Directly Elected Mayor

Had a watch and it was overall a bit mixed

Sheehan & Butler , came across well for the most part ,I'm not entirely sure that Butler really wants it though but hard not give him a good chance and very competent.

Leddin was very mixed, dodged around the early questions badly, but confident in himself as always. Usual buzz words that he throws out, did like his answer on the 40m private fund though but not sure he appeals to the county farmers at all or many !!.

Ryan also acquitted herself well and seems very competent, whenever Daly wasn't trying to interupt her that was .

Daly …will get votes for his "stick" but my good please no. cllr is his level.

Maurice seemed to be winging it somewhat , came across how like he is usually as a nice person.

Elisa o' D ,not enough time or information really very city orinintated.

Helen o'D, hard gauge seemed well rounded will appeal well to the county ..could be her

Beasly ,came across ok ,know nothing about her or Anontu for that matter

J Moran, Ok, speaks well and seems like a good fit but may not appeal to all.

C o Morain ,transparent mad !

Uunk animal mad but seemed nice.

Ruairi Fahy ,spoke well and fast ! made some sense but not enough appeal.

the other 2 nothing of note really.

Maybe it's because he is a councillor but I don't understand why Daly isn't being listed down with the other no hoper independents and minor party candidates. He's not worth talking about really.

Likely just going off the last general election. Didn't it come down to him and Leddin for that last seat as TD.

Or as someone pointed out somewhere, he has left every job he had for something else. Maybe, he'd leave the Mayor role mid term too

He will poll well. His support comes from not only less well off areas like Moyross and Thomondgate but also middle class areas like Corbally, where he lives. He is popular with younger voters, those who usually would not vote at all or who may have recently become eligible to vote.

I can't see him adding to his general election numbers and I think the extra exposure will lose him votes.

Agree with most of the comments here on people's general thoughts on the debate.

What struck me about a lot of the Mayoral candidates is how they seem to be still at 'council election' level - not running for the ' new' mayor job which needs a rake of different skills - admin, people management, budget and finance skills, negotiation and a bit of craft - plus all the usual roles of mayor. Most of all ? Competence.

This is a chance to build the role up from the start, basically make it ( within limits, obviously ) what the mayor and the city and county wants. Otherwise what's the point ?

I'm still undecided. I never follow usual party votes on things like these ( or on the European elections either - have voted almost everyone - apart from obvious loons - over the years) - so waiting for someone to impress here.

Some of them not at the races at all. Profile raising exercises only by some.

It could be a great position if we had devolution and decentralisation happening at the same time. But that horse has well bolted. As Maurice Brian and John stated , the post is not the one they had imagined and is in fact very limited. The dilly dallying in Government Buuldings over for 5 years explains why it will fire blanks into the night. Everyone knew it and now the Emperor has no clothes and will be strutting down O Connell Street in June, to the hoops and cheers of the happy citizenry. ( That should actually be happy 'customers' because councils have thrown out the old fashioned 'citizen' and replaced everything with 'Cushtumer Shurvices'. This would mean that the Mayor is no longer 'first citizen' but is actually the 'first customer' and paid the princely sum of 150,000 to be so annointed. First Customer So and So)

Moreover, the Mayor has zero influence on Irish Water or housing, two key powers that were stripped from local democracy during the past 15 years. Control of water controls the ability to build houses and when you dont have it , you cant build housheens. The council does not independently have the power to do anything that really affects peoples lives. For instance , how have the last bunch of councillors , acting individually or as a group improved the lives of the people of County of Limerick and the City of Limerick in the last 5 years. It's impossible to name one initiative delivered in part or whole.

Is it possible that, given the money squandered by LCCCC on Limerick Main Drainage, the Southern Ring Road and Tunnel PPP, Limerick Regeneration ( all the houses knocked and never rebuilt, O Connell Street Pedestrianisation, the Opera House, the empty cycle lanes, Cleeves Chocolate house, City of Culture and the unprocured CEO debacle, 2020 failed City of Culture bid (which Galway won), Northern Rhapsody Road. Pa Healy Road ( does anyone use it) and more cycle lanes, that now at this late stage in the game, our own Joffrey Baratheon could put house Thomond in order ???

We need a King. A King of Thomond

Best to stay away from real people in case they win I think... What about Countess Hairband? From the planet zog coming here with the intention of enslaving the human race one city at a time? Political party is the Fanatic Extraterrestrial Congressional Kitchen

Oh they know and they know that the people don't know.

You won't win this election without some performative outrage regarding UHL.

Essentially no she is not a credible candidate for mayor.

Just playing to her own base for the name recognition for both herself and the party.

I just hope in 5 years time we run the mayoral election on a separate date to the local elections so that it gets the attention it deserves.

I don't think the local elections are big enough to take away attention. It's both time and cost consuming to run them separately.

It's going to be a constant problem for the mayor to have to deal with people who have no idea what the job is sadly. They will be a lightning rod for every moan and complaint.