RIP: 'Legendary stalwarts': Heartfelt tributes paid to long serving Longford councillors

A host of poignant tributes were paid to the late Fine Gael Councillors Seamus Finnan and Maura Kilbride-Harkin at Longford County Council’s first meeting of the year last Wednesday. 

In acknowledging the great loss of “two stalwarts”, Cllr Seamus Butler said both had worked for the community back when there was no wage to be had from doing so. 

He spoke of Cllr Finnan’s role in the refurbishment of Longford courthouse, and how he had even gone so far as to spend his own money on a feasibility report of the refurbishment idea. 

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Said Cllr Butler, “Cllr Finnan was a really upstanding member of the community. He even spent his own money to ensure the courthouse is where it is today.”   

Councillor Paul Ross spoke of Seamus’s unfaltering dedication to his work and how “during a very different era” when mobile phones and emails were non-existent, he would give so much of his time calling to his constituents’ houses to address their issues. 

Cllr Ross recalled with great praise the work ethic of the farmer and councillor he described as “legendary.”

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Recounting her time working with Cllr Maura Kilbride-Harkin, Cllr Peggy Nolan spoke of her “great integrity, ability, and humility” and said it had been a “privilege” to have served with her. 

She told the chamber, “Maura was a woman of the land, hard working and diligent. Her eight children … what a legacy she has left behind. 

“The large crowd that turned out to pay their final respects said it all. A wonderful councillor. She served on the VEC and my goodness did she fight for services in the VEC in Granard. 

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“Her fingerprints are all over what is now the LWETB. When you work with someone with that love of community and work ethic, it bears fruits for many generations to come.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme