County Mayor's Diary Cllr Danny Collins

The sun is shining as I write this, and it puts me in mind of summer and holidays.

I was delighted to welcome L ’Austral, the first cruise ship of the season to Kinsale and to West Cork. We have so much to offer cruise visitors in Cork county, from stunning landscapes and fascinating history to vibrant culture and delicious cuisine. These cruise tourists are more likely than any others to return for a holiday to a destination they visit on a cruise.

This is one of the reasons why Cork County Council is so active in promoting the region as a cruise destination. West Cork will receive 20 cruise calls in 2023, representing a potential 8,300 cruise visitors to the region.

From sea to land and so this year’s Bike Week features over 250 events organised countywide, there is still time for new and devoted cyclists to join in the activities and consider making cycling part of your daily routine.

These fun and free events are the result of months of collaboration between Cork Sports Partnership, Cork County Council, Cork City Council and multiple Cork cycling organisations, agencies, communities, clubs and schools.

I have no doubt that both cyclists and motorists in North Cork will welcome the recent announcement by Cork County Council of ointment of Lagan Asphalt Ltd for a €3.6 million road resurfacing contract for the Kanturk Mallow and Fermoy Municipal Districts which covers 24 sites across 25km of rural and urban road improvement works in North Cork.

The scope of the works includes a wide range of road improvement measures, such as road resurfacing, major road reconstruction, traffic-calming measures, drainage and associated works.

I am delighted to see this significant investment in our roads network in North Cork.

Groups from each of Cork county’s 8 municipal districts are set to benefit from funding valued at over €90,000 announced under Cork County Heritage and Commemorations Grant Schemes.

It will be very exciting to see the 42 projects and initiatives brought to life throughout the county.

I would like to extend a hearty congratulations to the students from Colaiste Muire, Cobh who took 2nd place in the Senior Category at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals earlier this month in Croke Park.

Supported by Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Office South Cork, the winning students Ben Hamilton, Billy Murphy, Callum Gormley Barrett and Adam O' Leary, worked under the guidance of their teacher, Ciara O’Callaghan and are a credit to themselves and their school.