Councillor Denis O’Callaghan elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

Cllr Denis O’Callaghan (LAB) elected at Council AGM on 12 June

Councillor Denis O’Callaghan has been elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at the Council’s Annual General Meeting on 12 June. Denis was first elected to Dublin County Council In 1991 and he has since been re-elected at each local election. A native of County Cork, Denis moved to Dublin in 1965 and lives in Shankill. 

Councillor O’Callaghan is a retired postal worker with a long and distinguished career. He was elected a Worker Director in An Post in a national ballot of postal staff in 1988 and was active in the Communications Workers Union during his working life.  Denis Joined the Union in 1969 and is to this day a proud retired member. He participated in the long postal strike for better wages for all postal workers in 1979.

He was previously elected Cathaoirleach of DLR in 2007/2008 and served as Leas-Cathaoirleach in 2006/2007. As an elected Labour Councillor, Denis serves on various committees including the Dún Laoghaire Area Committee, Joint Policing Committee, Housing, Economic Development & Cultural SPC’s. He is also a board member of Southside Partnership.

Following his election to the role of Cathaoirleach, Councillor O’Callaghan outlined his main priorities for the year, including housing, climate action and progressing projects such as the Blackrock Waterfront Project, Shanganagh Master Plan and the open space at Shanganagh Cliffs, Shankill.

“I commit to ensuring that our social housing projects currently being built will be progressed without undue delay across the County, especially the housing development under construction at Shanganagh in Shankill and the co-operative development at Loughlinstown, also under construction.  Over the next 4 years the Council is on target to deliver 1,500 housing units through builds, part V's and AHB’s”.

At the Council AGM Councillor Eva Dowling was elected as Leas-Chathaoirleach.  Councillor Dowling (GP) was elected in the Stillorgan Local Electoral Ward in 2019 as a first time Councillor.  She is a graduate of University College Dublin and the University of Edinburgh.

As a member of the Green Party, she has fought for climate action and prioritised a scientific, evidence-based approach to policymaking. As a mother to three young children, she has used her role as a County Councillor to make it easier and safer to breastfeed in public and for parents to walk and cycle their children to school.

In addition to her work as a Councillor, she works as an advisor to Minister of State, Ossian Smyth, TD for Dún Laoghaire.