On Tomás MacCurtain’s death Terence MacSwiney was elected Lord Mayor of Cork. Like MacCurtain, he had been a member of the Irish Volunteers and an enthusiast for the Irish language. He had also been imprisoned following the Easter Rising. A talented writer, he wrote a drama entitled ‘The Revolutionist’, several volumes of poetry and a political tract entitled ‘The Principles of Freedom’. As well as being Lord Mayor of Cork, he was the Commandant of the First Cork Brigade of Read more [...]

After Sinn Féin’s almost complete victory in the November 1918 general election and the setting up of the First Dáil in 1919, the political conflict between the British government and Republicans was to become a state of war. The War of Independence began with the Soloheadbeg ambush in January 1919. Tomás MacCurtain took an active role in the War of Independence. Originally from Ballyknockane in County Cork, he became involved with the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Read more [...]

The First Elected Lord Mayor: Edward Fitzgerald (1901-1903) Edward Fitzgerald became the first elected Lord Mayor of Cork on 23 Jan 1901 when he was elected by 28 votes to 24 for Eugene Crean. Born in 1846, Fitzgerald entered public life in the 1870’s. He married Johanna O’Donoghue in January 1872 with whom he had 8 children. Soon after his election, he proposed that an exhibition be held in the city. On 1 May 1902, the Cork International Exhibition was formally opened Read more [...]