Council to vote over Barry’s honour

THE Lord Mayor of Cork is expected to have enough votes today to rubber-stamp his proposal to confer the Freedom of the City on elder statesman and tea magnate Peter Barry.

The conferring honour is usually agreed unanimously by council members, but today’s proposal will require a vote.

If follows a row over the proposal sparked by Fianna Fáil last month after they claimed the award has been conferred too frequently in recent years.

Its leader on the council, Cllr Terry Shannon, claimed the three main parties – FF, FG and Labour – had reached a gentleman’s agreement last year not to confer the honour for the next few years.

But the claim was disputed by Fine Gael Lord Mayor Cllr Dara Murphy who vowed to press ahead with his proposal.

Fine Gael and Labour will vote with the lord mayor this afternoon.

Fianna Fáil is split, with some councillors expected to vote in favour.

At least three independent councillors – Dave McCarthy, Kieran McCarthy and Mick Finn – are expected to vote in favour.

Independent Chris O’Leary, Socialist Mick Barry, and the Worker’s Party’s Ted Tynan have said they will vote against the proposal.

But Mr Murphy is expected to have enough votes to carry the proposal.

The lord mayor said he wants to honour Mr Barry for his political, business and charitable contribution to the city over several decades.

Cllr Barry, meanwhile, said if Peter Barry was successfully nominated he will be the fourth politician or ex-politician to receive the award in the last five years after Mary McAleese, Albert Reynolds and John Major.

“Year after year now conservative lord mayors are nominating conservative politicians or ex-politicians for this award,” he said.

“It is dreary and depressing and shows a complete lack of imagination.”

Mr O’Leary said the award was now becoming a “farce” and was turning in to a “political handout”.

Mr Tynan said Mr Barry’s nomination represents “a politicisation of what should be a rare and special tribute with widespread popular support. It is an honour that should be rationed because its rarity is what makes it notable,” he said.

Peter Barry was educated in Cork and then became the major shareholder in the family company, Barry’s Tea. He was a Dáil TD for Cork constituencies between 1969 and 1997. He served as tánaiste in 1987 and deputy leader of Fine Gael between 1979 and 1987 and from 1989 to 1993.

He was also a minister for foreign affairs, the environment, transport and power and education.

His daughter, Deirdre Clune, succeeded him in the 1997 general election, failed to be re-elected in 2002, but won the seat back in 2007.

She became the third generation of her family to hold the mayoralty in Cork, following in the footsteps of her father, who was lord mayor of Cork in 1970-71 and her late grandfather, Anthony, who was lord mayor in 1960-61.

Previous recipients of the freedom of Cork include John F Kennedy, Éamon de Valera, Mary McAleese, Jack Lynch, Mary Robinson, Sonia O’Sullivan, Roy Keane and Michael Flatley.