Mayo councillor announces his retirement from public life

OUTGOING Mayo Independent Councillor Gerry Ginty has announced he will not be seeking re-election to Mayo County Council in May. 

He confirmed to The Connaught Telegraph that at 76 years of age the time had come for him to step down from public life.

The Ballina representative was a member of the county for 10 years, serving two terms on the authority.

He was first elected to public life in 1974 as a member of Ballina Urban Council.

Councillor Ginty has been giving a great deal of his voluntary time in recent years to the North Mayo Horse Sanctuary, based in Ballina, and he intends to continue with this work over the coming years.

Last month Councillor Ginty, along with Martin Daly, set up a branch of the Aontú party in the county.

It is understood he had considered running as an Aontú candidate in Ballina. 

However, once Aontú had secured confirmation of Cathy Gaffney's commitment to run in the Ballina electorate, he was happy to stand aside in support of her and concentrate, along with Mr. Daly, on identifying and speaking to other potential candidates across the county.