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You are > Home > ‘Ming’ makes debut with ‘prayergate’
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
‘Ming’ makes debut with ‘prayergate’
THE NEWLY elected Mayor of Roscommon County Council Cllr Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan got his first official meeting as mayor off to a controversial start on Monday when a war of words broke out over recitation of a prayer!
Prior to every monthly meeting of the county council, the mayor typically leads members in a short prayer before the meeting commences.
A the July meeting of the council on Monday the ever controversial ‘Ming’ declined to say the prayer and instead asked the Meetings Administrator Fiona Ni Chuinn, to do the honours.
“I’m an Agnostic and I have to believe in what I say, I won’t be a hypocrite,” said Cllr Flanagan.
The mayor said that he had asked the meetings administrator to say the prayer as she believed in what she was saying.
The mayor’s stance on the prayer resulted in a heated debate with Cllr Tom Crosby proposing that Cllr Flanagan vacate the chair and allow the Vice-Chairman, Cllr Ernie Keenan, to lead councillors in the prayer. “You have to respect a tradition which has gone on for 111 years,” fumed Cllr Crosby.
Cllrs Valerie Byrne and Paula McNamara came to the defence of Mayor Flanagan, their alliance colleague, with Cllr Byrne saying: “Every person is entitled to their religious beliefs. He didn’t say that the prayer could not be said.”
Cllr Paula McNamara agreed and stressed that Mayor Flanagan was entitled to his beliefs.
Cllr Sean Beirne pointed out that the main thing was that the prayer had in fact been recited by the meetings administrator.
However, that was not enough to satisfy an enraged Cllr Crosby. “The prayer was not said by the first citizen of the county,” he fumed.
Mayor Flanagan hit out at Cllr Crosby, saying: “You have got what you wantedbadly needed publicity because people were starting to forget who you were!” Cllr Crosby rejected the “personal attack” from Mayor Flanagan and the row continued until the level headed Cllr John Cummins (FF) suggested the meeting be adjourned for a few minutes in a bid to resolve the matter.
After the dust had settled, councillors then agreed that for all future county council meetings the Vice-Chairman, Cllr Ernie Keenan would say the prayer. Mayor Flanagan enquired whether Cllr Keenan believed in a Christian God and if he was happy to recite the prayer prior to each meeting. Cllr Keenan affirmed his belief in God, which was good enough for the mayor.
“That’s fine so, there is nothing worse that people saying things that they don’t believe in. I despise that,” said Cllr Flanagan concluded.
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