Green Party councillor named Cork’s new Lord Mayor 

THE newly-elected Lord Mayor described Cork as “a city unafraid to do things differently or to learn from where things have been done differently”, as he pledged to help the city achieve its potential this year.

Green Party councillor Dan Boyle was elected Lord Mayor at the annual meeting of Cork City Council this evening, with 22 votes.

He was nominated for the position by his party colleague Oliver Moran, who praised Mr Boyle’s commitment to public life and “unwavering hope that things can be better”.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Boyle said that when he began his public service, his motivation was to work towards achieving a better and safer world for his daughter and her generation.

“Now that ambition is also for my grandchildren and theirs,” he said.

He said he was glad to have the support of his family and recalled the reaction of his parents when he was first elected.

“They have gone to eternal reward, but I will always have the memory of the jig we danced together in our house, when we learned I would become a member of this council 33 years ago,” he said.

Mr Boyle was congratulated by his ward colleague, Fine Gael’s Shane O’Callaghan who said, “It doesn’t matter whether they’re popular or unpopular, or very unpopular – you stick to your principles.” 

He recalled a residents meeting about a cycle lane the residents and other councillors were opposed to, saying “you probably lost votes by going there, but you went anyway and you put forward your case because that’s what you believe in.” 

His party colleague Honore Kamegni was elected as deputy Lord Mayor.

In his inaugural speech, Honore Kamegni said that he canvassed for 14 months and knocked on over 15,000 doors, and “received all sort of online abuse, hostility and hatred.”

He said however, “I did not let any of these toxic comments distract me from my target. I was meeting and speaking to the real people at door steps and they were very supportive and encouraging,” finishing his speech in Irish to a round of applause.

Independent councillor Paudie Dineen suggested that the candidate who topped the poll in each of the five constituencies should get to do one year of Lord Mayor each during the five-year council term.

Outgoing Lord Mayor Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy gave a final speech, congratulating all re-elected and newly elected councillors.

“You have walked thousands of kilometres and knocked on many doors in your pilgrimage to take your seat today,” he told them.

He highlighted that during his 52 weeks as Lord Mayor he attended over 1,600 events. 

“It’s been a very deep honour, it’s one thing writing about the history of Cork, but it’s another being part of it.” 

Finally, he said “if I’m going to go down in history as a singing Lord Mayor…” before calling his partner, Marcelline Bonea, up to join him for a few bars of “Oh What A Beautiful Morning.” 

The leaders of other party groupings thanked him for his service, with Fianna Fáil’s Terry Shannon saying “you taught us how to get out of a tight spot, by bursting into song – you did become the singing Lord Mayor, but you were far more than that.”