Covid made year as Mayor seem ‘short’ and ‘long’, says Collentine

The outgoing mayor of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District says that his year as first citizen was both “short” and “long” due to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the district’s AGM, Cllr Bill Collentine said that it was a “great honour” to be the mayor of Mullingar and that he “enjoyed his time at it”, despite the challenges posed by the worst public health crisis in a century.

“This was the second time I had the honour of being mayor for Mullingar. This has been a short year because of Covid, in ways, and unfortunately I didn’t get all that I had planned implemented. In other ways it was a long year because of Covid-19 with the lockdowns and businesses closed. It has been a challenging year for everyone.

“Thankfully we are now coming out of lockdown. Businesses are starting to reopen and there are a lot of people on the streets, there’s been a lot of traffic in the town, people walking around and hopefully supporting local shops and businesses.

“It has been great to see people sitting down outside and enjoying themselves, especially with the town looking so splendid.

“While my time as mayor is at an end, as a councillor I will continue to work to the best of my ability for the people and businesses of Mullingar and surrounding areas,” he said.

The chairman of Mullingar Tidy Towns, Cllr Collentine said that he and other volunteers will “continue to work hard to enhance the appearance of Mullingar”.

“We have lots of projects ongoing and more starting soon as some were held up because of Covid. We have worked with a lot of different groups over the years and the marks for Mullingar are going up.

“We work with Westmeath County Council, Mullingar Chamber, Waterways Ireland, schools and other groups within our community. Especially now we need the town looking with the Fleadh Cheoil in Mullingar next year and hopefully the following year. The fleadh will mean a great lot to Mullingar and will put us on the map. We all have to work together to make it a success and have Mullingar looking its best so that we can promote our town to our visitors.

“I want to finish by thanking all for their help and guidance given to me over the last year. To the Westmeath executive, to the council’s indoor and outdoor staff, the media, all my fellow councillors and indeed many other people who have helped me out.”

Cllr Collentine’s efforts during the year were praised by his fellow district councillors.

Cllr Mick Dollard said that the outgoing mayor was a “doer not a talker”. Acknowledging the progress made by Tidy Towns in recent years, Cllr Dollard said that the efforts of Cllr Collentine and his fellow volunteers can be seen throughout the town.

The cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Ken Glynn, congratulated Cllr Collentine for a “job well done during a difficult year”.

Cllr John Shaw complimented his fellow Fianna Fáil man on a “really great job over the past 12 months”.

“It was important during a difficult year that the mayor was the face of Mullingar and there is no better man than Bill Collentine to know what is happening on the ground.”

Cllr Andrew Duncan said that Cllr Collentine had done an “excellent job” as mayor.

“He is a guy who is genuinely interested in what he is doing. He is an ever present on the streets of Mullingar and was a very fair chairman,” he said.

Cllr Paddy Hill said that Cllr Collentine was a “very good ambassador” for Mullingar and that in his role as chairperson of Mullingar Tidy Towns “he spares no effort”.

Frank McDermott said that Cllr Collentine was “a man of great substance” and as a chairperson displayed “great balance”.

“Well done Billy, we are very proud of your performance,” he said.

Cllr Emily Wallace said that Cllr Collentine has done “huge work for the town of Mullingar and has Mullingar in his veins”.