Councillor Dick Walsh has been involved in community representation for nearly thirty years having first been elected to South Cowal Community Council in 1978. In 1980 he was elected to Argyll and Bute District Council and in 1982 to Strathclyde Regional Council. From 1996 - 2000 Cllr Walsh was Leader of the newly formed Argyll and Bute Council and he has held a number of other senior positions both within the Council and external agencies including: Spokesperson for rural Affairs and Chair of the Education Public Private Partnership Project Management Board. Within the voluntary sector, Cllr Walsh chairs the Duke of Edinburgh Award Group for Argyll and Bute and is a Trustee of the Cowal Hospice Trust.

He has shown considerable experience and enthusiasm in spearheading a number of local and area initiatives such as the Cowal games Partnership, Royal National Mod and Draft Charter for the Elderly in Argyll and Bute.