Cllr. John Sheehan elected as Lord Mayor of newly expanded Cork City

Cllr. John Sheehan was elected as the first Lord Mayor of the newly expanded Cork City at an historic Annual Meeting this evening.

The outgoing Lord Mayor, Cllr. Mick Finn handed over the Lord Mayor’s Chain to the newly elected Lord Mayor during the meeting at City Hall.
In his acceptance speech, the Lord Mayor, Cllr  Sheehan said one of the themes of his mayoralty was “connecting communities”.

“It means building connections between the new areas of the city such as Blarney, Kerry Pike, Glanmire, Ballincollig and  other  areas of Cork City. It means building connections between the new groups who have made Ireland their home whether by choice or through fleeing persecution and poverty in their own homelands. It means building connections in long established communities of Cork such as Shandon, Blackpool and The South Parish,” the Lord Mayor said.

“I would like to welcome the new areas into an expanded City. An additional 85,000 people are now residents of Cork City.   The  boundary extension which is the first in over 50 years poses tremendous opportunities for the City. We also have  challenges ahead. Globally we have issues such as climate change that we urgently need to face and reassess how to change the way we live.  This is a challenge that should be grasped by us all. Doing nothing is not an option. Nationally and locally, we need as a society to address the housing issue on many levels and to continue to be proactive in addressing the needs of our citizens. Regionally there is the challenge of Brexit and the uncertainty that that brings for investment and planning in our city”.

Thirteen new city councillors were at this evening’s meeting, four were former county councillors.