"I don't mind being the first, but I really hope I'm not the last"
Hazel Chu, who made history in 2021 when she was the first person of Chinese ethnicity to become Lord Mayor of Dublin.
"There's no part of you that comes to Ireland as a dishwasher on O'Connell Street and expects your son or daughter to become Lord Mayor."
Born in the Rotunda and reared in Firhouse, Dublin, Hazel Chu made history in 2021 when she became Lord Mayor of Dublin, becoming the 9th woman to hold the office and the 352nd Lord Mayor of Dublin and the first of Chinese ethnicity.
After her win she said she "felt slightly nauseous".
She told councillors in the chamber that her ascension was unlikely.
"I am overwhelmed and humbled because my presence in this seat would not be likely in the past," she said.
"My mother was raised in a small village in Hong Kong, her family was not well off, she would sell flowers to put food on the table.
"My grandmother could not read, but had a dream for her daughter and let her travel to Ireland, my mother worked night and day washing dishes in a restaurant dreaming of a better life for her daughter."
However, that period as the Lord Mayor came during the Covid pandemic and saw Ms Chu targeted with racial and gendered abuse, culminating in January 2021 when a group of far-right protestors showed up at her home and challenged her for wearing a face mask.
A female member of the protestors was arrested and later fined for breaching public health laws.
But Ms Chu said that the support she received from migrant communities was unyielding even in the face of such racism.
"Overall the Asian community was incredibly supportive. But that wasn't the proudest moment, it was that anyone who looked different was supportive.
"My mum came over here and was a dishwasher on O'Connell Street and had two other jobs. There's no part of you that makes you think your daughter could be Lord Mayor of Dublin. That was the most surreal part for me."
While Ms Chu says that the overall attitude to Chinese people in Ireland had improved, Covid brought about a new wave of racism.
"There was a period where people here thought all Chinese people were poor and needed help. Even canvassing in 2014, I remember vividly a guy on one door said things to me 'about brown people being here to take welfare, but that Chinese people are ok because they work'.
"Then Covid happened and what you had the world was telling us this was the China virus. I had people going into mum's takeaway ordering side orders of Covid. She said that it was like being back in the 80s. This is a woman who had an ashtray thrown at her, but during Covid it was as bad.
"Anyone who looked Asian got it. Since then, it's classism and racism in one bundle. Does that impact investment? Absolutely. Will it turn people back to China? There is an older cohort who don't feel as welcome, but a lot of people do still feel welcome."
Ms Chu draws a parallel in many ways between Ireland and China, saying that an inherent friendliness is present in both people.
"Irish and Chinese people can be very similar in terms of their links to family and community. They are two very friendly communities, though there are differences in etiquette, particularly around peoples homes."
With a concentration of Chinese restaurants and shops having sprung up around the Parnell Street and Capel Street parts of Dublin's northside, Ms Chu would like to see more coordination and effort put into making it feel more like a real Chinatown.
"I know people in Dublin wanted to put more money behind Parnell Street. But there's no one Chinese lobby group, so it's harder to coordinate. They would love a place like New York and San Francisco.
"But from a council point of view, we should really do a lot better because we tell people these areas aren't safe and it leads to negative consequences for the communities there."
Having blazed the trail to the Lord Mayorship, Ms Chu leans on a long-favoured phrase when asked what impact she wants her time as the capital's first citizen to have had.
"I don't mind being the first, but I really hope I'm not the last."
