Cork County Council US delegation to cost €50k

A SIZEABLE delegation from Cork County Council, led by County Mayor, Cllr Frank O’Flynn, has flown out to the USA this week for visits to Chicago and New York while a smaller delegation including the Deputy Mayor, Cllr John Healy, was in Detroit last weekend.

The total cost for the three city visits topped €50,000. 

This included €26,800.40 for flights and an additional €23,409 for hotels. While the Detroit leg of the visit concluded on Tuesday, Mr O’Flynn as well as counillors Gillian Coughlan, Ian Doyle and Noel McCarthy flew out to Chicago on Wednesday. 

Officials on this leg of the trip included council deputy chief executive Michael Lynch and the communications manager, Lisa O’Riordan.

The delegation to Chicago also includes the head of Visit Cork, Seamus Heaney, as well as the president of the Irish Hotels Federation, Michael Magner, owner of the Vienna Woods Hotel in Glanmire. According to a statement provided by the council, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Cork County/Cook County Sistership Agreement.

Established in 1999, this sistership agreement is the longest standing international relationship in Cook County. Cook County is the most populous county in the state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the US, while Chicago is the third most populous city in the US. In 2021, the USA was Ireland’s largest export market, with exports valued at just over €52 billion.

The Cork delegation will meet with president Toni Preckwinkle of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Thursday and will be present on Saturday morning when the Chicago River is dyed green to mark St. Patrick’s Day, a long standing tradition in the city. 

Other engagements include attendance at a meeting of the GAA in Chicago, a reception hosted by the Plumbers’ Union and the Irish Fellowship Dinner.

On Friday, councillors Alan Coleman and Mary Linehan Foley will be travelling to New York where they will be accompanied by council CEO Valerie O’Sullivan and the council’s director of services, Patricia Liddy.