June 25, 2024

Fine Gael Councillor James Geoghegan has been elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.

The 39-year-old, who is a father of three from Ranelagh in south Dublin, has been a Councillor since 2019.

He contested the last by-election in Dublin Bay South for his party.

The practising barrister is the 365th Lord Mayor of Dublin and will take up residence in the Mansion House with his wife Claire Cummins and their three young children Hugh, 6; Harry, 4 and Lila, 2.

Mr Geoghegan was elected by a coalition of Councillors on Dublin City Council which is made up of members from the Fine Gael, the Green Party, Fianna Fáil and Labour.

He won by a vote of 32 to 25 cast for the Social Democrats Councillor Daniel Ennis.

There were four abstentions including from Independent candidates Councillors Gavin Pepper and Malachy Steenson.

He succeeds Fianna Fail’s Daithí de Róiste as the capital’s new Lord Mayor.

Speaking following his election this evening, Mr Geoghegan said he was ready to get to work on behalf of the people of Dublin.

He described the position as “an extraordinary honour”.

“I want to use it to help deliver for Dublin,” he said.

Mr Geoghegan said: “Our four political parties have come together to get a new deal for Dublin to properly fund our city services.

“It is over 30 years since Dublin was the European capital of culture.

“During that time, we saw a real focus on urban renewal in parts of our city that were previously run down, including Temple Bar.

“We need that level of joined up thinking and ambition today and we are determined to deliver that.”

Mr Geoghegan said one of his key priorities is to support the implementation of a strategy to make Dublin become the first autism and neurodiverse friendly capital city in the world.

“While the statistics vary, up to 5% of the Irish population are estimated to be autistic and I want to ensure that everyone in our capital city has the same opportunities to live, work and play and that we can develop a best in standard for others to follow,” he said.

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