Lord Mayor of Dublin
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Hiberno-English Template:Infobox political post The Lord Mayor of Dublin (Template:Langx)Template:Efn is the honorary title of the chairperson (Template:Langx Template:IPA) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since June 2025, is Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The office holder is elected annually by the members of the council.
Background
Template:Main The office of Mayor of Dublin was created in June 1229 by Henry III. The office of Mayor was elevated to Lord Mayor in 1665 by Charles II, and as part of this process received the honorific the Right Honourable (the Rt Hon.). Lord mayors were Template:Lang members of the Privy Council of Ireland, which also entitled them to be addressed as the Right Honourable. Though the Privy Council was Template:Lang abolished in 1922, the Lord Mayor continued to be entitled to be addressed as The Right Honourable as a result of the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, which granted the title in law. The Local Government Act 2001 finally removed the title as a consequence of the repeal of the 1840 act.
For centuries the Mayor was elected by the 24 aldermen who made up the upper chamber of Dublin Corporation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The business of the corporation would have been transacted in the Tholsel
Functions
Following the reforms of 1840, the office became largely symbolic and its responsibilities consist of chairing meetings of the city council and representing the city at public events. Apart from a few reserved functions, which are exercised by the city council as a whole, executive power is exercised by the chief executive, a council official appointed by the Public Appointments Service (formerly by the Local Appointments Commission). Except on a handful of occasions where the city government has been suspended for not striking a rate (a level of local tax), Dublin has had a mayor for nearly eight hundred years.
City regalia and facilities
Residence
The Lord Mayor resides in the eighteenth-century Mansion House on Dawson Street.
Chain of office
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The chain is the outward sign of the office of the Lord Mayor and is worn within the city when performing official civic functions, important ceremonial occasions and also as appropriate at other times, such as opening conferences, new businesses, etc. It is also worn, at the Lord Mayor's discretion, when paying visits to such places as schools, churches and the emergency services.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin's gold chain of office was presented by King William III to the City of Dublin in 1698. The chain is composed of decorative links including the Tudor rose, a harp, a trefoil-shaped knot and the letter S (thought to stand for Seneschal or Steward). A circular gold medal with the bust of William III hangs from the chain.<ref name=CityRegalia>Template:Cite web</ref> The previous chain was not returned by Michael Creagh, the Protestant Jacobite Lord Mayor in 1688–1689.
Dublin city seal
The city seal dates from 1229/1230 when it was used by the Dublin City Assembly to issue a deed to the Town Clerk. One side shows three watchtowers above one of the city gates being defended by archers, while the reverse side shows a merchant ship at sea.<ref name=CityRegalia/>
Great Dublin civic sword
The civic sword dates from the 1390s and was made for Henry IV of England in 1399. He gave it to the City of Dublin in 1409/1410.<ref name=CityRegalia/>
Great mace of Dublin
The Great mace dates from 1717/1718 and incorporates parts of an earlier mace made in 1665 for the first Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sir Daniel Bellingham.<ref name=CityRegalia/>
The city sword and Great mace are still used at major civic events such as the Honorary Freedom of the City conferring. All of the above are on display in City Hall, Dublin.
Lord Mayor's coach
The Lord Mayor's coach was built in 1789 by William Whitton, of Dominick Street, and made its first appearance on the streets of Dublin on 4 November 1791 in an annual event to mark the birthday of William III.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The elaborately decorated coach far exceeded its original budget and was completed for a total cost of £2,690 13s 5d. The coach was used for ceremonial occasions up until 1932 when, due to its poor condition, it was placed in storage. Following expert restoration, the coach returned to public life in 1976 and is a feature of Dublin's annual Saint Patrick's Day parade.
Car number plate
A privilege enjoyed by the Lord Mayor is to receive the first car registration number in Dublin for each new year as well as receiving the use of a car for their term of office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Bicycle
Since 2018, each new Lord Mayor is offered an official bicycle by the Dublin Cycling Campaign. Nial Ring was the first recipient.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable mayors
- Richard Muton (1229–1230), Dublin's first Mayor
- Gilbert de Lyvet (1233–1234, 1235–1237)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- John Drake, three times Mayor between 1401 and 1412, who led the Dubliners to victory over the O'Byrne clan of County Wicklow at the Battle of Bloody Bank in 1402
- Bartholomew Ball (1553–1554), whose widow Blessed Margaret Ball was martyred by their eldest son, Walter
- Walter Ball (1580–1581), Commissioner for Ecclesiastical Causes – implemented the Reformation in Dublin
- Francis Taylor (1595–1596), who was incarcerated because of his Catholicism, and has been declared a martyr for his faith and beatified by the Catholic Church
- Sir Daniel Bellingham (1665–1666), first Lord Mayor
- Jean Desmynieres (1666–1667) and Lewis Desmynieres (1669–1670), Huguenot Lord Mayors of Dublin
- Sir Michael Creagh (1688–1689) who, although a Protestant, was a supporter of the Catholic James II
- Sir Mark Rainsford (1700–1701), the original founder of what was to become St James' Gate (Guinness) Brewery
- Daniel O'Connell (1841–1842), leader of campaigns for Catholic Emancipation and Repeal of the Acts of Union; first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1690
- Sir John Barrington (1865–1866 and 1879–1880), the first Quaker to hold the office
- Sir Thomas Devereux Pile (1900-1901), the last Unionist to hold office
- Laurence O'Neill (1917–1924), who was Lord Mayor throughout the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War<ref name=dib>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Alfie Byrne (1930–1939 and 1954–1955), the longest-serving Lord Mayor of Dublin in the office's 800-year history
- Kathleen Clarke (1939–1941), the first woman in the post<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Robert Briscoe (1956–1957 and 1961–1962), the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Tomás Mac Giolla (1993–1994), former republican prisoner and long-time leader of Sinn Féin, and later the Worker's Party of Ireland
- Hazel Chu (2020–2021), the first person of Chinese ethnicity to be mayor of a European capital<ref name="SCMP_prof">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
Notes
References
External links
- Lord Mayor Website
- Lord Mayors of Dublin 1665–2021 (Dublin City Council)