Derry City and Strabane District Council Minutes of Meeting of the Derry City and Strabane District Council held in the remotely - Remotely on Thursday 26 November 2020 at 4.00 pm Present:- Councillor Tierney (Mayor)(In the Chair); Aldermen Bresland, Devenney, Guy, Hussey, Kerrigan, McClintock, McCready, Ramsey and Warke; Councillors J Barr, R Barr, J Boyle, M Boyle, Burke, Carr, Cooper, Cusack, Dobbins, Donnelly, Doyle, Duffy, Durkan, Edwards, Farrell, Ferguson, Fleming, Gallagher, Harkin, Jackson, Kelly, Logue, McCann, McGuire, McHugh, McKeever, McKinney, Mellon, Mooney and Reilly. In Attendance:- Chief Executive (Mr J Kelpie), Director of Health and Community (Mrs K McFarland), Director of Environment and Regeneration (Mrs K Philips), Director of Business and Culture (Mr S Gillespie), Director of Legacy (Mrs O McGillion), Lead Democratic Services and Improvement Officer (Ms E Cavanagh), Democratic Services Officer (Mrs S Maxwell) and Committee Services Assistant (Mrs T Johnstone). C373/20 Notice and Summons of Meeting The Mayor read the Notice and Summons for the Meeting. C374/20 Member Attendance and Apologies The Mayor completed the roll call. There were no apologies recorded. C375/20 Statement for Remote Meetings The Chief Executive read the Statement for Remote Meetings. C376/20 Declarations of Members' Interests Alderman Hussey declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute item C380/20 – Irish League Championship Football Clubs. Alderman Hussey and Councillors Tierney, Jackson, McKinney and Duffy declared an interest in C403/20 - Deputation: Attendance by Dr Paul Molloy and Dr Ciaran Mullan to respond to Members’ queries on the provision of GP Services. 2 Alderman Hussey declared a pecuniary interest in minute item C404/20 – Employees within the Hospitality Sector. Chairperson's Business C377/20 Welcome to Councillor Doyle The Mayor extended a warm welcome to Councillor Emmet Doyle to the meeting. He stated that as a fellow representative of the Ballyarnett District Electoral Area, he looked forward to working with him and sincerely wished him well with the work ahead. C378/20 Setting for Committee and Council Meetings The Mayor stated that at a previous Covid-19 briefing, it was intimated that physical Committee meetings were expected to recommence after November. He stated that after consultation with the Chief Executive, it would be prudent to continue with virtual meetings for December and January and review the situation in the New Year given the seriousness of the pandemic. Councillor Tierney Proposed, Seconded by Alderman Warke That Council continue to hold Committee and Council meetings in a virtual setting for the months of December 2020 and January 2021 and that the matter be reviewed in January 2021. Members were then asked to vote on the proposal, the result of which was unanimous and the Council Resolved That Council continue to hold Committee and Council meetings in a virtual setting for the months of December 2020 and January 2021 and that the matter be reviewed in January 2021. C379/20 Tribute to Former All-Ireland Senior Men's GAA Manager, Mr Mickey Harte Councillor McHugh thanked the Mayor for agreeing to raise a matter under Chairperson’s Business. He stated that, ‘all good things must come to an end’, when he referred to the recent announcement that Mr 3 Mickey Harte was stepping down from his role as the Tyrone County Senior Men’s Manager after 18 years. He noted that the Council area covered a large part of the North and West of County Tyrone which incorporated numerous proud GAA clubs such as; Aghyaran St Davog's, Urney St. Columba’s, Strabane Sigerson's, Owen Roe O'Neill's, Clann Na Gael, Glenelly St. Joseph's, Naomh Eoghan and Castlederg St. Eugene's. within the jurisdiction. Continuing, he paid tribute to Mr Harte and noted that he had spent 18 years managing the Tyrone Senior Men’s team. However, he was also involved in the management of other teams spanning over 30 years. He noted that Mr Harte was a former County player who had managed teams at vocational, minor U21 levels, as well as taking up the reins of senior manager. He stated that quite remarkably, Mr Harte delivered all-Ireland titles with all of those teams. He also noted that prior to his appointment as Senior Team Manager in 2003, Tyrone Seniors had never won the holy grail of an all-Ireland senior title. However, thanks to Mr Harte and his background teams, he righted that wrong and delivered the Sam Maguire Cup to Tyrone on three occasions in 2003, 2005 and 2008. He stated that words could never describe the joy and elation those successes gave the people of Tyrone. He then listed the successes of Mr Harte to Members, which included; 2 Ulster Vocational Schools titles, 2 All-Ireland Vocational Schools, 