UCC Philosophical Debate, Lord Mayor’s Gold Medal:

A Place for Democracy?

Lord Mayor’s Gold Medal, 21 March 2011

Speech, Cllr Kieran McCarthy

 

Ladies and gentlemen of UCC Philosoph, On behalf of the Lord Mayor, many thanks for the invitation here this evening. It’s a great privilege for me to be able to address you with my councillor hat on and my other hats. Leaving it open to what your guest wants to say presents challenges and opportunities.

Our four finalists this evening will speak about democracy – the west versus the Arab world and the place of democracy. That is no easy task trying to core to the depth of what democracy is and I have no doubt will create some oohs and ahs, nodding and shaking of heads, will expose truth and falsehoods and will incite anger in the bar afterwards. But perhaps what we will get to is how democracy is an ongoing process as society sets out to keep refining its values on ways of life.

For my part as an Independent Councillor I am happy that I was given a mandate by the people in the south east ward of Cork in June 2009 to represent them. But democracy to me is more than just politics and votes. It is a quest for a better city to live in.

I am a geographer by trade. I am currently pursuing a PhD in the Department of Geography. I am exploring how collective memory is created on the landscape and how this memory and associated heritage affects the human built environment through features such as ruins, memorials and acts of pilgrimage. Hence I have an interest in the importance of history, the heritage of the land, the psychology of people, the psychology of place and identity making, all of which affects in different ways the idea or ideas of democracy. My interests have informed my view of the world and hence my writing, my newspaper column I write in the Cork Independent, my publications, my walking tours of the city and the work I pursue in schools, primarily getting school children, both primary and secondary to complete local history projects on their localities.

But all of that is also my career – my interest in education and its power has also led me to huge interest in concepts of innovation, enterprise and citizenship, the idea of empowering people, the importance of community, identity, place building, community development and questioning and trying to define the importance of community

All of these threads may seem like a bundle of random ideas but they are all part of my life’s process – I work across these wide range of ideas. I stood in the local elections not from a political gene pool perspective but from a perspective that I am passionate about my city but also the idea that this place has always been an ambitious city and deserves to better recognised for its creativity and talent.

 

Cork City Imagined:

 

So democracy for me firstly is about the physicality of a place – in this case city and exploring what, who and when of its creation.

With that in mind, I have often marvelled in my research on how our city is built on a swamp – a fantastic piece of engineering in itself. I marvel at the city’s human built fabric – its higgely piggely architecture – how it sits in a basin crawling out as to grab its hilly suburbs as if to make sure it doesn’t completely sink. The concept of place-making in Cork also interests me and the multi dimensional perspectives that go with that and the effect on values, perceptions and beliefs on its people.

Cork City’s evolution can be narrated and conceived as an unfolding succession of stories; various people coming and going through the ages, leaving their own mark on the city and region. Cork’s urban landscape or textbook is throbbing with messages about the past, present and future. This throbbing or energy- with all its tensions, flows, complexities, even down to the look of the city’s architecture, cogwheels of traffic and people flows- all create the momentum to drive the city on –

The city’s poetic landscape of architectural monuments link to some form of celebration of the living past and present. Those links in turn combine to create a strong sense of place, emotional attachment and identity.   That place-making can be sometimes located in space, and at other times in the mind.

Cork’s landscape is indeed something ancient, soulful and purposeful – something motivating and ambitious. It’s as if the human built world does provide the landscape with a voice. For the walker, explorer, geographer like me, the human built fabric creates a landscape of living encounters, experiences, connections, journeys, ideas and re-interpretations – perhaps all of which ideas of democracy weave through.

 

Cork Shows Us:

Putting on the hat of councillor one sees alot more. Through my ward work I marvel at the work of individuals and groups who continue to bring people on a journey in life – the idea of active citizenship and its importance, calls for taking ownership of one’s life and the country’s direction.

 

With such noble call the physical landscape is peopled with interesting debates on what type of people we need to be to move forward. The present debate on what this country needs to do economically and how we need to do that is very relevant.

 

Recently we have heard terms such as democratic mandates from our politicians and calls for building change as well at grass roots level, to restore some kind of pride in ourselves – to debate yes and call for answers in our political and economic landscapes but not to become bitter to the point that we remain negative in everything we personally do.

 

The country, yes, badly needs a plan but so do Irish communities. We need leaders in our communities to show us alternatives in our lives – to show part of our lives that perhaps we have never explored – to help us to connect to other people so perhaps each one of use at a minimum is illuminated by advice or a nugget of wisdom… and that we have the ability to be open minded to other people and other ideas. Ultimately, people do need direction, something to work toward. That perhaps democracy should not be a static term but is reworked over and over by each generation.

 

Happy productive life:

 

Ultimately, I reckon when you think about your life, to live a happy productive on a minimum basis and whether we deem a need for them or not-

 

We need to be listened to and to listen… we need to be inspired and to inspire… we need to be encouraged and to encourage… be empowered and to empower… be enabled by action and to enable action … we need to be cared for and to care.

 

All of us here have experience of those basic actions and their relevance in our own lives

 

Our communities need a plan to create a better society, something that is better that what we left during the now mythic Celtic Tiger days. We need to take responsibility for part of this plan

 

We need realistic steps to achieve that. All too often we hear about a general vision for Irish community life but ultimately we need engines..drivers like our community leaders to drive forward the country so that will not become stale and disillusioned.

 

Community leaders are like giant spotlights in the sky; they can and will continue to uphold human values for all to see and replicate, they can send out the message that we do need to care – care about something… to do something purposeful…to move yourself forward… to hone our personal talents, which we all have or even seek advice.

 

So for me at this moment is time, Democracy and its processes or all important ideas, some physical and many more community based and imagined.

 

Perhaps what is also important and that really shines across in the field of democracy is yes the need for a vision but also a real step by step plan for Irish Society.

But Cork as a place shows us much – talent, confidence, self pride, self belief and innovation. And ladies and gentlemen, in the Ireland of today, we need more of such confidence, pride and belief and innovation– we need to mass produce these qualities and step by step approaches to pursue them.

 

 

John Giles Foundation:

Launch of Charity Walk from CIT to Cork Greyhound Stadium:

http://johngilesfoundation.com/

The “Walk of Dreams” is a national fundraising campaign to help build stronger clubs, schools and communities throughout Ireland. At 3pm on Sunday 27th of March, 2011 the Cork Soccer Clubs walked the “Walk of Dreams” for the first time.

 

Over 60’s Singing Heat in Sarsfield’s, Glanmire:

 

 On Board the French Naval Vessel: