Cha O’Neill reflects on legacy of the Waterford Mayor’s Ball
Former Independent councillor and mayor of Waterford Council Cha O'Neill. Photo: Joe Evans
For the first time in 22 years, the Waterford Mayor’s Ball, a staple of Waterford City civic life, will not take place.
The ball had been one of the largest drivers across the county for charitable donations, raising over €40,000 last year. Since the turn of the century, approximately €1.4 million was raised.
In untelegraphed news, Waterford City and County Council emailed elected representatives on Friday, March 27.
Citing the retirement of former Independent Councillor Cha O’Neill, one of the key players in the ball’s organisation, the Council said it was impossible to maintain the same character of the event without O’Neill on board.
“Attempting to replicate his unique legacy would be difficult and the decision was made not to continue hosting the Mayor’s Charity Ball which was so successful over two decades,” the statement read.
“Following weeks of discussions and negotiations, we were unfortunately faced with circumstances beyond our control, which resulted in two confirmed big-name acts having to withdraw from the programme.”
Speaking to the , O’Neill said the news came as a shock to him.
As deputy mayor in the mid-2000s, O’Neill had begun hatching plans to revive the tradition of the mayor’s ball following a brief hiatus in the 1990s. Fine Gael’s Hilary Quinlan was mayor at the time.
“In that particular year, we ran it for St Patrick's Hospital. They were wanting to put on the new wing of the hospital above,” Mr O’Neill said.
“We had the Ard Rí at the time, which was a great venue; after that, I just continued, and I said ‘look, I'll keep running this’. The way I looked at it was a great opportunity every year to make good money for different charities.”
Through the years, the venues and selected charities changed. Yet Mr O’Neill became a constant, along with the relationships he built between businesses and donors.
“It did get to a stage after about six or seven years, they knew my voice. Any place I rang, they wanted tables. ‘Yeah, no problem Cha'," he said.
“The main part of the ball was, I'd make X amount on the tickets. We used to have a raffle, then an envelope on the tables in front of everyone, and we had prizes underneath each table, so that used to bring in a lot of money.
“And then the auction, that used to bring in anything between €20,000-30,000.”
For all his influence on the event, Mr O’Neill is quick to admit it was not a one-man show.
“It was only a matter of going into the mayor's parlour. The girls in corporate over the years, the management were very good.
“I know some of the girls in corporate gave me a hand, because as far as the emails were concerned, I was out the gap.”
For Waterford Council, the challenge of matching Cha O’Neill’s legacy, and replacing the vacuum the event has left in terms of charitable donations, will be a Herculean task.
