A very interesting experiment in politics and government is taking place in Limerick right now. Along with the local and European elections, the city and county will also choose Ireland’s first directly elected mayor, a new executive position which will head the local authority. Directly-elected executive mayors with substantial powers have always been a feature of the political system in the United States.
Lately, they have become fashionable in the UK, where the establishment of the office in London was followed by other big cities and regions. They have real power, clout, budgets and a bully pulpit. Why Limerick? Because they decided to give it a go.
Five years ago, at the 2019 local and European elections, voters in Limerick, Cork and Waterford were asked in plebiscites if they favoured the idea of a directly elected mayor for their city and county. Cork (displaying a lack of self-confidence that surprised me, I confess) and Waterford said no thanks; Limerick answered: bring it on. The first election campaign there is well under way.
I visited this week to attend a debate between most of the candidates organised by the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, hosted by the Technical University of the Shannon and supported by the Limerick Post. The quality of the debate and engagement was impressive – but so was the level of interest: all the tickets for the university’s main auditorium (some 300 or so) were snapped up and more than twice as many joined online. For a political .