Corkman who put Tipp first

Tributes on retirement of council director Marcus O’Connor

Tributes were paid at this week's meeting of Tipperary Co Council to Director of Services Marcus O'Connor, who is set to retire in the coming weeks after almost 25 years with the council.

Noting that it was the last meeting of the full council for Mr O'Connor, Cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Darcy took the opportunity to wish him well in retirement. Although from Cork, Mr O'Connor put Tipperary first, and his experience and expertise in the council's Roads directorate were put to good use here, Cllr Darcy said.

Among the subsequent speakers to pay tribute was Cllr John Carroll, who regarded Mr O'Connor as the highest possible standard of director of services he had known in 25 years on the council. One had only to look around the Nenagh Municipal District, of which Mr O'Connor is director, to see examples of the transformation in roads and infrastructure that he had brought to Tipperary.

Cllr Jim Ryan said Mr O'Connor's legacy in Thurles is the Jimmy Doyle Road, a project in which the director played a great role.

‘TOUGH AS NAILS’

Several councillors spoke of the robust exchanges they had had with the director over the years, a point amplified by Cllr Michael Fitzgerald, who found Mr O'Connor to be “tough as nails” in an argument. But he was equally tough when it came to dealing with the National Roads Authority and later Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Cllr Fitzgerald said, praising the outgoing director's commitment to Tipp.

For Cllr John Rocky McGrath, Mr O'Connor was “firm but fair” and a “total gentleman”. Tipperary was fortunate that Mr O'Connor came to this county, Cllr McGrath said, adding that he hoped the retiree would be acknowledged in roads projects yet to be delivered over the coming years.

Cllr Joe Hannigan spoke of the difficulty of trying to win an argument with the outgoing director, “a good guy”, who had a vision for the county and worked hard to implement it.

‘BRAIN DRAIN’

Joining in the tributes, Cllr Noel Coonan said people might be concerned to know of further impending retirements at senior level and a “brain drain” from the council.

Cllr Michael O'Meara spoke of how Mr O'Connor always had a counter-argument and enjoyed a tough debate. The long-running campaign to resurface the main street in Borrisokane was what Cllr O'Meara would remember most, but he added that “Nenagh is probably the best inland town we have in the country” and Mr O'Connor was the “spiritual leader” when it came to working for the town.

Cllr Roger Kennedy extolled the retiring official's “loaves and fishes” use of roads expenditure over the years, while Cllr Séamie Morris agreed that Nenagh stands testament to Mr O'Connor's work. Honesty was one of his key virtues and there was always a good reason behind what he wanted to do. Cllr Phyll Bugler said Mr O'Connor had played a key role in the new Shannon crossing between Ballina and Killaloe, and that would stand as another legacy.

Thanking all for their kind words, Mr O'Connor remarked that there had been “cross words” over the years but that he had enjoyed his time on the council. While the executive and councillors could not deliver all they wanted to, they could at least agree on the priorities and drive them on. He had made good friends and hoped to keep them. And he did not think there would be any “brain drain”, mentioning some “excellent people” working in the council's Roads section.

CEO Joe MacGrath described the outgoing director as “an absolute professional in every aspect of his work”. Recalling that Mr O'Connor joined the old North Tipperary Co Council in 2000, became a senior engineer the following year and director of services in 2008, Mr MacGrath said his executive colleague had the best interest of the county at heart and “put his shoulder to the wheel” towards that end.

“There's no corner of this county that hasn't benefited from the work of Marcus O'Connor,” Mr MacGrath said. Congratulating him on recently becoming a grandfather also, the CEO wished Mr O'Connor and his wife Mary well in retirement, and was sure that he would never be a stranger to those still involved with the council.

The tributes ended with a round of applause for Mr O'Connor.