The Lord Mayor invited all the leaders involved with my volunteering group Let's Walk & Talk through the Dublin City Council for morning tea. Pictured are all the leaders that could make it. The Lord Mayor holds office for 1 year, is elected by Dublin City Council members and presides over council meetings. She does not deal with policies, but rather makes appearances throughout the year and is on the go typically 18 hours a day. The gold chain around her neck is called the Great Chain and was made in 1698. She wears this for all formal functions. It was very kind of her to invite our group to the Mansion House (where every Lord Mayor of Dublin has resided since 1715).
After The Lord Mayor excused herself for her next function, Greg, one of the other leaders, took me on an unofficial tour of the "public" rooms of the mansion. This is the Oak Room (the top picture is blurry b/c we weren't suppose to be in there and I was rushed out!). Hanging on the walls are all the coat of arms for each Lord Mayor in Dublin's history. I found the O'Connor coat of arms (County Sligo) that I grew up knowing on my way out...next to it is what I think represents the Sullivan side of the family from County Kerry (I could be wrong though...it has happened before).
In the formal dining room... This is a Waterford Crystal Vase.
Of course a bar with all the Irish beers on tap was built into the entrance hall of the Mansion House...The difference is, it's Irish!
Some American History intermingled with Irish History. Apparently the Choctaw Nation from Oklahoma (forcibly removed from Mississippi, apparently) came to aid the Irish during the great potato famine and received a plaque on the wall of the Mansion House in their honor.
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