Lord Mayor of Cork

Lord Mayor of Cork Ardmhéara Chathair Chorcaí
Incumbent Des Cahill (FG) since June 2016
Appointer	Cork City Council
Term length	1 year
Inaugural holder	John Despencer (Provost) Richard Wine (Mayor) Edward Fitzgerald (Lord Mayor)
Formation	1199 (as Provost of Cork) 1273 (as Mayor of Cork) 1900 (as Lord Mayor of Cork)
Salary	€47,925
Website	www.corkcity.ie/lordmayor/

The Lord Mayor of Cork (Irish: Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairman (Irish: Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The incumbent is Des Cahill of Fine Gael, a councillor for Cork City South East. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council.

In 1199 there is a record of the appointment of a Provost of Cork, as chief magistrate of the city. From 1273 under Edward I there were Mayors of Cork, the first record of the office (as Mayor of Cork) is in a charter granted to the city by Edward II in 1318. The title was changed to Lord Mayor in a charter issued by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900; unlike his counterparts, the Lord Mayor of Dublin and the Lord Mayor of Belfast, the Cork Lord Mayor was not entitled to title The Right Honourable. The title Lord Mayor defines the power of a city when compared to other towns and cities around the country. Only Dublin, Belfast, Armagh and Cork have the privilege of using the title Lord Mayor, as opposed to just simply Mayor.

In a ceremony known as Throwing the Dart, the Lord Mayor throws a dart into Cork Harbour at its boundaries, to symbolise the city's control over the port. This tradition was first recorded in 1759, although it is probably older.

The Lord Mayor is elected to office annually by councillors of Cork City Council from amongst its members. From 1979 to 2014, the position of Lord Mayor was rotated between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party on an annual basis as a result of a pact between the three parties which attracted much controversy and public criticism.