Brother of junior minister takes over as the new Mayor of the County of Cork 

The brother of a junior minister has been elected as the new Mayor of the County of Cork, taking the chain of office from a history maker who became the first woman to hold that position twice.

Fianna Fail councillor Bernard Moynihan, 55, who is from Kiskeam in North West Cork, was elected unopposed to role.

Mr Moynihan attended UCC where he got a BA in Education. He spent his early career teaching and then working as a trade union representative with ASTI. 

He was first elected to Cork County Council in 2014.

His brother, Michael Moynihan, who is a junior minister at the Department of Education, was in the council chamber to see his younger brother elected mayor.

Proposed and seconded 

Fianna Fáil leader on the council Gearóid Murphy proposed Mr Moynihan for the office, and was seconded by the leader of the Independents councillor Alan Coleman.

Mr Murphy said Bernard Moynihan “has a passion for the Western Duhallow area and is always speaking up for rural Ireland.” 

On accepting the chain of office, the new mayor said he’ll do his best to ensure people in every part of the county “are heard and treated fairly.” Mr Moynihan said the country faces real challenges with the housing crisis and must ensure that people have the opportunity to build in rural communities where they were born.

He said Cork county must grow in a "balanced and sustainable way”, adding that considering its size it is not getting the investment from central government that it should.

Tributes to outgoing mayor

Several tributes were paid by councillors of all parties to outgoing mayor Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley.

She began her political career in 1999 when she was elected to Youghal Town Council, following in the footsteps of her late father, Paddy Linehan, who was a member of the town council for 46 years.

Back when she was first elected Mayor of County Cork in 2020, there were very difficult times with the onset of the pandemic. She served until the following June and was re-elected to the top job again for 2025/2026.

She said it was the greatest honour of her life to represent the county at home and abroad and thanked her colleagues and council officials for their support.

Emotional

Ms Linehan-Foley became emotional when she spoke of the four sitting councillors who passed away recently, Gerard Murphy, Joe Carroll, Michael Creed, and Patrick Gerard Murphy. 

She thanked her husband, John, her daughters, son and grandchildren for their unwavering support.

Chief executive Moira Murrell said she Ms Linehan-Foley had enjoyed “an exceptional year” and also thanked Fianna Fáil’s councillor Ian Doyle who was stepping down as deputy mayor.

Beara-based Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington was elected a deputy mayor after defeating Fine Gael’s Carrigtwohill-based councillor Anthony Barry by a vote of 28 to 21, with five abstentions.