Cormac McQuinn: Limerick’s experiment with a directly mayor may be the last for some time

Andy Burnham became British prime minister last month, having served almost a decade as the directly elected mayor of Greater Manchester.The Labour politician’s high-profile stints as mayor – overhauling Manchester’s transport system and seeking to end rough sleeping – helped him garner support to topple his predecessor as prime minister, Keir Starmer. He is not the only British leader to cut their teeth in executive office as a directly elected mayor. Boris Johnson was mayor of London during the 2012 Olympics (who could forget him dangling from a zip wire as he celebrated Team GB’s first gold?) though his support for Brexit was a more significant factor. But his time as mayor of London did help to build his public persona, arguably paving the way to his Conservative party’s landslide general election victory in 2019.Britain has had directly elected mayors – starting in London – for just over quarter of a century. In the same time period attempts to bring in similar roles in Ireland have been hit and miss – with many more misses. Former lord mayors of Irish cities have gone on to become taoisigh – Bertie Ahern and Micheál Martin being the most prominent. But it was their national work as TDs and in ministerial roles that saw them develop the profile needed to lead their party and the country, rather than the largely ceremonial mayoral roles that have been traditionally rotated annually among councillors here.READ MOREProposals for directly elected mayors in Ireland were put forward – but did not come to fruition – on three occasions up to 2014. That year, Fingal County Council famously vetoed then-environment minister Phil Hogan’s proposal to have a directly elected mayor of Dublin to cover all four local authorities in the capital. In 2019, the people of Limerick voted in favour of having a directly elected mayor in a plebiscite, while Cork and Waterford rejected similar proposals.Incidentally, in advance of a 2022 visit to Dublin as mayor, Burnham told The Irish Times that the UK was late to having directly elected mayors, but that Ireland is “probably an outlier” in not having such roles at the time. Later that year, Burnham would be among those to contribute to the Citizens’ Assembly that considered what type of directly elected mayor would be best suited to Dublin. The assembly went on to recommend that a plebiscite be held on whether or not Dublin should have a directly elected mayor. Meanwhile, legislation was developed for the directly elected mayor of Limerick.The first holder of that office – former Department of Finance secretary general-turned Independent politician John Moran – was elected in 2024. It has not exactly been plain sailing since.The role of mayor of Limerick is more limited than similar offices in Britain, or places further afield such as New York. The most significant power held by the mayor is proposing annual budget for Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) – but this ultimately still needs the approval of councillors. The last two years have seen frequent clashes between Moran and some councillors from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, the two biggest parties on the council.[ Bertie Ahern thinks directly elected mayors are a ‘stupid idea’. Here’s why he’s wrongOpens in new window ]This week, The Irish Times revealed that Moran complained to Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris about members of their parties. That came after a fractious council meeting in February 2026, where councillors passed the local authority’s delayed corporate plan in his absence after he left the meeting for health reasons.Both sides of that dispute have stood over their actions.The mayor of Limerick has guaranteed access to Cabinet ministers, but Moran has faced challenges in realising ambitious projects from his mayoral programme, such as his landmark modular housing initiative, which relies on funding from central Government.There have also been disagreements between Moran and LCCC’s director general Pat Daly, who retains responsibility for staffing, with differing interpretations of the functions of the two roles.Moran has previously insisted that the role of directly elected mayor “absolutely” works, arguing that Limerick is “already reaping strong benefits”. Amid reports on the tensions at LCCC, Moran earlier this year said there was a need for “a very quick review” of the legislation underpinning Limerick’s directly elected mayor system.Such a review by the Minister for Housing and Local Government was built into the law setting up the office, and it is due to begin before the end of 2026.[ Is the role of directly elected mayor workable? What’s happened in Limerick suggests notOpens in new window ]However, the tumultuous experience in Limerick seems unlikely to inspire any rapid moves to introduce the directly elected mayor model to Dublin or other Irish cities. The Coalition’s 2025 programme for government commitment on the topic was watery. That document states the Government will “support the office of the Directly Elected Mayor of Limerick and consider further plebiscites in Dublin and other cities”.So what is the status of such deliberations?This week the Department of Housing and Local Government said the report of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly, which was delivered in January 2023, and a subsequent report on that report by an Oireachtas committee from December 2023, are “under consideration”. It also said that legislation provides for a local authority to hold a plebiscite on whether to have a directly elected mayor and that “supporting regulations for holding plebiscites are being developed”.Whether any such plebiscites actually take place within the lifetime of this Government remains to be seen. The Coalition did only promise to “consider” holding them after all.Burnham has shown there is a trajectory from mayor to leader of a country. But do not expect to see it happen in Ireland any time soon.