Metro Mayor attends historic gathering of all twelve cities on the island of Ireland
Back Row: Deputy Mayor of Galway, Cllr Mike Cubbard; Mayor of Bangor Cllr Craig Blaney; Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Damian Boylan, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Ray McAdam, Deputy Chair, Newry & Mourne District Council Cllr Doire Finn, Metro Mayor of Waterford, Cllr Lola O'Sullivan. Front Row: Lord Mayor of Armagh, Cllr Mary O'Dowd, Lord Mayor of Belfast Cllr Róis-Máíre Donnelly, Mayor of Derry Grace Uí Niallais, former Mayor of New York Bill deBlasio, Cathoairleach Kilkenny Council Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Mayor of Lisburn Cllr Brian Higginson and Cllr Catherine Slattery, Príomh Chomhairleoir Limerick City Council. Photo: Matt Mackey
In a historic first, all twelve cities on the island of Ireland came together in Belfast today.
Cllr Lola O’Sullivan, Metropolitan Mayor of Waterford, represented the Déise at the event where she met with the island’s eleven other Mayors.
The event marked the first time ever that civic representatives of every city on the island came together.
The Summit explored topics including arts & culture, cross border trade, housing and regeneration, smart cities and AI.
The event also welcomed a number of distinguished international speakers, including former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary Sue Gray, who has Waterford ancestral roots.
Speaking following the event, Carl Whyte, Partner at MW Advocate one of the Summit’s organisers said:
"With a combined population of nearly 2 million people, Ireland’s twelve cities are its cultural, social and economic heart and bringing them all together today for this historic event marks the start of a new era of friendship and collaboration.
“From cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands and budgets measured in the hundred millions, to smaller cities whose names are woven through our history, our cities face many of the same challenges and opportunities. What unites everyone here today is that we all want the cities of our island to be the best places in Europe to live, work and visit.
Nearly 250 attended the event, which also included an address from the directly elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire David Skaith. The Summit organisers plans for the future include the event becoming an annual discussion:
“What’s clear is the energy and commitment of those leading cities to drive their success and for that reason we’ll be announcing plans for the Summit of the Cities 2027 later in the year,” added Carl.
(Funded by the Local Democracy Scheme
