Cllr Dan Joe Fitzgerald of Mallow, one of the longest serving members of Cork County Council passed away on Tuesday of this week in Marymount Hospice.
The council expressed its deepest sympathies to Cllr Fitzgerald’s wife Mary, his four children, grandchildren, his brother Liam (also an employee of Cork County Council), other siblings and wider family and friends on his untimely, but peaceful passing.
Expressing his condolences to the Fitzgerald family, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he was ‘a man of great personal warmth and a gentleman to his core’.
“Dan Joe had a huge sense of community, was always very sincere in his work and put the public first in everything he did.”
Cllr Fitzgerald had been a councillor with Cork County Council since 1999, when he was elected to represent the Mallow Electoral Area. He was re-elected in 2004, 2009 and in 2014 to represent the newly formed Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District.
He was also a proud member of Mallow Town Council and served as Mayor of Mallow town on a number of occasions until the town council was abolished in 2014.
Mayor of County Cork, Cllr John Paul O’Shea was deeply saddened to hear of his passing. “I had the privilege of working alongside Cllr Fitzgerald since my own election in 2009. I always found Cllr Fitzgerald to be welcoming and he always worked on behalf of the people of Mallow and indeed the county.
“His passing has come as a great shock and sadness to us all and his expertise, knowledge and people skills will be a tremendous loss to the people of Mallow and indeed his native Ballyclough.”
Cllr Fitzgerald was the current chairman of the Kanturk/Mallow Municipal District of Cork County Council overseeing the many core services delivered to the people of the area.
He was also chairman of the Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) of Cork County Council, an active member of the Housing SPC and a member of the Library Committee of the Council. Cllr Fitzgerald was also a director of Mallow Development Partnership and an active member of Mallow Chamber of Commerce.
The chief executive of Cork County Council Mr Tim Lucey, said: “Cllr Fitzgerald’s passing is a significant loss to his wife and family and also to the people of Cork county whom he has served for 17 years as an elected member of council.
“Cllr Fitzgerald brought a great depth of wisdom and insight to his work and has contributed to many advancements of the county, in particular in North Cork and the town of Mallow through his dedicated work as a public representative. Cllr Fitzgerald was held in high esteem by both management and staff of the organisation and forged a great working relationship which delivered many benefits to his constituents over the years.”
