Speakers’ Corner: Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien

Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien MAY24

ith the local elections set for Friday, June 7th, we have once again sent out our Speakers’ Corner questionnaire to the local wide-eyed hopefuls.

Starting with the 12 candidates running in the Greystones Electoral Area, we then opened the floor to the other 6,789 upstanding Wicklow citizens currently stepping into the ring for 2024.

Up for grabs, 32 councillor seats across this great county of ours, with all the hopes and dreams – plus prestige, pressure, resentment, ridicule and mediocre pay – that such an exalted position entails.

Suffice to say, there are plenty of candidates to choose from, from the strong, silent types who simply, quietly get on with their work in the community to the loud, social media-shagging self-promoters who seem to leave little time for any actual graft. We’ve been reporting on this town daily for 12 years now, and the one thing we’ve become very, very wary of is the black arts of stolen valour. Feckers sticking their flag in other people’s hard work by racing to share the good news first on Facebook, Instagram and beyond, slyly hoovering up all the likes, thanks and praise in the process.

It’s akin to waiting at the finish line and throwing your arm around the winner for a quick selfie, owning their victory online before they’ve even had time to catch their breath.

So, whatever your party loyalties and your political leanings, it’s worth taking a moment to look beyond the glitter. These people will be your eyes and ears – and big mouth – down in Wicklow County Council, after all.

In the meantime, on with Speakers Corner 2024, and the Bray councillor bringing some flower power to Sinn Féin, Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien. But first, a quick bio…

Councillor O’Brien serves on the Drugs Task Force, St. Kilian’s Board of Management, the Local Community Development Ctte, the Joint Policing Ctte and Bray Head Special Amenity Ctte.

As a parent of two young boys Dermot is acutely aware of what it means to be raising children in a world that seems to be in turmoil at a global level and yet if you look close enough has so much potential to transition from a system that promotes an obsession with individualism and stuff to a society that shares a collective appreciation of our diversity as people.

Despite what he highlights as some negative experiences, Cllr Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien believes that change is possible.

Now, on with those delectable, delicious and strangely debilitating GG questions…

What inspired you to become involved in local politics? Was there a Road To District Council moment…?
“Could someone like me have an impact in somewhere like that?” That was my moment. Could Daisy the youth worker be a politician?!

I’ve been involved in politics since I was 17 years old but never really thought about electoral politics because I had so much amazing and fulfilling and important work to be doing in youth and community spaces. Then in 2018 my party colleagues said, “Daisy, it’s time for you to think about stepping up”. I don’t really do anything on a whim so I had a good think about it, talked to my people and decided to go for it and present myself for selection. I was duly elected then in the Local Elections 2019. Here I am five years later campaigning for re-election.

Of your work so far, are there particular achievements that you are particularly proud of?
I am so proud of the work I do behind the scenes. The opportunity to develop interpersonal connections with people who are going through struggles. Playing a role as an advocate is truly a great honour and a great responsibility. This stuff doesn’t make it onto social media posts or press releases but it is a huge part of my role and I take it very seriously. My background in youth-community and education, along with my training in trauma informed practice, means I am good at this aspect of the work.

Beyond that, I love the moments when the collective power of the people presents itself to you and demands that you take a stand and be accountable. In Bray, we’ve had the Dargle flood plain, the Swan River, the N11 Herbert Road junction, firefighters’ strike, traffic congestion, community engagement failures, etc, etc. When the people realise their own power, politicians pay attention. In my view, more of that means more good decisions get made.

Looking forward, what are the main goals that you would like to achieve over the coming years?
I’d like the Council structures to be more dynamic, more engaging and more purposeful in how they engage with the public and other stakeholders. I want more efficiency in the Local Authority, but that requires more resources. I want the 8 Councillors of Bray to create a collective vision for the town with the people of Bray and be accountable for delivering it. I’d also love to hold mini Citizens Assembly style gatherings when big decisions need to be considered. For example, the traffic and congestion problem can’t be resolved in an office or by a consultant alone; people need to be involved!

Similarly, a sports and recreation summit in north Wicklow would be phenomenal – if we could really get everyone together to map out what we have, what we need and how we propose to progress things. Similarly, I’d love to see participatory budgeting introduced which empowers the community to be involved in decisions about budget allocations. Overall, I really believe that politics needs to get closer to people or we run the risk of being paralysed in states of conflict and division which will never benefit the people.

To turn a fine Mayor Quimby quote into a question, ask not what you can do for your county, but what you can do for your county…?
I can be a leader who is compassionate, values connection and collaboration, and who will take responsibility for the choices that are made and the consequences of those choices.

If being a politician doesn’t work out, have you got a Career B in mind? Dancer? Magician? Traffic warden…?
People tell me that I have a voice for audiobooks, so maybe that’s my pivot?! I certainly have a face for audiobooks, so I’m halfway there!

To be fair I am very lucky to be active in so many inspiring areas of work outside of politics which helps me a lot with maintaining a healthy balance. There are times when you need to activate the zen and transcend during the toxic moments in local democracy!

Finally, Trump of Biden?
Cornel West! The truth and justice candidate for the American Presidency.

You can find out more about Dermot ‘Daisy’ O’Brien here, and follow on Instagram here or Facebook here, and get in touch directly on email here.