Mayoral Workload
I think themain thing about the role is that it allows you to concentrate full-time on working in local politics. Any councillor across the board will tell you that one of the hardest parts is trying to balance this with another job as well. So far it's been OK. I've a couple of days of holidays coming that I've been planning to take for a while, and when I'm back from that I'll get back into it.

The Jazz house, Davis Street
My favourite takeaway has to be a chicken curry and fried rice from the Jazz House. I generally don't have one particular pub I'd go to regularly. Of course, I love any pub in my local parish, but when I do go drinking it just tends to be in one of the city centre pubs. The city centre is beginning to look really well, and you can see that the investment by both the City Council and private businesses is paying off. For too long, the city's major problem has been its image. I know several people who have visited the city recently were amazed at the transformation there's been.

The Canal Bank
I enjoy walking - I think it's a lovely walk there out to the University, or maybe back in along through Corbally. it gives me a chance to clear my head and get my thoughts together. If we didn't have that chance, we'd all explode.

Preserving our Heritage
We're facing a big challenge, because we have to try and preserve pieces of our heritage but we have tomake sure that they're functional. At the same time, we have to encourage new, modern developments butmake sure they're done in the proper context. There are a number developments that stand out.
The extension to the Hunt Museum, the development of the old Granary and the mill building on Henry Street were all very well
done. But there's a lot of modern fare that stands out. The Riverpoint
complex and the Clarion are fabulous buildings. Just because I think we need to preserve the character of the city, I'mnot anti-development.
Not at all.

King John's Castle
The only reason I've criticised people like Shannon Development about how it's been developed is because I know just how good it could be. It should be the hub of our city, something that people come to Limerick to go and see.
Shannon Development did an excellent job bringing thousands of
people here for the Corporate Games, but they had nowhere to go. Be leaving it as it is, we're depriving the city of a fantastic amenity. If you look at what has been done with Bunratty, we have equal potential to do the same here.

Community spirit
I've done a lot of work on the ground over the years. I can't really say one particular person who admire, because there are somany
wonderful, dedicated people in tenant's associations and such.
One thing I've learned is that a community can achieve far, far more than any one person. A group of people working towards one goal is the basis for sustainable change.