‘A great man for the town’: Tributes following the death of former Clonakilty mayor

A “great man for the town” is how the former Mayor of Clonakilty Cionnaith Ó Suilleabháin was described as tributes were paid during yesterday’s meeting of Cork County Council, following his death at the weekend.

Mr Ó Súilleabháin passed away last Sunday after an illness.

He had served as Mayor of Clonakilty Urban District Council for a number of terms until its abolition in 2014, and subsequently served as a member of the town’s Mayoral Council, which was set up to ensure the town maintained a tradition of more than 400 years of electing a First Citizen.

During the tributes expressed to Mr Ó Suilleabháin during yesterday’s council meeting, he was described by Social Democrats councillor Isobel Towse as “an exceptional human being” who had shown kindness to her when she moved to Clonakilty. “He was always really passionately raising awareness of important local and national issues, and had a great sense of humour,” she said.

Mr Ó Suilleabháin had been a driving force behind many local initiatives, including the Tidy Towns and Gaelscoil Mhichíl Uí Choileáin — where he had served as school secretary.

Independent councillor Alan Coleman joined in the tributes to Mr Ó Suilleabháin who, he said, had “contributed greatly to Clonakilty and the Mayoral Council”.

He said: “He was associated with everything in Clonakilty and made a huge contribution as a community activist and while he had strong political views, he always articulated these in a good-mannered way. He was a great character.

“He was a great man for the town.”

Former county mayor and current Fianna Fáil councillor, Joe Carroll, also paid tribute to Mr Ó Suilleabháin, and condolences were expressed as Gaeilge by Fianna Fáil councillor in Bandon/Kinsale, Gillian Coughlan. She said she had served as mayor of Bandon at the same time as Mr Ó Súilleabháin had been Clonakilty’s First Citizen.

Cork South West Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan said Mr Ó Suilleabháin would be remembered as a “great Clonakilty man”.

“As mayor, he proved that the town of Clonakilty came before politics, and I thought that was admirable,” he said.

Independent Ireland leader and constituency colleague Michael Collins said he always had a great respect for Mr Ó Súilleabháin.

“Cionnaith played a huge role in so many ways in Clonakilty, but in particular Clonakilty Mayoral Council, where he gave a fair and balanced leadership to promote the best of what Clonakilty had to offer,” he said, adding that his passing would leave a huge void in the community.

Clonakilty parish priest Fr Tom Hayes said Mr Ó Súilleabháin would be remembered as “a person who was deeply convinced about the importance of community and all that could be achieved when people pool their talents”.

“His passion was Clonakilty, its people, its heritage, and traditions,” Fr Hayes said.

Paul Hayes, who served alongside Mr Ó Súilleabháin on the town council, said: “Cionnaith asked me to join him on the ticket, and we did a lot of canvassing together — not alone for the town council, but for other elections also.

“I wanted to emulate him. He preferred to work away behind the scenes to allow others put their names forward.”

Tributes were paid by parents of Gaelscoil Uí Choileáin pupils, friends, and townspeople.

Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould, a longtime Sinn Féin colleague of Mr Ó Suilleabháin’s, said he had “lived and breathed for his beloved Clonakilty and worked non-stop to make life better for people”.

“Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin was one of life’s good guys,” he said.

“I’ve no doubt that he will be missed, not only by his friends and comrades in Sinn Féin, but right across the political spectrum.”

Mr Ó Súilleabháin is survived by his wife, Nina.