Cork city delegation travel to US cities in advance of St Patricks Day

6th March 2023

Deputising for the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Colm Kelleher is leading a delegation to a number of US cities, including Washington DC, New York, Rochester, and Cork’s twinned city of San Francisco, as part of Cork’s City’s longstanding engagements with partners in the US in advance of St. Patrick’s Day.

Cllr Colm Kelleher will be joined by Cllr Paudie Dineen; Cork City Council Chief Executive, Ann Doherty; Cork Chamber Chief Executive Officer Conor Healy, and senior officials from Cork City Council at various stages of the US visit.

Cllr Kelleher said:

“Our visit to the US will further strengthen Cork City’s links with our US partners. I look forward to high-level engagements in which we will discuss the shared challenges that  local authorities face and consider opportunities for closer collaboration in a range of key areas, including business, climate, gender equity, and tourism. I also look forward to engaging with members of the US’  Corkonian diaspora, who have made such meaningful contributions to life in both the States and back home in Cork.

Cork was recently voted as the number 1 small European city for economic potential in the Financial Times. It is wonderful to see my city being recognised at an international level, and we travel to the States with the benefits of this recognition, and with a lot to offer. I look forward to promoting Cork  abroad as a great place to live, work, learn and invest in.”

Earlier this week, Cllr Kelleher visited the Anna Murray-Douglass Academy in Rochester, New York in light of Cork’s growing connection with the Douglass family, and its efforts  to commemorate and vivify Frederick Douglass’ 1845 lecture tour of Cork through the city’s Douglass Week and Cork Abolitionist’s Trail. In Rochester, the delegation also met with Mayor Malik D. Evans and local business leaders. 

Yesterday, the delegation travelled to New York where they met with Minister Counsellor Donal Kenneally, a Corkonian posted to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations and discussed Ireland’s multilateral engagement at the UN, including climate in view of Cork’s selection as one of 100 EU cities who will lead the way on climate action and smart cities.

The delegation will also participate in the Queens County St. Patrick’s Day parade at Rockaway, and attend the 138th annual County Cork Association St. Patrick’s Dinner, where guest of honour Cllr Kelleher will deliver a speech on the importance of the US’ Corkonian diaspora.

The delegation will travel from New York to Washington where they will be received by Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Geraldine Byrne Nason. The Ambassador  participated in a webinar organised by Cork City  Council’s Women’s Caucus in November 2021. A number of meetings on Capitol Hill will culminate in a meeting with the Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, to consider opportunities for closer collaboration between the cities. The meeting builds on previous Council engagement in DC with Secretary of State, Kimberly Bassett, DC City Council Member Christina Henderson, and Congressman Brendan Boyle.

In San Francisco, the delegation will take part with Mayor London Breed, in the Women’s History Month Honoree Ceremony on UN International Women’s Day. The ceremony will be followed by a meeting with Kimberly Ellis, the Director of San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women, where opportunities to formalise the well-established partnership and shared commitment to gender equity between the Department and Cork City Council’s Women’s Caucus will be considered. The delegation will also undertake a special tour of the GLBT Historical Society Museum, the first stand-alone museum of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history and culture in the US. Cork and San Francisco are part of the Rainbow Cities Network, a global network for LGBTI equality.

While in San Francisco, the delegation will also meet with San Francisco City Administrator, Carmen Chu, and take a range of business-focused meetings with the Bay Area Council; San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and senior local representation from Enterprise Ireland and IDA. 

The visit will conclude with attendance at the Ireland Funds dinner, and participation in the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day parade on 11 March, a parade in which there will be no shortage of Cork representation including a senior delegation of Cork City-based members of An Garda Síochána, and more than 100 members of the Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance.