County Mayor: 'If I were in it for the money, I wouldn’t be sitting here'

There were celebrations across sweet Youghal Bay when Youghal native, Mary Linehan Foley, was announced Cork County Mayor for the second time, becoming the first female councillor to do so.

She previously held the role in 2020.

The historic sterling silver chain of office never weighed heavily on Mary.

“I don’t look at the role as a job,” she says.

“I don’t ever find it tedious. I look at it as something that I love doing.”

Why is that?

“I am a people person, and I do work hard,” says Mary. “I am an all or nothing person.”

Mary says she was a wild child growing up.

“I never stopped talking, to be fair!” she laughs.

Mary makes her voice heard.

“Now I speak on behalf of the people of County Cork and that is a responsibility I embrace with pride.”

She is a chip off the old block.

Mary began her political career in 1999 when she was elected to Youghal Town Council, following in the footsteps of her father, Paddy Linehan, who was a member of the town council for 46 years. “He was a talker too, back in the day!” says Mary.

Back in the days when she was first elected Mayor, in 2020, they were very difficult times with the onset of the pandemic.

“It was difficult for everyone,” says Mary.

“I found it so frustrating not being able to be out in the community engaging with the people.

“Lockdown was very challenging for people. The world looked very, very different.

“Our roads were empty, and every meeting was held online.”

Mary has faced many challenges apart from covid.

“Finding my birth mother was a tough road, but it was a necessity and a right,” she says.

“In life, I have faced many challenges such as being a lone parent at a relatively young age,” adds Mary, who is married to John and who is a mother of five.

“I feel these experiences have equipped me well to advance a vision to provide world-class services and supports to communities, and to try and make our county the best place in the world to visit; to do business.”

As newly-elected Mayor of the County of Cork, what is her vision for the area, and for Youghal, the town she loves so well?

“My priorities are the towns of Midleton and Youghal,” says Mary.

She certainly knows the highways and byways of East Cork very well.

“The people of East Cork have been walking the roads with me for 20 years,” says Mary, who grew up in the famous Youghal pub, Moby Dick’s, that her parents, Paddy and Maureen, owned.

“My father worked hard for the town of Youghal,” says Mary.

“In my second term as Mayor, I hope to follow in his footsteps.

“The support for me has always been phenomenal. Without the people who vote for me, I wouldn’t be here,” says Mary.

“They have put their trust in me, and I hope to make them proud.”

The people of Youghal are amazing people, adds Mary, marvelling at the throngs of people, young and old, who turned out to welcome her back home as their newly-elected Mayor for the second time.

“It’s very, very special,” says Mary, savouring the moment, savouring that happy scene in her home town, proud to be a native of the town she loves so well.

“I am overwhelmed by the calls, messages and flowers. But mostly I am proud to be elected unanimously by my 55 colleagues at County Hall.”

Mary is involved and invested with many groups of people who champion their town.

“The local groups and local organisations who give of their time voluntarily for local projects, such as beach cleaning, tidy towns, and community care are legends.”

Youghal will enjoy a revival of legendary old haunts.

“There are plans afoot to open up the historic site, Moll Goggins Corner,” says Mary.

“We are looking at opening up the lighthouse to the public and creating a gallery inside it. The work of the viewing gallery is already underway with paintings to follow once the work is complete.”

I drove in on the busy road from Ladysbridge to Youghal to greet Mary and congratulate her on her new, albeit familiar role; so, what of the N25?

“Transport improvements like an N25 link road to ease congestion, and addressing the housing crisis are top priorities,” says Mary.

The N25 route is often clogged up.

“I understand people’s frustration,” says Mary. “I feel it too. I am determined to make projects shovel-ready so we can deliver results when funding arrives.”

Will funding arrive?

“I am already liaising with the relevant ministers to ensure that it does,” says Mary.

“Securing funding for various projects is the most challenging part of the job.”

Seeking opportunities and getting results means putting in a fair bit of grafting, doesn’t it?

“I believe hard work always pays off,” says Mary.

“I do what I do because I have the passion and the desire to make a difference to citizens’ lives.”

Not for the perks associated with political life?

Mary laughs.

“If I were in it for the money, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you right now.

“I’d be out working doing something else!

“If I didn’t have the passion for the job, I wouldn’t last.”

Mary has hard-working genes.

“My mother, from Slane, County Meath, was a very strong woman,” she says.

“She was the driver of our family. Mam was a great businesswoman, and she built up the business over the years.”

Mrs Linehan was a wise woman too.

“She instilled in me that I could do anything. Be anything.”

Mary’s mother believed in her daughter 100%.

“I am going to give 100% to the office,” says Mary.

Her family and her fellow councillors are behind her 100%.

“I am lucky to have a great husband and a great family,” says Mary.

“Their support lets me give 100% to the role.”

Mary is well-versed in the role of Mayor.

“Many of my fellow councillors have degrees in engineering and in other professional fields,” says Mary. “I don’t have a degree.”

She has something more important.

“I have the knowledge that hard work pays off,” says Mary.

She is always available.

“My husband gives out to me that I never switch off my phone and that I’m answering emails at 1am in the morning. If somebody is in trouble, sometimes I am the only one they can call.”

When Mary switches off, she likes to walk along sweet Youghal Bay. “It must be the most beautiful place in the world,” she says.

Others will appreciate the natural beauty of East Cork.

“I believe East Cork is a hidden gem,” says Mary. She aims to put it firmly on the map. “Our woods, our beaches, our boardwalks; East Cork has so much to offer,” says Mary.

“The opening of the Youghal Lace Museum and the Youghal Museum of Film and Photography have both proved very popular with visitors,” says Mary. “It is great to feel the buzz again on Main Street.”

What gives Mary the greatest buzz? “Getting things done and delivering for the people who have been there for me all of my life.”

Mary has a great relationship with her fellow East Cork natives and with her fellow councillors. “I have a great relationship with all 55 county councillors and all-party members,” says Mary. “We are all in it together.”

And for Mary, a born and bred people person, that is just the way she likes it.