Mayor of County Cork, a role of long journeys to Bantry or Beijing
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O'Flynn, tries his hand at woodwork under the supervision of shed members Gerard Dubois and Finbarr Heas, with Finance Minister, Michael McGrath at the official opening of the Carrigaline Men's Shed in July 2023. Pic: Brian Lougheed
Being Mayor of the County of Cork can take you from Bantry to Beijing or Clonakilty to Chicago. Representing the county at home and abroad is a very exhilarating but seriously onerous task, with endless hours of travel attending official openings and functions in addition to overseeing numerous council meetings.
Before the current incumbent, Frank O’Flynn, took the chain of office last June, he already expertly knew his way around the county. There were few if any communities he hadn’t visited.
Much of that was due to the fact he has been a county councillor since 1999 and also very active in the GAA and in farming circles because of his managerial role with one of the country's biggest co-ops.
He’s a former chairman of the GAA in Glanworth, his home village in North Cork, and still a very active Cork County Board delegate.
Frank — or 'Frankie' as he is known countywide — has a wealth of experience when it comes to local politics. He is amongst the longest-serving members of the council, having been re-elected comfortably at every single local election since 1999.
And he hopes to extend his represenationship for another four years after confirming that he'll be running again in next June’s elections.
Educated at St Colman’s College, Fermoy, he went on to gain a degree in Dairy and Food Science at UCC before spending many years working as a manager for Dairygold Co-Op.
While based in Mitchelstown at the co-op's headquarters, he travelled many byways in the county advising farmers on ways to improve their output and profit margins.
This also brought him into contact with numerous communities across the county. It’s unlikely he’ll ever need to use a SatNav as there are very few boreens in the region he hasn’t travelled.
“I worked for Dairygold as a milk quality control manager providing advice to famers on new EU regulations and new technologies which would enhance farm performance and their incomes. I worked with Dairygold for 43 years before I retired. I loved every second of it. I love dealing with people,” he said.
Some years ago mayors (previously known as Cathaoirleach — chairman/chairwoman) had to drive themselves to functions. However, the local authority recognised that long hours at meetings/functions in addition to driving long distances represented a health and safety issue.
The Lord Mayors in the city have had a driver for years even though they have a very small territory to cover.
As a result, Frank and some predecessors have a driver available should they need one.
“I drive myself some of the time and I have a driver available if needed. Cork is a huge county. I could be three hours from some parts of West Cork, yet where I live I’m just over two hours from the Red Cow in Dublin. That shows the scale of the county,” he said.
Frank’s usual day starts at 7am.
“First, I go through my diary for the day and take or make a few calls. Then I’m out on the road. I attend five or six functions and meetings on an average day. But there have been times when I’ve actually done 11."
Fortunately, because of the immense workload, he’s backed by a team in County Hall who arrange his diary and there are few days, if any, when he’s not on the road attending some function or other.
Invitations rain in from Dursey to Doneraile. The latter might not be too bad if you’re living in nearby Glanworth which is a 40km round trip. Dursey is a near 400km round trip.
“My biggest supporters are my wife, Mary, and my son, John Francis. Mary is basically my full-time secretary. She is my sounding board and gives me great advice,” he said.
There are times, however, when there’s just too much to cover and Frank delegates engagements to others. Sometimes, this includes bringing in the Deputy Mayor of County Cork, Independent councillor John Healy, who lives in Carrigtwohill, to cover the gaps.
Other times, Frank will delegate functions to other councillors if they have a particular involvement in a local cause or if it's convenient for them to attend as the event's being held in their locality.
On top of that, Frank has to chair several council meetings and committees and on many weekends, when he can, and hold constituency clinics in his area — the Fermoy Municipal District. That stretches from Watergrasshill in the south to Mitchelstown in the north and east to west from Araglin to Doneraile.
A self-confessed “dyed in the wool” Fianna Fáiler, he has been a member of that party’s national executive and member and vice chairman of the regional development company Blackwater LEADER as well as being a very active participant in his village’s community council.
He says he would be up at 7am most days but there are times he might not return home until the small hours, especially if he’s had to attend a function in West Cork.
“You’re going flat out. Phone calls and emails are always coming in. They never stop. Even last Christmas Day I had to deal with issues. I got phone calls about water outages and sewerage getting into a person’s home,” he said.
He’s delighted that the council is making progress on housing.
“That’s a big issue. We’re making great strides in providing more social and affordable homes. We also need to get more derelict properties back into use, especially to help rejuvenate our towns and villages. Roads are also an issue. We will have to keep the pressure on to get more funding for them and, in particular, for the Mallow relief road,” he said.
Frank is seeking re-election in June, but there are several of his colleagues who have decided not to run again and he will miss them.
Fine Gael’s Susan McCarthy (Midleton), John O’Sullivan (Courtmacsherry) and Kevin Murphy (Kinsale) have indicated they won't be seeking re-election, along with Independents Danielle Twomey (Midleton) and Marcia D’Alton (Passage West).
“They will be a big loss. It’s especially sad to see some younger councillors leaving. It’s definitely getting harder for councillors though. People want answers yesterday, not today. Unfortunately, some councillors are suffering from online abuse, which is getting worse. There are a lot of anonymous keyboard warriors out there. The laws need to be changed to stop them,” Frank said.
He's one of the 55 elected members on the council. For the last four years, there has been a pact between Fianna Fáil and the Independents, who combined hold a majority on the council.
During that period, they have alternated the role of Mayor of the County between them. Independents Mary Linehan-Foley, from Youghal, and Danny Collins, from Bantry, have filled the role, while Fianna Fáil’s Gillian Coughlan, from Bandon, has also held the title which is presently Frank's.
A new balance of power — and, thus, the holder of the chain of office — will be decided by the outcome of June’s elections, with the likelihood of a lot of behind-the-scenes meetings between the bigger parties to see if they can cobble together a workable coalition.
Reflecting national government, it has been several years since one party held a majority on its own in County Hall.
