Lord Mayor's column: Cork should be a safe harbour for people as well as ships

Water, particularly the River Lee as it flows into Cork Harbour, is a strong theme for me as I try to fulfil my role as lord mayor.

Two weeks ago, I had the honour, along with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, to officially open the Marina Promenade.

There’s no better symbol of health and wellbeing than how we in the city interact with the river.

It is often such an intimate part of who we are.

When I meet visitors to City Hall, I often try to explain the importance of our coat of arms and the motto that lies underneath it: The image of a boat sailing between two castles.

It is a snapshot from a time when Cork city centre was not the roads we know now, but a series of waterways, this location being present day Castle St.

The motto underneath, in Latin, ‘Statio Bene Fida Carinis’, or in English, ‘A Good Harbour Safe for Ships’, has always been seen as a statement of how Cork looks towards the rest of the world as a trading city inviting traffic to it, as much as we travel with goods and people to other parts of the globe.

I tell our visitors that we should interpret that motto, these days, as being ‘A Good City Safe for People’, because we now have new people living and working amongst us, which makes us a stronger city and a better place to be.

French naval vessel

On Good Friday I had the opportunity of receiving the captain of the French naval vessel FS Aconit.

We have very close, continuing, strong relations with France and its people.

Throwing the Dart

Often we get to play with the water. Today, the traditional ‘Throwing the Dart’ into the harbour takes place.

I put on my mayoral chain, my robe, and an admiral’s hat.

A naval vessel takes us far into the harbour, where the dart gets thrown in, and where it lands in the water is meant to signify the area the lord mayor and the city council claims jurisdiction!

It doesn’t have a legal basis but it’s a fun tradition to upkeep.

European Maritime Day

Cork City Council officials are also spending a lot of time organising for a special occasion that is happening in May. That is when Cork will host European Maritime Day.

This is a day designated by the European Union to take place in one city in Europe each year in which our reliance on oceans and seas gets talked about, and discussion as to how policies can be made better.

We are looking forward to welcoming a few thousand visitors to our city, many of whom will be representing national governments, as well as high level people from the European Union.

A document entitled The Oceans Pact is being released by the EU Commission as part of the conference.

These days it certainly seems to be a case of water, water everywhere!