Kelly appointed director of NRA

The indomitable Clifford Kelly has bounced back into the public limelight following his crushing defeat in the local elections with the recent announcement that he has been appointed one of the eleven directors on the National Roads Authority (NRA). The Kingscourt native and former Fianna Fáil councillor is back on the road again following his appointment towards the end of last month and will serve on the NRA for the next three years. Mr. Kelly becomes the second Cavan person to serve as a director on the body following in the footsteps of Sean Quinn When asked what his role will be on this prestigious body, Mr. Kelly said: "I'm reading myself into the whole situation. I have a huge amount of documentation to read and it will take me a while to get up to speed with my new appointment." The first meeting of the new board takes place in September when Mr. Kelly will have a better idea of what his role will be on the body. "It's a new challenge for me and one I'm relishing." He added: "As a Cavan person everyone knows where my heart lies on my own county." The long serving public representative could not give any commitment regarding the by-passes for Virginia and Belturbet but he hoped they would come to fruition. "It is a great honour for me, something I never expected and it is going to be a major challenge," he said. There are many developments taking place on the national roads and the NRA has a huge budget and as a Cavan person, Mr. Kelly said he would be looking at the county very carefully. "It will be a great opportunity for me and one I'm looking forward to," he added. The main board of the NRA meets monthly under the chairmanship of Peter Malone with Fred Barry as the CEO and Mr. Kelly is looking forward to the first meeting. There are currently eleven members on the board and the Kingscourt native will bring a wealth of public experience with him with over 25 years on Cavan County Council and Cavan VEC.