Jim Gavin to speak at UCC
Legendary manager Jim Gavin, who led the Dublin men’s senior football team to five consecutive All-Ireland titles between 2015 and 2019, is the star attraction at a public lecture in UCC next Thursday night.
Gavin will be speaking at the seventh Annual Public Lecture Series of UCC’s Centre for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) in his capacity as Chairman of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly, which is discussing the introduction of a directly elected mayor into the capital.
In May 2019, the people of Cork city voted by 50.7% to 49.3% against a directly elected mayor on Leeside.
Dr David Sweeting of Bristol University will be addressing a similar theme. In a local referendum in 2012, the people of Bristol agreed to introduce a directly elected mayor. However, in May 2022, the city voted to abolish the position in a referendum, replacing it with a committee system from May 2024. The third speaker is Holly Cairns TD, who will describe her experiences in local government and in Dáil Éireann, as well as outlining the local government reform policies of the Social Democrats.
The event will be chaired by Dr Theresa Reidy, Head of the Department of Government and Politics at UCC, and the opening remarks will be delivered by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Deirdre Forde.
The Director of the CLRG is Dr Aodh Quinlivan, who also serves as a member of the Expert Advisory Group supporting the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly. “The 2022 Public Lecture Series has a super line-up. Jim, Holly and David have fascinating insights into sub-national government and local democracy,” he said.
“We will also be presenting student awards and marking the contributions that two extraordinary people have made to Irish local government – John Ger O’Riordan, formerly of Cork City Council, and Mary Roche, the longest serving woman in Waterford local government. In addition, we will remember the great Dr Will Brady who sadly passed away in April.”
The CLRG Public Lecture Series is free and open to all. It takes place at 6.30pm on Thursday 6 October in UCC’s Boole 1 Lecture Theatre. For any queries email Dr Aodh Quinlivan at a.quinlivan@ucc.ie.