Sparks fly at Cavan council meeting

Executive scorched over ‘woke’ social media post

Meetings of Cavan County Council can sometimes be a slow burner but one local elected representative was left spitting flames over a social media post on the council channel advising people to think twice before lighting their open fires.

Sparks flew at the monthly gathering almost even before it had properly started when Independent Ireland councillor Shane P. O’Reilly took aim at what he perceived to be a tone-deaf social media intervention by the local authority.

Central to this fiery exchange was a post shared by the council on October 20, and again earlier that same month, posing the seemingly innocent question: ‘Will I light the fire?’

The post, intended to raise awareness of air pollution, reminded that burning solid fuels such as wood, coal, peat briquettes and turf in a fire or stove releases particulate matter (PM).

Describing these as ‘harmful pollutants’, the council warned that they are released both into the home and through the chimney, where they can linger, potentially affecting the health of residents, their families and neighbours.

‘If you don’t need to light an open fire or stove to heat your home, it’s best to leave it unlit,’ said the post, directing readers to www.cleanair.ie for further information.

However, the message ignited a different kind of reaction when Cllr O’Reilly raised the matter under the Chief Executive’s Monthly Report.

The Independent Ireland representative claimed he had never witnessed anything like it on the council’s social media channels during his 22 years on the local authority.

“Where did this come out of?” he demanded, asking whether the post was issued under a “Government directive” and whether the council had been paid to share it.

“I am abhorred, shocked and disgusted,” he declared, making it clear that the council’s attempt to stoke public awareness had instead left him thoroughly incensed.

“I light the fire,

I go to the bog and I cut sticks and I will continue to do so,” he fumed, insisting that the local authority had no business telling people what they should or should not do in their own homes, before delivering an emphatic:

“Have we lost the bloody plot?”

The councillor demanded to know which member of the council’s executive had given the green light to the post.

Branding the intervention “woke”, Cllr O’Reilly revealed he had even gone looking for evidence of similar activity elsewhere, checking the websites of neighbouring councils in Meath, Longford and Leitrim to establish whether they had shared a comparable message in 2026. The councillor said they had not.

Clearly still feeling the heat, he told Cathaoirleach Carmel Brady that he wanted the elected members, in their role of holding the executive to account, to ensure that such a post was not shared again.

He said the message had “absolutely raised the ire” of the people who saw it.

“What in the name of Jaysis are we doing?” he exclaimed.

“I don’t want to see it again and if I do I will raise worse.”

Director of Services Paddy Connaughton was called upon to respond, informing Cllr O’Reilly and the assembled councillors that he had not yet seen the social media post, or the reactions to it, and would examine the matter before coming back with a response in due course.

* This article was published with support from the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme