Fianna Fáil Cllr Daryl Barron has been elected Dublin’s new Lord Mayor for the coming year. He will be the 359th holder of the office.
At a meeting of Dublin City Council in City Hall on Monday evening, he was elected ahead of Cllr Jesslyn Henry of the Social Democrats. Labour’s Alison Field was elected Deputy Mayor.
Barron has previously worked in finance and the community sector but has effectively been a full-time councillor in recent years having been elected in 2019.
Barron, who represents the north Dublin suburb of Donnaghmede, was supported by the majority group on the council, which includes Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Labour while also receiving votes from a number of independents.
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He replaces Fine Gael’s Ray McAdam with the parties rotating the position over the lifetime of the current council as part of a deal struck in the aftermath of the last election.
Henry received support from members of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit.
Nominated by his party colleague Rory Hogan and seconded by former lord mayor, independent councillor Nial Ring, who recalled his close friendship to Barron’s late father Don, a prominent member of Fianna Fáil over many years.
Barron beat Henry by 33 votes to 21 with four abstentions. He was congratulated by members of his family including his wife Orla with their one-year-old son Niall.
Accepting the position, he said becoming Lord Mayor was “truly the greatest honour of my life as a proud Dubliner to take on the role as its first citizen”.
He said he would work tirelessly to make the city worthy of his son’s generation.
He told the council members he would “go back to basics” and work on issues like making the city a “safer and cleaner capital,” tackling dereliction and housing and supporting the city’s young people and communities.
