Mayor of County Cork, a role of long journeys to Bantry or Beijing

Cllr Frank O’Flynn reflects upon his fulfilling and demanding role as Mayor of the County of Cork. He talks to reporter Sean O’Riordan

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.