Profile of Betty Manning, former Mayor of Kilkenny,
for South-East Business Magazine’s Kilkenny Women in Business Special.
Betty Manning is proud to be playing a part in Kilkenny’s growth. She believes that gender is no longer a barrier for women, either in business or politics.
Councillor Betty Manning has experienced the highest honours that local politics can offer. She is currently Kilkenny’s Deputy Mayor, a role which is no doubt familiar to her, since she formerly served as Mayor of the City. Even before she entered politics, Betty was well-known in business and community circles. She spent over 20 years doing voluntary work in the City. After the untimely death of her husband Tom in 2003, Betty took up the reins at the family business, Manning Travel. She continues to run the business today with her son Des.
Manning Travel is an award winning travel agency whose staff have a combined experience of over 70 years. Their services include leisure travel, corporate travel, group travel and weddings and honeymoons. Manning Travel are members of Worldchoice, a group of Ireland’s leading travel agents, which gives them greater buying power, the benefits of which are passed onto their customers.
The last few years have seen challenging times for the travel industry but Manning Travel has gone from strength to strength. It has embraced new technology and focused on customer service which has resulted in continued growth and they have maintained their status as one of the premier travel agencies in the country.
With such a strong commitment to her family, local community work and business, politics was not a part of Betty’s life plan, but she was approached by Kilkenny/Carlow Fine Gael TD Phil Hogan. Betty’s five children ranged in age from fourteen to twenty three when she was approached to enter the political arena, but she didn’t let her gender deter her. “I don’t believe that making gender an issue or positive discrimination benefits anyone,” she says. “Whether it is in business or politics, it is about the right person for the job but it is an accepted fact that women’s ability to multi-task sets them apart.”
Betty believes that the barriers that family commitments create can be overcome in politics with the right support. Women also have the opportunity to enter politics when they have raised their families, as there is no age barrier. “I don’t think there are insurmountable difficulties for women to take their place on local councils. Whether its women or men in politics, there is always a need for support and back-up from family and friends.”
Being Deputy Mayor clearly carries no burden for Betty; she is passionate about her city. Kilkenny is a busy, vibrant city with Hub status. It currently has a population of upwards of 22,000 and this is expected to grow to 30,000 by the year 2020. Betty is committed to preserving the city’s heritage, while ensuring it can sustain growth. She believes the city’s elected officials and architects have a strong role to play. “It is important that while protecting the best of the past, we now build to a standard that we will be proud to pass on to the next generation.”
