A political row has broken out in Kilkenny following the failure of councillors to award the freedom of the city to the former ceann comhairle, Séamus Pattison.
Europe's longest-serving parliamentarian retired as Labour TD for the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency after 46 years last May. Yesterday, it emerged that a plan to award him the freedom of his native city was defeated in a secret vote earlier this week by members of the borough council.
The honour can only be awarded following the unanimous support of all 12 councillors, but two councillors opposed the plan.
The proposal was tabled by a Labour councillor and seconded by a member of Fianna Fáil. The party breakdown of seats on the council is Fianna Fáil (four); Fine Gael (four); Labour (three), and Greens (one).
Mayor Marie Fitzpatrick (Labour) had sounded out the views of all councillors in advance and believed the proposal had unanimous support. She said she was "shocked and very upset" when the ballot papers were counted to discover that two councillors had "behaved very treacherously".
The decision has prompted anger and callers to local radio station, KCLR, said the two councillors should "be named and shamed". One caller said the public had a right to know how councillors had voted and asked: "Are they men or mice?"
Some have pointed the finger at Fianna Fáil, but that party's councillor, Andrew McGuinness, who had seconded the proposal, said he "honestly" did not know who had voted against.
Some councillors publicly proclaimed yesterday how they had voted, but others preferred "not to say", citing the secrecy of the ballot. The mayor said she was devastated by the "treachery" of the leak and not just the outcome of the vote.
Mr Pattison told The Irish Times that he did not wish to comment beyond saying that "it's a matter solely for the members of the council".
Deputy mayor Seán Ó hArgáin (Labour) said the outcome was a "calculated insult" to Mr Pattison who, "more than anybody in political life, deserved the freedom of this city", adding: "You'd need to be Nelson Mandela to get the freedom of Kilkenny."
Mr Ó hArgáin said the dissenting councillors could have told the mayor of their objections in advance "and the whole thing would have been withdrawn quietly".
The freedom of Kilkenny was last granted in 2000 to Tony O'Malley, the renowned painter, who was a native of the village of Callan and who died three years later. Kilkenny's late Church of Ireland bishop Noel Willoughby, who died in 2006, was also refused the honour when one of 12 councillors voted against his nomination.
Under council rules, the matter cannot be revisited until after the next local elections.