Long serving Dollard says ‘I’m more community activist than politician’

One of the longest serving members of local government in Westmeath, Mick Dollard, describes himself as “more of a community activist than a politician”.

“In politics, there are work horses and there are show horses,” he says, and he prides himself on being in the first category.

Mick entered politics in 1984 when he replaced the late Jimmy Bennett on Mullingar Town Commissioners. He went on to top the poll in the local elections the following year and has done well in local elections ever since because of “beavering away in the housing estates”.

In an interview with the Westmeath Examiner, he looked back on his time in the army, his 43 years as a psychiatric nurse at St Loman’s Hospital, Mullingar, and his 39 years as a public representative.

Mick was born in The Curragh, County Kildare, to Joe Dollard, a Laois man who served for 43 years in the army, and Anne Campion, “a proud Freshford woman” who played camogie for Kilkenny. Mick has two sisters, Phil, who lives in Dublin, and Maureen, who lives in Leixlip, and three sons – JP, David and Mickey, who all live in Mullingar.

Since the family moved to Mullingar when he was three years old, Mick has lived in Clonmore, Springfield Cottages, Glenview Heights and for the last 30 years, Beechgrove, Bellview. He was educated at St Mary’s CBS national and secondary schools. He played hurling with the school and with St Oliver Plunkett’s and football with Mullingar Shamrocks.

Mick joined the army when he was 16 and served overseas within a year. He served on four occasions in Cyprus and loved it.

He joined the Labour Party in 1977, but broke away from them “because of the barracks” in 2016. “I stood beside Eamon Gilmore in the NCO’s mess in Columb barracks when he gave a commitment that, as long as Labour was in government, the barracks would not be downgraded or closed.” When the government that included Labour “closed the barracks”, he left.

“Having served in the army and being involved and a founder member of the ONE, you can imagine how I felt when it was closed. There wasn’t a street or terrace in Mullingar that had not someone connected with the army,” he said.

He bemoans the huge economic, cultural and social benefits that were lost when the barracks closed.

When he left the army at the age of 21, Mick trained as a psychiatric nurse at St Loman’s Hospital, where he worked for 43 years. “I often think of the people I worked with, many of whom have passed to their eternal reward,” he remarked.

He is saddened to think that the two places where he spent his working life – the barracks and St Loman’s – have been abandoned. What remains at St Loman’s now are, a laundry, the Irish Wheelchair Association, psychological services and an acute mental health unit.

Speaking as a former psychiatric professional, Mick feels that the main reason for the high number of homicides and suicides at present is the lack of psychiatric services. People need professional supervision and care when they are psychiatrically ill, he believes.

Four people have made a lasting impression on Mick Dollard – Sr Finbarr Breslin, Jack Taaffe (former county manager), George Lambden (former director of services) and Jim Harney (former administrator of St Loman’s). They were strong people with a strong social conscience, he says. Sr Finbarr came to the fore when the town had to address the twin evils of gaming arcades and the knock-on effect of money lenders, and she went on to do so much for the town, he said.

Mick’s office is attached to his house and he could have 60 callers on Saturdays alone; however, a lot of his work is done in the homes of his constituents. He finds that people are more confident to talk in their own environment. A lot of his work is personal, dealing with pensions, social welfare and fair deal applications, income tax claims and allowances.

He first got involved in public service through residents associations and Community Games and was then appointed assistant branch secretary of the trade union SIPTU, where he served with “great people like the late Tommy Lambden”. He joined the Labour Party because of Jimmy Bennett, for whom he canvassed, and he subsequently replaced Jimmy when he died in 1984.

Since then, he has served as chairman of Mullingar Town Commissioners, Mullingar Town Council, Westmeath County Council (twice), the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad, Westmeath VEC, and the HSE Regional Heath Forum. He was the first chairman of the Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board and was involved in establishing MABS in Mullingar.

At present, he is a member of Westmeath County Council and the municipal district, chairman of the boards of management of Mullingar Community College and Riverside Resource Centre in Dalton Park. He is a member of TEAM, the board of Mullingar Arts Centre, and the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women, and he is a Peace Commissioner.

During his first term as chairman of Westmeath County Council, he initiated, along with Ben Dolan and George Lambden, the erection of a statue of Joe Dolan in the Market Square, just nine months after the singer’s death. During his next term as chairman, he instigated the naming of the Joe Dolan Bridge in the singer’s honour.

Mick loves being a public representative, but has go ambition to run for government. He is “quietly confident” of holding his seat in the next local elections. “I have a name of being a grafter and I have experience, knowledge and common sense,” he said.

He wants to see more houses built – Westmeath County Council are not building one house in Mullingar town at the moment, he complains. He is delighted at how the town is looking, but he would like to see the town centre lit up at night and people living over shops and business premises.

He agrees that it is difficult for public representatives to get things done these days and he understands that people find that frustrating, but a lot of his work has nothing to do with the local authority – a lot of it is to do with education and social protection.

Mick is no fan of social media and is not on any social media site. “I live in the real world and if people want to get me, I am easily accessible,” he says. “I could get over 60 calls a day, plus emails, voice mails and messages.”

When he finished the chat with the Examiner, he was heading to Grange to meet constituents and help them with form filling and problem solving.