Lord Mayor of Cork
The Lord Mayor of Cork is the symbolic head of the local government in the city of Cork in the Republic of Ireland. The first record of the office (as Mayor of Cork) is in a charter granted to the city by Edward II in 1318. The title was changed to Lord Mayor in a charter issued by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900; unlike his Dublin counterpart, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, he is not entitled to the title Right Honourable. In a ceremony known as Throwing the Dart, the Lord Mayor throws a dart into Cork harbour at its boundaries, to symbolise the city's control over the port. This tradition was first recorded in 1759, although it is probably older. As of 2005, the current Lord Mayor was Councillor Seán Martin, who was elected by Cork City Council on 21 June 2004.
Notable Lords Mayor of Cork Tomás MacCurtain — Sinn Féin Lord Mayor, shot dead by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Anglo-Irish War Terence McSwiney — MacCurtain's successor, died in hunger strike in Brixton Prison Gerald Goldberg — first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork
External links Mayor throws down gauntlet — local newspaper article on the dart ceremony List of charters issued to Cork city
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