“I want to grow Cork and support Cork,” stated Cllr Bernard Moynihan after he was elected as the new Mayor of the County of Cork on Friday, June 26. The Duhallow native and Fianna Fáil member has been a public representative for 12 years. He was first elected to Cork County Council in 2014. He was subsequently re-elected in 2019 and 2024, and the Kiskeam native was the first councillor elected across all local electoral areas (LEAs) in Cork in 2024. He topped the poll
in the Kanturk-Mallow Municipal District and was elected on the first count. Mayor Moynihan said being elected as the new county mayor represented a very proud day for his family and people in the local community. “I am delighted for myself, my supporters, my family, particularly the people of Duhallow and Western Duhallow, the people of Knocknagree and Kiskeam. I want to thank my supporters and canvassers for their hard work. I have received huge support over the last couple of days, from text messages,
phone calls and cards. This meant a lot to me. I am delighted to be appointed.” Bernard who was born and raised on the family farm in Kiskeam and attended Boherbue Comprehensive School is looking forward to supporting communities, businesses and quality of life across the county during his one-year term. “I hope to promote the ambition and positive impact of the Council as we continue working together to build a stronger, more vibrant Cork for all. The previous mayor Mary Lenihan Foley did great
work during her tenure and I will take inspiration from her time as the county mayor.” Mayor Moynihan’s first few assignments in his new role as county mayor involved a trip to Croke Park and Charleville Show. He admitted he was ‘gutted’ with the result in the Cork and Mayo senior football game. “While I was delighted to represent Cork at the match, I was gutted with the outcome. There were five Duhallow players on the panel. I was very hopeful for the footballers after
the Donegal match, but it didn’t go our way against Mayo. On the Sunday, I attended Charleville Show. We got lucky with the weather. It is a huge showcase for rural Ireland. It was a very successful show.” Mayor Moynihan graduated from University College Cork with a BA in Education. He worked as a schoolteacher for nine years, before going on to work as a trade union representative with the Association of Secondary Schools Ireland, where he advocated for improved terms and conditions for members,
while also representing and supporting members at the WRC. “It is the highlight of my political career to date,” admitted the proud Duhallow man. “I never thought when I was first elected in 2014 that I would make it to the mayor’s office. There is a lot of work to do. I will support the Cork Rose in the Rose of Tralee Festival. I am also meeting members of Cork GAA and the new Lord Mayor of Cork, Damian Boylan. “I am the first mayor
from Duhallow. John Paul O’Shea served as county mayor, but he is from outside Duhallow and lives near Mallow,” he added. Cllr Moynihan confirmed that he will also meet the Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary to discuss additional funding for roads and infrastructure in Cork County. “I will be doing my very best for every person. My focus is on roads, infrastructure and housing. We need more money from central government for Cork. Cork is a massive geographical county. “I have a meeting set up
already with Minister Dara Calleary who oversees all rural funding. He has a huge budget. The CEO (Moira Murrell) and I will meet Minister Calleary. We need more funding for roads and infrastructure. We need more money for safety issues and dangerous bridges,” he added. Mayor Moynihan who served as chair of Northern Committee of Cork County Council and chair of Kanturk Mallow Municipal District is looking forward to meeting people and community groups in every town and village in Cork County. “I am hopeful
that Cork will win the All-Ireland hurling championship. It would represent a great start to my tenure. We have a Newmarket man on the hurling panel, and I really hope we can do it this year.” Politics runs deep in the Moynihan family. Bernard’s brother Michael is a Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North West and the current junior minister at the Department of Education. Bernard acknowledged that both politics and the GAA were part and parcel of growing up in the family home. “I
grew up in a house where politics was discussed, but it was not the major issue. We had a small farm. We were a GAA household with a bit of politics. My uncle was involved in politics, and my brother Michael became a TD in Cork North West. I then got into Cork County Council in 2014. Michael and I work together to get the maximum amount of investment and funding into Duhallow.” Mr Moynihan was approached by several people locally to run for Fianna
Fáil in Duhallow in the 2014 local elections. He said he answered the call and has never looked back. “There was a vacancy at the time for a Fianna Fáil candidate in Duhallow and a lot of people approached me. I decided to run and I won the seat. I topped the poll in both 2019 and 2024. My vote was one of the highest local election votes in the country with 3,030.” Pressed on the secret to his electoral success, Cllr Moynihan stressed the
importance of listening to people and working hard. “I always stand up and work hard for the people in rural Ireland. There is no point being in politics if you can’t make a difference for your own community. I wouldn’t stay in it if I thought I wasn’t making a difference. It is hard work and 24/7, but you must make a difference, improve projects and get work done. “We are currently building a stand in Kiskeam GAA club. Money is going into various other
projects locally. One of the biggest projects I achieved was the roundabout at Ballymaquirke a few years ago. There are loads of stuff to work on. It is a very exciting time,” he added. The lifelong member of Kiskeam GAA Club is also a member of the Sean Moylan Commemoration Committee and has served as a Board Member of IRD Duhallow. Mayor Moynihan said that as a member of both the Economic Development and Planning Strategic Policy Committees, he is committed to supporting sustainable growth
across County Cork by creating the conditions for businesses to thrive while ensuring communities develop in a balanced and forward-looking way. Away from politics, Bernard said he loves spending time with his 11-year-old Fiachra who was present in the council chamber to see his father elected mayor. “He is very involved in football, soccer and hurling. We go to lots of games together. I love taking him to Cork games. In my downtime I support him in his sport and interests. We have a great
time together. It was a very nice moment to have Fiachra in the council chamber.” Mayor Moynihan who runs a small calf to beef operation also enjoys farming and stressed that he doesn’t pay much heed to any negativity in politics. “The negative side to politics is when you fail to succeed at something you are trying to achieve. Other than that, I don’t take any notice of anything else.” “I am looking forward to working with all the council team,” declared Cllr Moynihan. “There
are 55 councillors. I respect everybody in the council, and we are all trying to do our best for Cork. We will also work closely with Cork City Council.”
Bernard Moynihan, Mayor of the County of Cork, Kiskeam, Duhallow, Fianna Fáil, roads infrastructure housing, Dara Calleary, Cork County Council