Former Clare TD and long-serving Councillor James Breen has passed away this Wednesday evening, aged 81.
First elected to Clare County Council in 1985, the former Fianna Fáil member left the party and ran as an Independent candidate in the 2002 General Election, in which he topped the poll.
After he losing his Dáil seat in 2007, he was re-elected to the Council in 2009, and in 2015, became the first person from Kilnamona to be elected as Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council.
He stepped down from politics in May 2019.
James Breen is survived by his wife Eileen, sons and daughter.
Paying tribute, Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe, who served alongside him in the Clare County Council chamber for over a decade has described him as “a huge figure in the political landscape of Clare, serving our county with fierce independence and unwavering dedication to the people who elected him”.
Deputy Crowe says “In the chamber, he was a formidable, straight-talking politician, but outside of it, he was an absolute gentleman filled with wit, good humour, and a genuine affection for his community”.
May he rest in peace.
You can hear more on Clare FM’s Morning Focus this Thursday from 9am.
