I met and talked with Eileen Brady at the Civic Offices overlooking the Liffey. “I was 32 years in the Council last Saturday. I started off in motor tax where I dealt with the public and then I moved to housing”, she tells me.

Eileen Brady is the area manager for the South East area of the city. With four other managers they are responsible for co-ordination and delivery of services in each of the five areas of the city. These are based on the Dail constituencies.

Eileen’s office is involved in a huge number of projects that have city-wide and local implications. The Irishtown Stadium and the water treatment plant are two such projects which have been completed. The waste to energy plant is a big issue at the moment.

A programme of rejuvenation for Pearse Street area is underway and people are at present being consulted about a Framework Plan for the Poolbeg Peninsula. Some City Council complexes in the area have undergone extensive regeneration and improvement in recent times. These include Leo Fitzgerald House and Boyne Street and work has started on the precinct improvement scheme for Pearse House.

In addition to these projects which are being undertaken by Dublin City Council, there are a number of other very significant developments proposed for the area. The Lansdowne Road Stadium Development is a project of national significance and a forum has been set up at a very early stage to bring the community in on whatever development is proposed.

From being a clerical officer, Eileen worked her way through the system including salaries and accounts and then back to motor tax at a much higher level dealing with national policy and legislation.

She then went into planning and when the office of director of traffic was set up she moved in there and then back into housing. “You might say it is an awful long time in one job but in reality I have been in about 20 different jobs” she says.

Before coming to Dublin she worked in her grandmother’s shop. “Grandmother had a great sensitivity to people’s needs. You were taught a huge amount of respect for people who came into the shop. It was drummed into me that the customer is always right and I think if you start off with this ethos you don’t lose it.”

When I asked her about being the only female of the five area managers she said “In my experience it isn’t more difficult as a woman.” Although Eileen hails from Monaghan she feels that Dublin is a great place to work.

Eileen works very closely with councillors and TDs representing the area. She has also established a close working relationship with other agencies working in the area such as the Gardai, the Health Board and the Dockland Development Authority. Eileen finds her job very rewarding, especially her involvement with the local community.

“As a teenager I used to spend Sundays in Oriel Park. I started going to internationals when I came to Dublin. The first was Ireland against Russia at Dalymount Park in 1974 when Liam Brady played his first international. My brothers all played for Carrick Rovers.

My family has been involved in soccer for a long time from my grandfather Jimmy to my father being involved in the late 40s reviving soccer in Carrick.”