Cork County Council marks 125th anniversary

FINANCE Minister and Cork South Central TD Michael McGrath wished councillors and other candidates well for the forthcoming local elections and hinted that the Dáil election wouldn’t be more than a “number of months” later.

The minister spoke yesterday at a gathering of past and present councillors, political figures, and community leaders to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of Cork County Council.

In his address, Mr McGrath, himself a former elected member, spoke about the “centrality” of local government in the functioning of Irish democracy and referred to the role the council played in tumultuous periods such as the War of Independence, the Civil War, and the founding of the Free State.

He also referred to more recent periods of national trauma in which the council played a vital role.

“What a time it must have been to chart out the future of the County of Cork — we owe all of those in those early days an enormous debt of gratitude for the work that they did,” said Mr McGrath.

“We will all remember those dark days of the pandemic of covid-19, we saw the very best of Cork County Council in modern times when it harnessed that incredible wealth of resources we have at community level and through the Community Call initiative they brought together such a strong community network which was needed to guide the country through those very dark days — I want to acknowledge and thank Cork County Council for that leadership role.”

He also referred to the council’s role in helping businesses through rates waivers, restart grants, and other initiatives. “They did a remarkable job during that period of time,” he said.

While there was an abundance of crested crème buns to be washed down with nothing stronger than tea or coffee for guests, there were also other goodies and a hint of something more substantial revealed in the finance minister’s address.

“Tomorrow at Cabinet, my colleague, Housing and Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien, will bring a memo proposing the extension of the development charges waiver and the connection to Uisce Éireann fee waiver — because that really helped to stimulate supply.”

He also acknowledged that the road network was under real strain — a topic which has dominated the agendas of recent meetings of the council.

“We’ve had such a prolonged period of bad weather, we’re still in recovery mode since Storm Babet and all the damage that was done, and we are discussing at national level, at Government level, what more can we do to help you — you’re a great council for spending money on road and infrastructure,” he said.

His Cork South Central Dáil colleague and former fellow Cabinet minister Simon Coveney recalled his own brief three-year stint in Cork County Council.

“I was unusual, in fact, as I got elected to the Dáil first and then decided to stand because a lot of people said that ‘he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth’ and I wanted to prove I was both interested and committed,” he said.

Paying tribute to the late Fine Gael councillor Gerard Murphy, whose passing was also commented upon by Mr McGrath, and the volunteer efforts of many in the room, Mr Coveney told all those committed to public life that it was important to remember that politics was a force for good in Ireland, in society.

“Politicians don’t always get things right, senior management in local government don’t always get things right but they are driven by a positive mindset, to improve peoples’ lives, to provide opportunity for people and to try to ensure that the community they leave behind when they leave politics is a stronger, more positive, more progressive one than when they came in.”

Earlier during the council meeting, County Mayor Frank O’Flynn had described as a privilege the opportunity to serve alongside “dedicated councillors, committed staff, and a vibrant community of this great county of Cork”.

“125 years ago, a vision was set out by our predecessors to establish a local government that would serve the people of this great county of Cork with integrity, fairness and, above all, progress. Today, as we look back on our great history, we can probably say that their vision has not only endured but flourished.”

Council chief executive Valerie O’Sullivan said that local government was at the heart of people’s lives. 

“It works closer to them and for them than any other arm of the State.

“It is also close to the hearts of those who work here, elected members and the executive, driving us to make a difference in the places we serve for the people we serve and we do that every day together in ways seen and unseen.”