Belgium’s honorary consul to Cork Dominic Daly retires

A FUNCTION was held recently at City Hall to mark the retirement of the honorary consul of the Kingdom of Belgium to Cork, Dominic Daly.

Speeches were made by the Lord Mayor Deirdre Forde, Ben Dalton O’Sullivan, who deputised for the mayor of the County of Cork, Danny Collins, and the Belgian ambassador, Karen Van Vlierberg, who each paid tribute to Mr Daly for his contribution as Belgian consul in Cork.

The lord mayor said that Mr Daly had served his city and Belgium well.

“Dominic was appointed as honorary consul in 1994. A well-known and well-liked Cork character, he has served his city, and Belgium, well. 

"Indeed, in 2019, he was awarded the Order of Leopold II at a special service aboard a Belgium naval vessel. On behalf of the city of Cork, I would like to extend our thanks to you for your hard work, dedication, and tireless commitment to your work.”

“It was a lovely evening,” said Mr Daly, who is a native of Cork City.

“I had friends, family, and connections all there for the event. I was honorary consul of the Kingdom of Belgium for six counties in all: Cork, Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, Kerry, and Carlow.”

He explained his role: “I would be a contact if a Belgian national had a problem; they could come to me. In the olden days, we were able to issue passports, but that all became centralised. Retired Belgians who are living here had to meet with me once a year to get their pension.”

Mr Daly, an auctioneer, enjoyed his honorary role, which strengthened links between Cork and Belgium.

“When you are an auctioneer, you are helping people, so it is an extension of that. It is always good to strengthen links between Cork and Belgium. It is good from an employment and business perspective. Belgium is a beautiful country and Brussels is the centre of the European Union.”