​Anne Egan Bows Out From Career Of Public Service

By Jack Treacy

Anne Egan and Colleagues on the occasion of Marian Harkins TD visit to the Library

​Anne Egan Bows Out From Career Of Public Service
 
Anne Egan has been one of the most dedicated, capable & obliging Municipal staff members of the old U.D.C. through to Town Council & then with her stint as a valued & approachable member of our library staff.

Anne, after nearly five decades of public service as an employee of Galway County Council effected her retirement in a low key way early this May while the Library she worked in was operating behind closed doors owing to COVID Regs.

Those of a certain vintage remember the UDC offices ‘s at River St  - where the Simon Drop in Centre is housed now , which was the Town’s Administrative Headquarters for some four decades and it was to this building that Ahascragh native Anne entered in the mid 80s after her secondary schooling and some semesters in third level in Dublin.

The golf type writer was about to be over taken by the ribbon cartridge, calculators were as rare on a desk as a fax machine and each monthly Tuesday then then Staff Officer Mary E Molloy would instruct the crew – not just to tidy desks but to clear them ; so the nine Urban District Councillors and the Executive could meet !

IT was to this madness that Anne signed upto as a Clerical Officer – supporting all departments and she saw the Muncipality Bureaucracy grow from Town Clerk Harry Lyne and five of a support act in the 80s to some 18 staff in the mid 90’s needing a much bigger building.
Anne at the time of the move had moved steadily through the promotional ranks and was practically the Dept of Finance Head as Assistant Staff Officer when the Town Council took up their new lodgings in Marina Point.

All through her years at the desk, the dreaded hatch, the reception the phones, the invoice chasing , the receipt issuing she was one of the most organised, industrious and pleasurable to deal with by all who engaged with her.

Phil Hogan’s reform meant that all the County Council staff had to be re assigned to new roles similar in rank in 2015 and the new Library was about to open. Few knew then that the efficient and ebullient administrator was also a creative writer, very well read , a great follower of theatre and always enjoyed supporting the performing arts would take up a new position on the Library team .

For her swansong in assisting the public of Ballinasloe and locality it proved to be a winning combination for Anne.
 
“Anne was always willing to share her immense knowledge of books will be greatly missed by everyone especially the members of her book group who enjoyed many Thursday evenings happily discussing their favourite reads. Anne was a fantastic co-worker and a good friend ; to say she will be missed seems like such an understatement. 
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All of our local art and community groups will really miss her help in organising their exhibitions and events . She  greeted all our library friends with words of greeting and a welcoming smile .We wish Anne a relaxing, fun, and long retirement and we hope she will always be surrounded by books and flowers” stated Una Kelly Head Librarian Ballinasloe.
 
Always keenly interested and supportive of her immediate family in Ahascragh, Anne was also a committed member of Social Services and loves reading , writing ,travelling to exotic places and flowers . We hope she is blessed with health and happiness to enjoy much more of these pursuits.
 
All at LIFE wish her well on her new chapter and thank her for her commitment in her professional life to the town and it’s people.