History was made last night when a Sinn Fein representative was elected chairman of Monaghan County Council.
Mr Brian McKenna, from Emyvale, is the first Sinn Fein representative to hold this position since the foundation of the State.
His election reflects Sinn Fein's success in last year's local elections, when the party took six seats in Cavan-Monaghan. This was a threefold increase on the previous elections and it gave Sinn Fein equal representation with Fine Gael.
The party expects to repeat its success later this week when Leitrim councillors meet to elect their county chairman. It is expected
Sinn Fein's Mr Micheal Colreavy will be elected chairman of Leitrim County Council. Mr Colreavy also made history in the last local government elections when he won a seat for Sinn Fein in the Manorhamilton area. A Sinn Fein representative had not won a seat in this area since 1926.
