Lord Mayor Kieran McCarthy, a Cork City native, nurtures a deep love for his hometown. He studied Archaeology and Geography at University College Cork, pursuing further education with a PhD on Cork’s River Lee Valley. Since 1999, Kieran has contributed a weekly column, “Our City, Our Town,” to the Cork Independent, and has authored 30 books on Cork and Irish history. He founded the ‘Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project’ in 2003. Kieran has led walking tours across Cork’s historic areas and has been recognized for his heritage work, receiving awards such as Cork Person of the Month in 2017. As an Independent City Councillor, he has served on various committees and was appointed to the European Committee of the Regions in 2015 and 2020. Kieran currently holds positions in the CoR’s SEDEC and COTER commissions and serves as CoR Rapporteur on several opinion documents. Previously to becoming Lord Mayor of Cork City, Kieran served as President of the European Alliance grouping in the CoR and was a delegate member on the Conference on the Future of Europe, 2021-22. For more on his political work, visit www.kieranmccarthy.ie