Hi, I am Cillian, your local councillor for West Clare and I live in Kilkee.

Originally from West Cork, I came to the Loop Head Peninsula at the age of 7 when my father, who was a fisherman, brought us all up here in the early ‘70s. I have lived in Kilkee since the late ‘80s.

My wife, Mary and I have been in the hospitality industry since 1990 when we took on her family business, The Hideout Bar. In 2004 we opened Murphy Blacks Restaurant and operated it to a very high standard, winning many awards, until we sold it in 2020.

In 2009 I co-founded Loop Head Tourism, a community based organisation whose principle objective was ensuring tourism development would primarily benefit the local community

I was elected to Clare County Council in 2019, representing the West Clare Municipal District. My principle concern is rural depopulation and my main objective is to ensure our rural and coastal communities maximise the use, and control of, the resources we have to become sustainable places to live, work and visit, in that order.