Councillor Jim Corr (b. 1934), former chairman of RTC and former Lord Mayor of Cork City

This recording was compiled in the Lord Mayor’s chambers at City Hall, Cork. Jim Corr was educated at Greenmount National School and takes great pride in the fact that he is one of five Lord Mayors of Cork who began their education at this school. His grandfather organised Davitt’s first Land League meeting in Irishtown in 1879, and the family has always been involved in politics. Jim Corr had the honour of serving as Lord Mayor of Cork on two occasions. He received his secondary education at Presentation College and later graduated with a B.A. and H.Dip.Ed. from UCC. He and his new wife left for Nigeria where Jim taught for six years, a very grounding experience for the young man. They returned to Cork in 1964 when Jim began his Irish teaching career at Presentation College. In 1973 he was co-opted to Cork Corporation and the following year he stood for the local elections for Fine Gael, and was successful, as he has been at each subsequent election. He very successfully combined his educational responsibilities with his political work and feels that one complemented the other. In 1974 he was appointed to City of Cork VEC, and he discusses the major changes which have come about in the educational field over the years. He also recalls the CEO Paddy Parfrey whom he feels was one of Cork’s best public servants in his real commitment to education. Jim Corr discusses at length the growth and development of the Cork School of Music and its affiliation with the RTC. In 1979 he was first elected Lord Mayor and Cork which was a wonderful honour and achievement for Jim and the Corr family. In 1982 he was elected to Dáil Éireann but at the subsequent election he made the decision to concentrate on his political and educational life in his native city, so he was not a candidate in the general election. To this day he remains committed to his work on Cork City Council and on the board of the VEC.