McDaniel looking forward to year as cathaoirleach of WCC

Housing, rural rejuvenation, dereliction and care of the elderly are priorities for the new cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Liam McDaniel. This week, he speaks to the Westmeath Examiner about his journey into politics, surviving 422 consecutive days in hospital and finally, rising phoenix-like to take the top position in local politics.

From the comfort of his living room couch at Toarlisnamore, Ballinagore, Liam outlined his hopes and ambitions for his tenure as cathaoirleach. His first ambition is to attend "every day" of this year’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Mullingar.

Last year, Liam was allowed out of hospital for a day to attend the fleadh. The family rooted out his late mother’s wheelchair and his son-in-law Stephen Hickey pushed him around the town. This year, he will take his place alongside President Michael D Higgins for the official opening.

"It’s great to have the fleadh back again. It was such a success last year that if we can even match that, it will be superb. The work that the committee and volunteers put into it is unbelievable," he said.

Liam feels that housing is the most important issue on the political agenda. He remembers when he and his wife Anne built their house in Toarlisnamore in 1984, it was one of several built along their road. The local school and the football club were then able to develop because numbers were back up. "Now the club are struggling for numbers," he said.

He feels that planning regulations should be more relaxed when it comes to rural houses. He will be pushing the council to provide serviced sites to help local people interested in building their own homes in rural towns and villages.

"Athlone and Mullingar are great towns, offering huge educational and employment opportunities, but wouldn’t it be great if people could enjoy those opportunities and live in rural areas. That would help, in some way, to eliminate the need for emigration."

When Liam came to Ballinagore there were two shops, a post office, two filling stations and a pub; now they are all gone, bar the pub.

Dereliction is a bone of contention for the new cathaoirleach. He said eyesores across the county should be converted into homes and businesses. He cited Kilbeggan as an example where works have been done on buildings on the north of The Square and "it looks a picture", but the other side needs similar treatment, as do other derelict buildings in the town.

He suggests that Tyrrellspass be used as a model of "what we should be going for".

"Every business is trading and every house on the main street is lived in," he said.

"Look at all the houses Bord na Móna built. They built 100 houses in Rochfortbridge in the 1950s and that was replicated over other midland counties. How could they do it then and we can’t do it now?"

Cllr McDaniel acknowledges the "great grants" that are available to adapt homes to suit the ageing population, but he is anxious that those grants should be maintained and improved to ensure the elderly have a good quality of life.

He is looking forward, during his tenure as chairman, to seeing the advancement of the opening of the Kilbeggan to Mullingar Greenway that will link the Royal and Grand Canals, with Kilbeggan at the centre.

Cllr McDaniel said the opening of the new greenway bridge in Athone this year will be another major event. "The bridge will form a strategic link across the Shannon as part of the Dublin to Galway greenway and will be a main focal point for tourists visiting the town," he said. The opening of the new secondary school in Kilbeggan will be another milestone event in the year ahead.