FG councillor elected Lord Mayor of Cork

Fine Gael councillor Des Cahill has been elected as Lord Mayor of Cork replacing Sinn Féin's Cllr Chris O'Leary.

Cllr Cahill pledged to do his utmost to face the economic and social issues that are affecting the life of the city.

He paid tribute to his late father Bob. He also used the occasion to mark the many achievements of his mother, Dina, who passed away a few months ago.

Cllr Cahill said his mother was an amazing woman who had an “incredible work ethic.”

Dina did the books for the family shop in Princes Street in the city, managed a dozen flats and ran a house with “four children, a grandmother and a great aunt.”

“It was not unusual to have strangers at the dinner table that she met during the day, who for one reason or another were in need. My parents instilled that work ethic and compassion in all of us at home.”

He stressed that his term as Lord Mayor would be all about positivity.

“While others see the glass as half empty, we in Cork see it as half full. I as Lord Mayor will unashamedly boast about Cork, why you should live, shop, visit and work here.”

Cllr Cahill is the the third Lord Mayor of Cork to be elected under the D’Hondt system. The system, essentially a pro-rata rotation of the position, was adopted by councillors after the last local elections.

It was established that the role would be held by two Fianna Fáil councillors, one Fine Gael, one Sinn Féin and one Independent.

It represents a change to the old regime which saw the role held by Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Des Cahill is a fifth generation butcher who ran Cahill's Butchers in Ballintemple, Cork until 2014. His family had been in the butcher trade for 138 years.