FG's TP O'Reilly to get council chair

Cllr first elected to council in 2019.

Fine Gael's TP O'Reilly is to be appointed Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council later this morning.

He is the first to get the chain of office and become the county's first citizen in the new council term.

The AGM takes place at Cavan Courthouse, with individual Municipal District areas to meet directly after to decide who leads each of them.

Cllr O'Reilly's political journey has been marked by significant milestones, after first throwing his hat into the political arena in 2019 when he claimed nearly 14% of the overall first preference vote in the Ballyjamesduff area.

In the 2024 local elections, Cllr O'Reilly again garnered a substantial number of votes, with 1,252 (10.52%).

O'Reilly's political aspirations though extend beyond local governance. In 2020 he made a determined bid to secure a seat in Dáil Éireann as one of three candidate (Heather Humphreys, Sandra McIntyre), getting 5,124 first preference votes, missing out narrowly on the last and final seat.

Although this did not culminate in him making it to Leinster House, it certainly highlighted his overall ambition to try and influence the broader legislative arena.