He was first elected to Limerick City Council in 1985.[2] He was re-elected to the council in June 2009.[2] He is a member of the Governing Authority of the University of Limerick.[2] He is Chairman of Limerick City Council Joint Policing and a former Chairman of Limerick City Council Future Planning.[2] He is married with two children.[2] In November 2009, he called for unemployed European Union nationals to be deported from Ireland.[3] His views led to a debate over racism.[4] This was part of a broader controversy surrounding racist comments from Fine Gael members in Limerick.[5]
In March 2010, he called for a change to the law which bans selling alcohol on Good Friday and Christmas Day, at a time when a rugby match was due to take place in Limerick city.[6] Shortly before leaving office in June 2010, he again was the subject of national news when he called for the re-introduction of capital punishment.[7][8]