John Mulholland (politician)

John Mulholland (1946 – 12 October 2022) was an Irish politician who was the Mayor of Galway from 1986 to 1987 and again from 1996 to 1997.

Early life and career

Mulholland was born in Dublin in 1946, the eldest of six children of Ned Mulholland of Kinnegad and Betty O'Donoghue of Ballingary, County Tipperary. The family moved to Galway in 1948. In 1968, he married and moved to London where he worked in a betting office and as a fingerprint officer at Scotland Yard. He returned to Galway to take charge of the family's betting shop. Mulholland expanded the business and, by the early 21st century, owned ten betting shops.

Influenced by Garret FitzGerald, Mulholland stood for Fine Gael and was elected on the first count in the South Ward at the 1985 Galway Corporation election. He was elected mayor the following year. On 10 October 1986, he officially opened the city's first purpose-built city hall.

He was again elected mayor in 1996. While in office, he oversaw civic receptions for the Olympic Gold Medal winner Michelle Smith and Chief Garry White Deer of the Choctaw Nation.

Personal life

In 1968, John Mulholland married Margaret Flynn of Letterfrack. The couple had a number of children, including Aoife Mulholland.

He died on 12 October 2022, at the age of 76.