Gordon Daly. Photograph: Eamon Ward.
TUAMGRANEY’S Gordon Daly’s appointment as Chief Executive of Clare County Council has been ratified by elected members of the local authority.
Daly is expected to take up the post late in May following the approval of his appointment by elected members at a behind closed doors briefing.
At the end of March, the Public Appointments Service (PAS) recommended Gordon as the successor to Pat Dowling. The Corporate Policy Group (CPG) then backed this decision before it was rubber stamped by county councillors on Monday afternoon.
Gordon said he was “delighted and honoured to join Clare County Council as Chief Executive and I wish to thank the Cathaoirleach and the elected members for approving my appointment. I also wish to acknowledge the very significant contribution to Clare County Council and County Clare by my predecessor, Pat Dowling. I look forward to working in partnership with staff, management, public representatives and all our various partners and stakeholders in further delivering on the potential and ambition of County Clare”.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) said, “I look forward to welcoming Gordon back to Clare County Council in his new role as chief executive, an important role that carries a lot of responsibility. I am confident that Gordon will do his best for the further economic and social development of the county. The members of Clare County Council look forward to working with him in the years ahead to deliver on the key objectives of the council and wish him every success in this important role”.
A past pupil of Tuamgraney NS and Scariff Community College, Gordon has worked in local government all his life. He graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with a honours degree in countryside planning and he obtained a masters in town and country planning from Queens University Belfast.
He has twenty eight years experience working in local government across five different local authorities, including Clare.
For the past decade he has worked with Limerick City & County Council as a Director of Service and more recently as its Deputy Director General where he was responsible for key areas such as Corporate Services, Human Resources and Organisational Development. He has led teams in the development of a range of strategic tourism and recreational initiatives in Limerick including the award winning 40km Limerick Greenway and the Limerick Regional Athletics Hub, an international standard public facility in Newcastle West. In addition, he has overseen the successful transfer of King John’s Castle, Limerick’s largest visitor attraction, to the local authority owned Discover Limerick DAC from the Shannon Airport Group in 2022. He has also played a key role in preparations to-date for the hosting of the centenary Ryder Cup in 2027 at Adare Manor, Limerick. He also led the establishment of a Dereliction and Vacancy Unit in Limerick.
Gordon previously worked as the Senior Planner for Clare County Council from 2009-2015 where he led the development of various strategies including the Strategic Integrated Framework Plan (SIFP) for the Shannon Estuary and the first Clare Renewable Energy Strategy. He is a past president of the Irish Planning Institute and a graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology.
