Report Paul Murphy
Sinn Fein Cllr Peter Caffrey wants to put a possible name change for the Kells Municipal District back on the agenda. At a meeting of the Kells MD last December Cllr Caffrey’s motion that consideration be given to changing the name from Kells MD to Kells/Oldcastle, Athboy Municipal District was passed. He maintains that a new name would better reflect the geographic scope of the district “and enhance public awareness that it encompasses a significant areas of North Meath.
While Cllr Caffrey’s motion was passed some councillors suggested the name of North Meath MD. The councillor wants the MD to write to the Electoral Commission asking for the name change “to be a more inclusive name for constituents to better engage with local politics.
He said that when canvassing in the last election he found that many people in Athboy, Oldcastle and other rural areas had told him they weren’t sure which areas they were in. This favoured one town – Kells – being favoured over another. “On election posters people saw ‘Kells LEA” (Kells Local Electoral Area) but felt this didn’t include them up in Oldcastle or in Athboy.
More work needs to go into informing people what electoral area they are in and one way of doing this would be to include the towns of Oldcastle and Athboy”, the Oldcastle-based councillor said. “Many people I talk to feel like Meath County Council always focuses on the larger towns. This is clear when it comes to funding given for Christmas lights with tidy towns groups etc. The larger towns always seem to be given priority over another”.
Cllr Caffrey said “I asked for the sweeper to be sent up to Oldcastle to be told it’s too far from Kells. It’s also clear when you look at the roads in North Meath – Oldcastle is forgotten about. With the continued low voter turnout it showed how people are disengaged with politics and we need to look at more inclusive names for our electoral areas.” Cllr Caffrey’s suggestion for a name change is being supported by Meath West Sinn Fein TD Johnny Guirke.
