Picture: Seamus Healy
Whoever is chosen to replace a senior Kerry County Council employee, who is about to retire after a dedicated 49-year career with the local authority, will have a very difficult act to follow, councillors in Killarney have insisted.
They were paying tribute today to well-known senior water services supervisor, Freddie Bartlett, a hugely popular personality, who is stepping down from his role after just short of half a century of service.
Mayor of Killarney, Cllr Niall Kelleher, said Freddie was available, day or night seven days a week, to deal with problems as they arose and he always took fast and decisive action whenever a problem, such as a water outage or a burst pipe, arose.
“It will take a lot of men or women to replace Freddie. He was always wonderfully efficient when returning any calls made and 75 per cent of the time, or more, he knew where the problem was before you even opened your mouth,” Cllr Kelleher stated.
“I’m simply dreading the days and weeks after he retires because the service is not going to be the same. During the big freeze, Freddie was the man who kept water in the taps,” the mayor added.
He said the council would lose a great deal of knowledge and know-how when Freddie leaves and he wished the water services supervisor and his family the very best.
Cllr Marie Moloney said Freddie was always on the ground seeing where the problems were and it would be very hard to replace him while Cllr Niall O’Callaghan said he played soccer against Freddie and his son and he had great memories of those days.
“He would go through you like a dose of salts,” he remarked.
Cllr Brendan Cronin described Freddie Bartlett as the best public official he had every encountered.
“The man’s ability and knowledge of the network and the information he had in his head was incredible. He was always efficient and always courteous and he would get back to you day or night, even on a Saturday or Sunday,” he said.
“It will take a hell of a good person to replace him,” Cllr Cronin added.
Cllr Maura Healy-Rae said Freddie Bartlett’s knowledge ability and availability was invaluable to everybody and he can be immensely proud of his service to the county and its people.
Cllr Donal Grady said what impressed him most about Freddie was his ability to get the job done with no fuss while Cllr John O’Donoghue said Freddie’s departure from the local authority would be a tremendous loss.
“When you rang him he knew what the problem was immediately, without you having to tell him” he said.
Freddie, from Barraduff, joined the local authority in 1974 and rose through the ranks, establishing a great reputation for expertise and commitment along the way.
The council’s executive engineer in charge of water services, Charlie O’Leary, said to suggest that nobody is irreplaceable is a statement that is difficult to attach to any discussion concerning Freddie Bartlett.
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