A political row has erupted in Carlow over the use of two different chains of office by mayors of the town amid claims that one of them had been removed from a museum in breach of proper procedure.
The original town council chain was presented to the county museum in 2014. Also presented at the time was the book of minutes of the council stretching across 115 years from 1899 to 2014.
This coincided with the abolition in 2014 of Ireland’s 80 town councils under the Local Government Reform Act, which shifted financial decisions from town councils to county councils and introduced municipal districts.
The original chain is engraved with all the names of former council chairpersons over that period.
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In 2014, a new chain of office was purchased for the chairperson of Carlow’s municipal district. It is passed annually to the new mayor to be worn at functions and council meetings.
The new chain features elements representing local heritage, including the town’s jail, which operated in the 19th century, and Carlow Castle entrance gate.
However, it is not universally popular, and the old chain has been released by the museum for use by a number of mayors in recent years.
Walter Lacey, a three-time former chairperson of the council, who served as a Progressive Democrat and Independent councillor for 30 years, said: “It turns out councillors didn’t like their new chain so they removed the town council chain from the museum. This is not reason enough to request the chain.
“I have written to the current mayor, chief executive and museum director asking for the chain to be returned.”
Removing items from a museum collection, known as deaccessioning, is a formal, process governed by strict policies to ensure accountability, according to the National Museum of Ireland.
The process involves evaluating objects for disposal – such as damaged items, duplicates, or those outside the museum’s mission – and approving the decision through a governing body.
Lacey said the museum was “entrusted” with the chain following the abolition of Carlow town council.
“A district council in my opinion is not a statutory body and has no authority to remove the chain from the museum. The museum board should not have released the chain.”
The county museum is operated by Carlow County Council. Lacey said there was “a conflict of interest” due to overlapping membership between the local authority and the museum board.
A Carlow County Council spokesperson said elected members of Carlow municipal district requested the return of the chain from the museum some years ago. “The matter was discussed at the museum board meeting of December 2019 and the board agreed to the request.”
Asked about Lacey’s criticism, current chairperson, Fine Gael councillor Paul Doogue, declined to comment.
The municipal district is due to discuss the issue on Thursday at its monthly meeting.
*This article was amended on May 21st, 2026. An earlier version of the article incorrectly included a photograph of Cllr Andrea Dalton wearing the County Council Cathaoirleach chain which was not relevant to the article.
