Clare County Council is the local authority of County Clare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 28 elected members who are elected for a five-year term. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach (chairperson). The county administration is headed by a chief executive, Pat Dowling. The county town is Ennis.

History

Clare County Council was established on 1 April 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 for the administrative county of County Clare, succeeding in area of the former judicial county of Clare, with the addition of the district electoral divisions of Drummaan, Inishcaltra North, and Mountshannon, formerly within the judicial county of County Galway. Originally meetings of Clare County Council were held at Ennis Courthouse. Áras Contae an Chláir, a new county council headquarters, was completed in May 2008.

Regional Assembly

Clare County Council has two representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly who are part of the Mid-West Strategic Planning Area Committee.

Elections

Members of Clare County Council are elected for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) from multi-member local electoral areas.

Local electoral areas and municipal districts

County Clare is divided into the following local electoral areas and municipal districts, defined by electoral divisions.

Current councillors

The following were elected at the 2024 Clare County Council election.

Councillors by electoral area

This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 7 June 2024.