Doran does U-turn on resignation

Despite stating publically on Friday week last that she would resign from Mullingar Town Council, former Labour and Green Party councillor Betty Doran has changed her mind, saying that she may have made a hasty decision in an 'emotive time'.However, speaking to the Westmeath Examiner this week, Cllr. Doran said she did not regret her decision to resign from the Green Party in protest over the recent Budget.'I can"t believe that John Gormley could talk to me for two hours on the phone trying to convince me to stay, when during my whole time as a Green councillor it was nearly impossible to get a call through when trying to get SEI grants for someone,' she remarked.At the moment, it looks as if Cllr. Doran"s relationship with the Green Party is over, but she has not confirmed whether or not she will run as an Independent in the local elections next year.With regard to Mullingar Town Council, Cllr. Doran said that she would have to discuss matters with her family over Christmas, but that she could not respect the authority of chairman, Mick Dollard, amidst the ongoing row over his military service record.Cllr. Doran said that last week, she received a recording of Cllr. Dollard from a Midlands 103 radio interview in 2007, in which he claimed he served two tours of U.N. duty before his 18th birthday, and that he had been stationed in Elizabethville during the Congolese civil war.Reacting to news of the recording this week, Cllr. Dollard stated that the matter was closed, and said that he was looking forward to the 2009 local elections.'I have addressed that situation already. I know what the people in the street think, and it"s their viewpoint that matters,' Cllr. Dollard said. 'The matter is closed, and I wish Cllr. Doran the very best of luck, be it inside or outside of politics.'