This is the Cork city delegation flying the flag in the US for St Patrick’s Day this year
They won’t get much time for sightseeing.
Cork City Council has revealed the members of the delegation that is flying the flag for Cork in the USA ahead of St Patrick’s Day, 2023, offering a peek into their jam-packed schedules for the coming weeks.
Deputising for the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Colm Kelleher is leading a delegation to a number of US cities, including Washington DC, New York, Rochester, and Cork’s twinned city of San Francisco, as part of Cork’s City’s longstanding engagements with partners in the US in advance of St. Patrick’s Day.
Cllr Colm Kelleher will be joined by Cllr Paudie Dineen; Cork City Council Chief Executive, Ann Doherty; Cork Chamber Chief Executive Officer Conor Healy, and senior officials from Cork City Council at various stages of the US visit.
New York’s Corkonians
Earlier this week, Cllr Kelleher visited the Anna Murray-Douglass Academy in Rochester, New York in light of Cork’s growing connection with the Douglass family, and its efforts to commemorate and vivify Frederick Douglass’ 1845 lecture tour of Cork through the city’s Douglass Week and Cork Abolitionist’s Trail.
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In Rochester, the delegation also met with Mayor Malik D. Evans and local business leaders.
Yesterday, the delegation travelled to New York where they met with Minister Counsellor Donal Kenneally, a Corkonian posted to the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations and discussed Ireland’s multilateral engagement at the UN, including climate in view of Cork’s selection as one of 100 EU cities who will lead the way on climate action and smart cities.
“The delegation will also participate in the Queens County St. Patrick’s Day parade at Rockaway, and attend the 138th annual County Cork Association St. Patrick’s Dinner, where guest of honour Cllr Kelleher will deliver a speech on the importance of the US’ Corkonian diaspora.” a Council spokesperson told us.
What’s next?
The delegation will travel from New York to Washington where they will be received by Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Geraldine Byrne Nason.
A number of meetings on Capitol Hill will culminate in a meeting with the Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, to consider opportunities for closer collaboration between the cities.
In San Francisco, the delegation will take part with Mayor London Breed, in the Women’s History Month Honoree Ceremony on UN International Women’s Day.
The delegation will also undertake a special tour of the GLBT Historical Society Museum, the first stand-alone museum of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history and culture in the US. Cork and San Francisco are part of the Rainbow Cities Network, a global network for LGBTI equality.
The visit will conclude with attendance at the Ireland Funds dinner, and participation in the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 11th, a parade in which there will be no shortage of Cork representation including a senior delegation of Cork City-based members of An Garda Síochána, and more than 100 members of the Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance.
