The new Mayor of Waterford, Independent Councillor, Mary Roche, pictured after her election on Monday night with her husband, Captain Liam Keating, and their children, Ailish (16), Carein (3) and Cillian (7). | Photo: Jim O’Sullivan
Waterford City’s new Mayor, Councillor Mary Roche, confidently predicted this week that the city would recover from current economic difficulties and fight its way back to prosperity.
In an inspirational inaugural speech following her election as First Citizen on Monday night, Mayor Roche (Independent) confirmed that Waterford was open for business ‘with a story to tell and a city to sell’.
Announcing that she was exploring the possibility of leading a trade delegation in search of jobs, she said she was not prepared any longer to entrust others with that task because they showed no sign of delivering.
“We must now take the bit between our teeth, pack our courage in our suitcases and get out there and sell ourselves to the world”, she declared.
Voyage
Having dedicated her election to the memory of her grandparents, William and Bridget Roche and William and Margaret Walshe, and made fond mention of her late parents-in-law, Michael and Irene Keating, Mayor Roche acknowledged the ‘formidable’ performance in office through the past year of her predecessor, Cllr John Halligan.
Displaying her trademark sense of humour, she said he had set the bar so high she could limbo dance underneath it without any difficulty at all and wouldn’t even attempt to raise it any higher. She said she was entering upon a year-long voyage during which she believed Waterford would make major strides towards a bright future.
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