“TONIGHT, history is once more being made in this chamber,” the Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Colm Kelleher told a special meeting of Cork City Council this evening as Taoiseach Micheál Martin, the first former Lord Mayor of Cork to become the head of the Government of Ireland, addressed elected members.

Micheál Martin was first elected to Cork City Council in 1985, serving as Lord Mayor from 1992 to 1993.

Speaking at tonight's meeting Mr Kelleher said he was “truly proud” to welcome the Taoiseach back to City Hall.

“He is ‘one of our own’- a Turners Cross native, a former Lord Mayor of Cork and former Cork city councillor. He is of this city and for this city,” Mr Kelleher continued.

However, the Taoiseach’s visit to City Hall was not met favourably by all elected members, with Workers' Party councillor Ted Tynan and Solidarity councillor Fiona Ryan opting to walk out of the meeting before it began in protest of the Government’s approach to the cost of living crisis, which Mr Tynan described as “deplorable”.

There were also two separate protests outside City Hall ahead of the Taoiseach’s arrival, one led by the Cork Neutrality League, campaigning against what they believe is an “erosion” of neutrality by the Government and another protest by Families Unite for Services and Support (FUSS), calling for urgent action to address concerns around children’s disability services in Ireland.

“No issue that represents this Government’s failure to protect the most vulnerable sections of society is more indicated than by those represented by the FUSS campaigners outside,” councillor Fiona Ryan said before she and Mr Tynan left the council chamber.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Martin said he is “very committed to special education” and that progress has been made in this regard since the Government took office.

He said work is ongoing to improve children’s disability services.

“We’re clear at Government level that special schools have to retain and will have to be provided with therapists in their own right,” he said.

“In terms of health, there do remain issues in respect of access to therapies and in terms of assessment. The HSE are saying there’s significant recruitment issues in terms of getting a number of therapists in but I am determined as Taoiseach with my Cabinet colleagues to deal comprehensively with this issue and will continue to do so.” In relation to neutrality, Mr Martin said there are “no proposals to end Irish military neutrality”.

“We’re not politically neutral, we’re members of the European Union, in favour of democracy, we’re against authoritarianism - so we’re not politically neutral and never have been.

“Our neutrality has been a military neutrality defined by non-alignment, we’re not members of any military alliance and we have no proposals to become a member of military alliance,” he continued.

Last night’s special meeting was also attended by several former Lords Mayor of Cork and the wider Martin family.

Addressing the elected members and guests, Mr Martin said his years as a member of Cork City Council “remain formative” for him.

“Whatever I’ve done since has been very much rooted in the spirit and the values that I’ve learned here,” he said.

“Whatever offices I’ve had the honour of holding, being elected the Lord Mayor of our city remains a highlight for me and for Mary who was a dynamic, innovative Lady Mayoress.” Cork, Mr Martin said, “is a growing, diverse, multicultural and international city”.

“We have many issues to confront, many parts of our community need investment and support, but the fact is that we can look positively into the future because we have shown time and time again that we can overcome even the toughest obstacles.”