My Tuesdays With Mags

Pratiksha & Mags at Buoys Kitchen

hen Mags Crean handed in her Greystones councillor badge back in May, she was keen to do so without any flashes, bangs or wallops.

The lady had simply come to realise that two full-time jobs and a family adds up to just over 9 days a week.

And so it was that our social media-shy councillor stepped back into a life that now also included family time. And at the time of her retirement, there was one particular Greystonian who wanted to thank Mags for her work. And for changing her life.

And what better way, Pratiksha Kamat realised, than putting a few words of gratitude together for your snoreaway Guide…

I’d never heard of an independent city councillor before, and have often assumed that politicians were affiliated with political parties. When I met Mags Crean, an independent local councillor from Greystones, my misconception was corrected. Personally, I had picked someone else, but fate had other intentions, and I was partnered with Mags through the Migrant Councillor Internship Scheme. Needless to say, I was overjoyed at the idea of working with her.

When I first met Mags, she came with many large folders and a lot of books. Over a cup of coffee, we started chatting and immediately connected over our shared upbringing, as well as our hope for change and the necessity of education in achieving it. I could see she cared profoundly about the community and its people, which was extremely different from my previous interactions with politicians. I’ve seen politicians abuse their positions of power in the past. They were nearly always folks you couldn’t approach unless you had the right connections.

I was still relatively new to the country, having relocated from Scotland in 2020, a week before the world went into lockdown due to Covid. It was a difficult few months navigating my life with no acquaintances, no career, and no one to communicate with. It was clearly stressful for everyone, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have an impact on my mental health. I had lost all faith in myself and believed that nothing good would come of it.

Needless to say, life had other plans for me. While looking for work and being safe at home, I came across the EPIC programme, which connected me with the Immigrant Council of Ireland. I spent nearly 8 years as a political news producer with international experience, so I’ve always been interested in politics. I applied for and was accepted into the Migrant Councillor Internship Scheme, where I was paired with Mags.

Who just happened to be the first person I met when I moved into Greystones in 2021. I started my first job, and settling into our new neighbourhood. She was the one who showed me around Greystones and educated me about its history and heritage. She explained how a previously tranquil fishing town transformed into a hub for various cultures and communities.

Mags Crean grew up in a working-class neighbourhood in Bray with her siblings. Her parents ingrained in her the value of education at a young age, and she went on to pursue a PhD at UCD, Dublin. Her professional and academic life has been committed to concerns of equality, social class, care, and education. She has written extensively on these subjects and has a number of articles published under her name. Mags was elected to Wicklow County Council in the May 2019 local elections.

While working with Mags, I observed how she juggled her life as a lecturer at UCD in the morning with attending to people’s concerns and working on various local issues in the evening. She was a full-time mother raising lovely kids. To me, she was no less than a real-life Wonder Woman, capable of accomplishing so many things efficiently. One of the most difficult things of being an independent candidate is that you are completely alone and receive very little assistance and support. You must accomplish all tasks on your own. I was relieved that I could assist her for such a short time.

When working with her, she made me aware of local problems and how we might resolve them. She also taught me that I should never be afraid to ask the right questions, and that if my opinions differed from those of others in the room, I should always express them. I had never been interested in sustainability or climate change since I thought it was a hoax, but she took me to one of the events where they discussed ecology and our role in climate change. It altered my viewpoint.

I was also lucky to be involved in Zoom sessions, which allowed me to meet other councillors and become acquainted with various topics of discussion and concern. I personally feel that I saw Greystones through Mags’ eyes even before I could visit it. Her passion for community development encouraged me to try to engage immigrant communities in interactions with locals. She got me interested in so many networks that I was unaware of. She also used to hold neighbourhood clinics where residents could come and talk about their problems, and has been volunteered on too many committees, boards, task forces and forums to mention.

Mags was successful in obtaining support for many resolutions, including full council approval for her proposal to investigate a Community Wealth Building model for Wicklow in the future.

Personally, she has changed my life. She kept encouraging me to stand in the next local elections, which anyone, including immigrants, can do. She helped me build back my confidence and love for this town, despite the fact that I am still new here.

Definitely, Greystones’ landscape is changing, and many more immigrant communities are moving in; I hope to be the bridge between these communities so that we can learn a lot from one another and make this place even better than it already is.