Conn Murray, M.A.

Conn Murray was the chief architect of Limerick’s remarkable economic renaissance. He presided over the hugely successful merger of two local authorities to form Limerick City and County Council in June 2014 until he stepped down as Chief Executive in August 2019.

Not alone has he implemented the biggest single change-management programme in local government but simultaneously put in place the building blocks for the city’s unprecedented economic upturn that has seen over 14,000 new jobs and €2billion of planned investment bound for Limerick over the past five years. That came about thanks to the ‘Limerick 2030: An Economic and Spatial Plan for Limerick’ – a once in a generation plan delivered by Mr. Murray to guide the economic, social and physical renaissance of Limerick city centre, the wider county and Limerick city region.

Conn Murray commenced his career in his native Co. Meath and worked in a number of local authorities, including Tipperary, Limerick and Cork before being appointed City Manager in Waterford in September 2003. Subsequent to that, he was appointed Manager of Louth County Council in September 2007. In August 2012 he was appointed Dual Manager of both Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council before taking up his role as Chief Executive of the new amalgamated Limerick City and County Council in 2014.

A former member and chairperson of the County & City Management Association and formally served on the National Fire Directorate and the Board of Local Government Management Agency. He also chaired the CCMA Housing and Building Committee on two separate occasions and represented the CCMA on the Local Authority National Council, the Oversight Group on Haddington Road and the Performance Management and Monitoring Group. He currently serves as a Governor of Mary Immaculate College and the recently formed Land Development Agency.