Lord Mayor "emotional" as he takes part in ancient Cork tradition

Lord Mayor of Cork City Councillor Kieran McCarthy took part in an ancient tradition over the weekend, the Throwing of the Dart.

The tradition is a collaboration between the city council and the navy, and saw the Lord Mayor and guests travel out to Roches Point with Lt. Cdr. Stuart Donaldson and his crew aboard the George Bernard Shaw.

The Lord Mayor, who is an avid historan, told The Echo “way back in time, 500 years ago, on one of charters that was granted to Cork, one of the privileges was authority over the waters of Cork harbour.

“By the 1750s, the Mayor of Cork would throw a large dart into the water down by Roches Point to symbolise this.

“That tradition has ebbed and flowed over the last two and a half centuries, but in the last few decades it’s been done every year - an ode to the charters which formed the DNA of the city council."

He added, “It was quite emotional for me, after writing about why the harbour and its history matters for so many years, it’s different being a part of it.”

#GotCork The Throwing of the Dart is a very ancient tradition from the early 1500s &links to the Mayoralty’s historical authority over the waters of Cork Harbour.Many thanks to the Irish Navy &Captain Donaldson and his crew aboard the George Bernard Shaw.#weareCork #proudofCork pic.twitter.com/IT0lVhyj6O

— Cllr Kieran McCarthy (@cllrkmac) April 28, 2024