'It's not lost on me what this chain means': Councillor Kieran McCarthy elected as Lord Mayor of Cork
Cllr. Deirdre Forde passes the civic regalia to Cllr. Kieran McCarthy at his inauguration as the new Lord Mayor of Cork in The City Hall. Picture: Chani Anderson
A CONTINUED focus on reducing homelessness, driving the sustainability agenda and ensuring citizens’ voices are heard are some of the key priorities for the newly elected Lord Mayor of Cork.
Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy made the comments in his maiden speech as Lord Mayor after he was officially elected during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Cork City Council this evening.
The Ballinlough native, who was first elected to Cork City Council in 2009, began his address with a quote from architect William Burges, who in 1863 remarked in his diary that he had ‘got Cork’ after receiving news that he had successfully been appointed architect of a new St Fin Barre's Cathedral.
“And proudly I can write in my diary this evening I also ‘got Cork’,” Mr McCarthy said.
“But we are, I feel, in our own political cathedral where ‘got Cork’ takes on new meanings– we are in a space of guardianship, representation and inheritance,” he continued.
Mr McCarthy, a prominent historian, aptly peppered his speech with quotes from political giants of times past, including former Lords Mayor of Cork, Tomás Mac Curtain and Terence MacSwiney and former president of Ireland, Éamon de Valera.
So too, he mentioned his own past and fond memories of previous Lords Mayor visiting his school.
“I was the child on the annual Lord Mayor school visits who felt a deep attachment to the essence of the chain and its connection to the sense of place and pride in Cork– something that made me feel proud, made me connect to my city, driven by proud parents and teachers of Cork,” he said.
Ahead of the local elections next June, Mr McCarthy stressed the need for a continued focus on a range of issues including reducing homelessness, ensuring housing projects remain on track and putting Cork on a “firm footing to be climate neutral as part of the EU led Horizon Mission”.
“Without doubt, my Lord Mayoralty will champion these many priorities but, in particular, I would like to offer a voice to many of our citizens through my theme of ‘Building our Communities Together’ and through a pet project I will be calling the ‘Voices of Cork’ project.
Mr McCarthy, who represents the city’s South-East Ward, was proposed by Fianna Fáil councillor Terry Shannon for the position and seconded by Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill.
He was elected with 23 votes.
Two other councillors were nominated, Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan who was nominated by Socialist Party councillor Brian McCarthy and seconded by An Rabharta Glas councillor Lorna Bogue and Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent who was nominated and seconded by his party colleagues councillors Kenneth Collins and Fiona Kerins.
Mr Tynan received three votes while Mr Nugent received four votes.
At the AGM, tributes were paid to former Lord Mayor, Fine Gael councillor Deirdre Forde for her leadership over the past year.
Her party colleague, councillor Shane O’Callaghan said Ms Forde “truly did our city proud” and was “exceptionally fair” when chairing council meetings.
Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Rose Desmond said Ms Forde served in the role with “great character, with great passion for the city and with great style”, while Labour Party councillor John Maher lauded her as an “incredible ambassador” for the city.
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