Slugger Awards 2008: Local Councillor…

Typically, councillors are the closest of all public representatives, and often throughout the Troubles the only consistent office bearers that citizens could count on for help from year to year. We looked for councillors with a capacity to reach out to new audiences, and who were prepared to engage positively with their local electorates. And the winner is…Winner: Deirdre Nelson

Deirdre was elected in 2005 and is chair of the Cultural Services Committee in Council which among other things is responsible for oversight of the new Braid Arts Centre, museum and Town Hall complex. She’s a teacher by background. She keeps a blog-like newsroll on the Councillor.info site.

Commended: Colin McGrath

Colin came with several recommendations, both from Slugger’s readers and political insiders in Stormont and is held in high regard by colleagues. His video diaries are one of the best examples of engagement to come out of the Councillor.info site, and a primary reason why he made councillor of the week on Slugger.

Commended: Domhnall Ó Cobhthaigh

Domhnall is young, personable and extremely bright. Co-opted onto the council, he has made good use of the opportunities not simply to represent the direct interests of his own constituents to take opportunities to engage in political discourse with oppontents. he’s one of Slugger’s tips as one to watch for the future.

Categories Uncategorised

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.