Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

Belfast Mayor visits Cork

Sinn Féin Councillor Jonathan O'Brien described the visit of Belfast Mayor, Alex Maskey, to Cork earlier this week as an historic occasion, further strengthening the ties between different parts of Ireland, north and south.

Alex Maskey, the first Sinn Féin Mayor of Belfast, was accompanied on an inaugural Aer Arann flight from Belfast to Cork by Cllr Billy Hutchinson (PUP) and Cllr Pat McCarthy (SDLP).

Welcoming Alex Maskey to Cork, Cllr O'Brien said: "This is an historic visit by the Lord Mayor of Belfast to Cork. Cork was the city whose Sinn Féin Lord Mayors, Terence McSwiney and Thomas McCurtain played such crucial role in the fight for Irish freedom in the early part of the last century.

"Alex Maskey made history when he was elected as the first Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast. His visit here today is another historic step. He and his council colleagues came on the inaugural flight of a new service connecting Cork and Belfast by air.

In Cork, Maskey visited the cross-border food safety headquarters based in Little Island and set up under the Good Friday Agreement. He also viewed presentations on the projected development of Cork City.

"Alex Maskey was a key player in the evolution of the Good Friday Agreement," said O'Brien. "It is particularly apt that he is visiting our city today, a sign of deepening links between all parts of Ireland, another step in the momentum towards a united Ireland."

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Transport, Séan Crowe TD, welcomed the news that Aer Arann has opened up the new route between Belfast and Cork as a "positive and logical" outworking of the elements of the Good Friday Agreement and a "small but significant step in developing business and social opportunities on an all-Ireland basis".

"The pivotal role that InterTrade Ireland (the body set up under the Good Friday Agreement to promote trade on an all-Ireland basis) played in this development should not be underestimated," said Crowe. "They were the driving force behind bringing together the airports and business interests to make this opportunity a reality."