Speakers’ Corner: Aileen Lennon

Aileen Lennon APR24

ith the local elections set for Friday, June 7th, we have once again sent out our Speakers’ Corner questionnaire to the local wide-eyed hopefuls.

Starting with the 11 candidates running in the Greystones Electoral Area, we’ll then open the floor to the other 4,563 upstanding Wicklow citizens currently stepping into the ring for 2024.

Up for grabs, 32 councillor seats across this great county of ours, with all the hopes and dreams – plus prestige, pressure, resentment, ridicule and mediocre pay – that such an exalted position entails.

Suffice to say, there are plenty of candidates to choose from, from the strong, silent types who simply, quietly get on with their work in the community to the loud, social media-shagging self-promoters who seem to leave little time for any actual graft. We’ve been reporting on this town daily for 12 years now, and the one thing we’ve become very, very wary of is the black arts of stolen valour. Feckers sticking their flag in other people’s hard work by racing to share the good news first on Facebook, Instagram and beyond, slyly hoovering up all the likes, thanks and praise in the process.

It’s akin to waiting at the finish line and throwing your arm around the winner for a quick selfie, owning their victory online before they’ve even had time to catch their breath.

Helping Simon with his spelling…

So, whatever your party loyalties and your political leanings, it’s worth taking a moment to look beyond the glitter. These people will be your eyes and ears – and big mouth – down in Wicklow County Council, after all.

In the meantime, on with Speakers Corner 2024, and the very independent Aileen Lennon. First, a quick bio…

Aileen has worked with and supported locally-run charities in both helping the homeless and those facing domestic violence.

As a Scout Leader in Delgany since 1999 she has delivered many programmes that have benefitted the lives of young people and is committed to making communities stronger.

Fine Gael Minister Simon Harris said she brings “experience, energy, local knowledge and a can-do attitude to the campaign” and that she has “a passion for our community and a strong track record of voluntary work and activism, business experience and community involvement”.

Her sons, Conor and Finian, think she’s the coolest mum on the planet, but she still loves her dogs, Seymour and Fry, more.

Scouting honour…

And now for GG’s hard-hitting, side-splitting and no-pussyfooting-around questions…

What inspired you to become involved in local politics? Was there a Road To District Council moment…?
I’ve always been involved in my local community and politics, no matter where I was living. My parents were always out volunteering when I was growing up, we were dragged along and so it became a lifetime habit to give back. And now that I am not travelling for work anymore, I find myself with the time to take my commitment to the next level.

Of your work so far, are there particular achievements that you are particularly proud of?
Genuinely, the last twenty years and more in local Scouting. There is no higher privilege than working with young people and being part of their lives. Even today, I am still called Akela by random kids from Greystones to Newcastle when they meet me out and about – keeps me very bonded with the community as it and they grow.

Looking forward, what are the main goals that you would like to achieve over the coming years?
There are many issues to solve and more to come in the next few years considering how the district has grown and changed over the last ten years.

Conor’s Engineering graduation…

My bugbears would be poor planning decisions leading to infrastructure failures, poor amenity provisioning, and the inevitable squeeze on school places; the lack of a Primary Care Centre for the district; school-further education transport issues in and out of the district; and the lack of fully operational community centres in all our towns and villages.

With the bould Finian…

To turn a fine Mayor Quimby quote into a question, ask not what you can do for your county, but what you can do for your county…?
It is a long list and will require my focus and energy – my track record in sustainable planning in the LAPs, public transport that is fit for purpose, and supporting community efforts through the giving of time or expertise is there for all to see.

However, I am also committed to being accountable and transparent in all that I do and intend to make my efforts for the district available for all to see.

In my job, I am used to having all that I do visible, and I fully expect to be questioned about what I am working on and what the latest update is. I welcome the scrutiny.

If being a politician doesn’t work out, have you got a Career B in mind? Dancer? Magician? Traffic warden…?
Ah yes, I have always wanted to be a Pathologist – I suspect the fact that the patients can’t run away from me when I talk was a HUGE attraction.

Trump or Biden?
Boy, am I glad that I am not American!

You can find out more about Aileen Lennon here, follow on Facebook here or Instagram here, or join her WhatsApp group here. You can also get in touch directly on email here.