Book remembers patriot who was longest - serving Cork Lord Mayor

SEÁN French was a legendary Cork figure in the 1920s and 1930s.

He was first elected to Cork Corporation in January, 1920, with a mere 73 first preference votes. In the tempestuous period that followed, he worked steadily in the Corporation, earning a reputation as a forthright and honest talker at Council meetings.

He entered public life at a time of national trauma, but the circumstances also presented opportunities and he did not lack the ambition, or the confidence, to take them.

However, his ambition was initially halted by the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Civil War. His staunch anti-Treaty stance led to his arrest on September 12, 1922, and he was sent to the Newbridge Internment Camp and, later, Mountjoy Prison.

French returned to Cork Corporation 13 months later, with renewed determination, and he took the Mayoral chair almost 100 years ago, on January 30, 1924, defeating Councillor Barry Egan by a solitary vote.

He struggled to unite the Council and, with the Cork Progressive Association and the Cork Examiner demanding an inquiry into local administration, it was no surprise when Minister Séamus Burke intervened. He ordered the holding of an inquiry which ran for nine dramatic days.

While tension filled the air in the Court-house each day, Lord Mayor French was the star of the show, resolutely defending the right of the Corporation’s elected members to sort out their own problems.

French was anxious to make the Corporation more efficient, free from central Government interference. Other elected members in the city were either disinterested or had lost faith in local democracy and, inevitably, Cork Corporation was dissolved on October 31, 1924, with Philip Monahan taking over as Commissioner.

For the next four and-a-half years, Seán French was Lord Mayor in name only. He filled the void by helping to establish the Fianna Fáil party and winning a seat in Dáil Éireann at the General Elections of June and September, 1927.

Local government was his first love, but he found an avenue at national level to consistently argue against centralisation, earning a deserved reputation as an expert in local administration, and as a gifted orator and wordsmith.

French won a seat to the slimmed-down Cork Corporation of 21 members when it was reinstated in March, 1929. He was also re-elected as Lord Mayor and began his working relationship with the City Manager, Philip Monahan. For the most part, the two men collaborated well, with both driven by a desire to improve administration in the Corporation and to enhance the quality of life of Cork’s citizens.

Together, they drove the Corporation’s slum clearance and house building programmes, as well as the reconstruction of the city, and took immense pride in the progress made.

When Alderman Francis J. Daly assumed the Mayoralty for two years from July, 1930, Seán French threw himself into promoting the proposed Cork International Exhibition. His four-month tour of America, during which he met President Herbert Hoover at the White House, was successful, although the subsequent Industrial and Agricultural Fair of 1932 was on a more modest scale than originally planned.

French reclaimed the Mayoral chain in July, 1932, and did not relinquish it until his death five years later. Two of the outstanding highlights in this period were his audience with Pope Pius XI in May, 1934, and the opening of the new Cork City Hall by President Éamon de Valera in September, 1936.

On September 8, 1937, Lord Mayor French complained of feeling unwell and, after visiting his doctor, he was advised to go to the North Infirmary. There it was discovered he had developed pneumonia and he died in hospital at two o’clock on the morning of Sunday, September 12, following a cardiac arrest.

On Monday morning, Corkonians woke up to the shocking news that their respected Lord Mayor had passed away. 

The Cork Examiner reported that he had been ill only for a few days and his death was altogether unexpected.

The lead story on the front page of the Irish Press on September 13 bore the headline: ‘Cork Mourns a Patriot Mayor’. The editorial on page six of the newspaper noted that ‘men of the type of Seán French are the salt of public life’, adding that weakness and dishonesty were ‘foreign to his very nature’.

At a personal level, Seán French was quiet, studious, and unassuming, occasionally austere and even dour. However, when in the company of family and friends at social occasions, he came alive and could be gregarious and charming, often demonstrating a wicked sense of humour.

He took a keen interest in sport, especially rugby, rowing and cricket (a passion he shared with Philip Monahan). Undoubtedly, Seán French was an outstanding figure in public life who was held in high esteem by all.

His contributions in the Dáil, Cork Corporation, the Harbour Board and numerous other public bodies and charities of which he was a member, were consistently eloquent, intelligent and passionate. 

A keynote of his character was his straightforwardness, integrity and unyielding fidelity to principle.

The office and status of Lord Mayor lives on in Cork city and many great men and women have held the position, but Seán French has the unique distinction of being the longest-serving First Citizen. For that alone, he warrants a prominent place in the rich history of Cork, the city he loved and served unconditionally throughout his life.

The political life of Seán French is captured in a new book by Aodh Quinlivan and John Ger O’Riordan, entitled First Citizen. It forms part of Cork City Council’s 1920-1923 Commemoration Programme and is published by Cork City Libraries. It was launched by Lord Mayor, Councillor Kieran McCarthy, last week.