take place outside Trim in the year ahead.

Reflecting on his term, outgoing cathaoirleach Cllr Fox said some of the highlights included the opening of the Trim Cultural Centre, St Kinneth's in Ballivor, the community hub in Enfield, the upgrading of the Porchfields, and the opening of the Blueway.

"It was a great honour for me to be cathaoirleach over the last two years and I look forward to working with the new chair in the next year. I hope we are all back again here after next year and continuing to work for the people of south Meath," said Cllr Fox.

Fine Gael's Cllr Niamh Souhan was elected as Leas-Cathaoirleach.