New councillor to ‘keep the boys in order’

A new West Cork councillor has been warmly welcomed to Cork County Council this week.

Caroline Cronin was officially announced as Fine Gael’s replacement for Katie Murphy who resigned from her position in November last year.

The announcement was made at Monday’s full meeting of Cork County Council.

Cllr Cronin, who is originally from Ballydehob and is now living in Schull, has three daughters with her husband Sean who is a fisherman.

She is the public relations officer for both the ladies’ and men’s teams at her local GAA club Gabriel Rangers and is also involved in the twinning of Schull with the town of Guilvinec in Brittany, France.

Welcoming Cllr Cronin, Fine Gael Cllr Karen Coakley said: “I'd like to congratulate Caroline and wish her the best of luck. I'm looking forward to working with her, it's great to have another female on the West Cork team.”

Fine Gael Cllr Marie O'Sullivan added: “It's great to have a female member onboard to keep the boys in order.”

Addressing the chamber for the first time, Cllr Cronin said she is looking forward to her new role.

“My kids are growing up now, so I have time to work hard now for the council and I really want to do my best going forward for everybody,” she said.

Cllr Cronin replaces former Cllr Katie Murphy who served for two and a half years in Cork County Council. A Schull native, Cllr Murphy was elected to Cork County Council in 2019 after she won a seat for Fine Gael in the Bantry electoral area.