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The Sixth Annual Public Lecture Series of the Centre for Local and Regional Governance

Jackie Weaver to speak at UCC conference

Jackie Weaver is one of three guest speakers at an online local government conference at UCC next week. Weaver is the Chief Officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils and became an internet sensation last December due a boisterous meeting of Handforth Parish Council. Footage of the meeting went viral after Weaver removed some parish council members who had lost their cool off the Zoom call. Due to his behaviour at the meeting, the Mayor of Cheshire East Council, Barry Burkhill, was referred to the council’s Standards Committee.

Next Thursday night’s event is the Sixth Annual Public Lecture Series organised by UCC’s Centre for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) and the theme is ‘New Forms of Democratic Local Government’. The other speakers are Hazel Chu, Dublin’s high-profile Lord Mayor, and John Moran, former Secretary General in the Department of Finance and now an advocate for a directly elected mayor for Limerick. The CLRG Annual Report for 2020 will be launched by Professor John Cryan, UCC’s new Vice-President for Research and Innovation. Closing remarks will be delivered by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Joe Kavanagh.

The Director of the CLRG, Dr. Aodh Quinlivan is excited by the event: ‘The CLRG was established in February 2016 and its remit is to foster research and generate discussion about sub-national government at home and abroad. We have a brilliant line-up of speakers this year and I am sure we will have a lively conversation about local government. We will also present our annual under-graduate student essay award and announce our 2021 local government recognition award winner.’

CLRG2021 takes places on Thursday 15 April at 5:00pm. All are welcome to virtually attend this live event which will be run on Microsoft Teams. For a link to the event, please e-mail Dr. Aodh Quinlivan at a.quinlivan@ucc.ie.