Pictured at the recent retirement of Senior Engineer Eamon Canney are Cathaoirleach Cllr Gerry McMonagle, Hope Canney, Moira Canney, Edward Canney, Carmel Gallagher, Eamon Canney, Seamus Neely, CEO Donegal County council, John McLaughlin, Director of Service.
There was a full house in the Courthouse in Lifford on Wednesday last as staff, management and elected members gathered to offer their best wishes to a much loved and respected colleague on the occasion of his retirement.
Eamon Canney, Senior Engineer with Donegal County Council first joined the Council in 1985 and there were many stories and memories shared at his retirement function which was also attended by his wife Moira, his son Edward and his daughter in law Hope.
Followed by a number of witty and indeed heartfelt tributes by friends and colleagues including words from the Chief Executive Seamus Neely and Cathaoirleach Cllr. Gerry McMonagle and Donegal Municipal District member Cllr. Tom Conaghan, Eamon took to the stage to say a few final words.
A native of Galway city and now living in Donegal Town, Eamon recalled his early years in the Council when there was a compliment of only 27 engineering or technical staff in the organisation.
“When I joined the Council where was only 27 engineering or technical staff in the whole organisation, today there is close to that number of technical and engineering staff in the National Road Design Office in Donegal Town alone”.
“I have been in the fortunate position of working with lots of different teams and all of them have shown tremendous talent, innovation and dedication. They are great people and they have delivered quality projects. There has been a clear step change in the quality of infrastructure in Donegal from my early years in the Council and the staff and management of Donegal County Council should take great credit for this”.
“One of the things that I have noticed over the years is that when I joined the Council there were very few engineers from Donegal working in Donegal County Council. That has changed, the vast majority of engineers are now Donegal born and this is really important. They have a tremendous sense of place, they are passionate about what they are doing and indeed about Donegal.”
“I was lucky enough to work in the Housing Construction section of Donegal County Council for 13 years from 2001 and what many people do not know is that we, with Dublin City Council were one the top performing local authorities in housing construction during these years and that is quite an achievement for a local authority in a rural county.”
“Although I am looking forward to my retirement, I do have mixed emotions. There is a tinge of sadness. Looking back over the years, I have worked with hundreds of people in Donegal County Council. The Council has been a wonderful employer and has always been good to me.”
A number of colleagues and former colleagues paid tribute to Eamon and to his quiet and considered approach to his work, to his sense of fun and to his dedication not only to his colleagues but to the county of Donegal.
There is no doubt that Eamon’s departure from Donegal County Council will leave a void that will be difficult to fill.
Everyone in Donegal County Council wishes Eamon and his wife Moira many years of happiness and health as they both enter a new chapter in their lives.
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