3 Ulster Minor Championships, 1 Ulster Minor League, 1 All-Ireland Minor Championship, 3 Ulster U21 Championships, 2 All-Ireland U21 Championships, the McFee Cup, 12 McKenna Cups, Division 1 and 2 League titles, 6 Ulster Senior Titles, and most importantly, the 3 All- Ireland Senior Titles. He stated that this was an impressive haul of trophies over Mr Harte’s tenure as manager. He stated that life had not always been straightforward for Mr Harte, as he had faced many life challenges during his time at Tyrone, both on and off the pitch. He noted that he had suffered the loss of one of his minor players in 1997, a senior team captain in 2004 and the tragic death of his daughter, Michaela in 2011. However, despite that adversity he faced those tragedies with great dignity and respect and has used and continued to use those personal experiences to help others in similar situations. He stated that Mr Harte was not only a fantastic manager but has been a great ambassador for Gaelic games in general throughout Ireland. He wished to extend his sincere thanks to Mr Harte and his staff for their time in management positions at Tyrone. Councillor McHugh Proposed, Seconded by Councillor J Barr 4 That this Council writes to Mickey Harte expressing our thanks and gratitude to him for his commitment and dedication to Gaelic games in Tyrone over the last 30 years and all the success that he delivered. That we wish him all the best in his new role as manager of the Louth Senior Football Team and that we hold a Mayor’s civic reception, (inclusive of representatives from GAA clubs from the former Strabane District Council Area) in his honour when current restrictions permit it. The Mayor stated that he had planned to write to Mr Harte on behalf of Council to thank him for his contribution to Gaelic games and the wider life of Tyrone. However, once Councillor McHugh had contacted him on the matter, he felt it was fitting to postpone it as it would be raised under Chairperson’s Business. Councillor R Barr endorsed the comments made by Councillor McHugh regarding the joy and elation that Mr Harte had brought to Tyrone with the 3 All-Ireland Senior Titles. Alderman McCready stated that it was a remarkable achievement by Mr Harte. He stated that the DUP would not be standing against the proposal as they were tolerant and accepted other people’s views and opinions in sports indicative of a particular culture. He stated that if the proposal by Councillor McHugh was carried, it would highlight positivity, whilst noting that there was a long list of accolades and history which was absolutely commendable in any competitive, professional sport. He referred to the quote from Councillor McHugh that Mr Harte had, ‘righted a few wrongs’, and he hoped that Members would consider tolerance in other areas of reciprocal fairness to people who may have different views and that they would not stand in the way of other people’s culture. He advised that the DUP would lead by example, by extending good will towards Mr Harte. He stated that whilst he did not play Gaelic, he would not prevent anyone from celebrating something that they loved. He stated that Mr Harte’s accolades were historical facts that could not be rewritten and would be marked in a dignified way. He hoped that Members could take this on board during the course of the meeting. 5 Alderman Hussey stated that Councillor McHugh had referred to Mr Harte’s relationship with Gaelic Football. He stated that many did not realise that Mr Harte had a relationship with sport in general. He referred to his time as an Elected Representative on the former Strabane District Council were he had met and spoken with Mr Harte on numerous occasions. He noted that one of the most memorable conversations had taken place at the wake of his daughter. He stated that while it was a very sad occasion, he and Mr Harte talked about sport in general and he respected what Mr Harte has done with his own particular area of sport. Therefore, he had no hesitation in supporting Councillor McHugh’s proposal. He stated that Mr Harte should be noted as a sportsman due to his contribution to wider sports in general. Alderman Hussey referred to the wording of Councillor McHugh’s proposal which stated ‘Gaelic Sports in Tyrone’. He felt that it should read Gaelic games and sport in general, as this would cover Mr Harte’s achievements within the County. Councillor McHugh stated that Mr Harte was primarily a GAA manager and was content with his proposal in its current format. Councillor McHugh Proposed, Seconded by Councillor J Barr That this Council writes to Mickey Harte expressing our thanks and gratitude to him for his commitment and dedication to Gaelic games in Tyrone over the last 30 years and all the success that he delivered.