COMPASSION and a sense of duty will be the hallmarks of the new Lord Mayor of Liverpool’s year of office – and it’s all thanks to his Mam.
Cllr Peter Brennan will be sworn in at a ceremony at the Town Hall this Wednesday, 22 May 2019, and will dedicate his 12 months in the role to his mother Margaret, who passed away earlier this year.
Cllr Brennan has served as a councillor for Old Swan ward since 2011. He previously also served as an elected member for Everton ward from 1994 until 2002 when he stepped down to follow a career in youth crime prevention.
He was brought up in Everton, attending Friary Infants and Junior School and SFX Bilateral School. After studying medical laboratory sciences he started his first job in the NHS Blood Transfusion Service. He then returned to education to follow a course in youth and community studies that allowed him to take up his dream job as a senior youth worker at Shrewsbury House Youth and Community Centre in Everton – a centre he himself attended as a child.
During Cllr Brennan’s year of office, former Lord Mayor Sharon Sullivan will be his Lady Mayoress. Sharon served the Central and Riverside wards from 2003 to 2019.
Cllr Brennan will be supporting three charities during his year as Lord Mayor. They are:
The Anthony Walker Foundation
The foundation promotes racial harmony through education, arts and sports, celebrates diversity and personal integrity, and realises the potential of all young people.
Wah Sing Community Centre
Formed in 1965, the centre is a well-respected organisation in Liverpool with strong links to other major Chinese communities in the UK and Europe.
Transforming Choices
Transforming Choice helps people who lead chaotic, alcohol-dependent lives to change how they live through detox and rehabilitation programmes.
Cllr Brennan said: “I am so proud and humbled to have been chosen by my peers as Liverpool’s First Citizen, Lord Mayor.
“My Mam would have been so proud to see me as Lord Mayor as she loved her city with a passion but I know she will be with me every step of the way and urging me on to do nothing but my best. She was the person who taught me right from wrong and gave me a backbone and instilled in me the notion of equality from an early age and that ‘there’s room for all of us’ as she abhorred injustice of any kind.
“She was the most hard-working of women I ever knew, often having three cleaning jobs when we were kids to keep a good home and the family together. She was funny, compassionate and had an innate sense of duty and a strong Christian faith. Thank you Mam”