Councillor Ray McAdam Elected as the New Lord Mayor of Dublin

At this evening’s annual meeting of Dublin City Council in City Hall, Councillor Ray McAdam was elected the 358th Lord Mayor of Dublin, succeeding Councillor Emma Blain. 

The Lord Mayor was first elected to Dublin City Council in 2009, to represent the North Inner City and has been re-elected at every subsequent Local Election- in 2014, 2019 and 2024, when he topped the poll for Fine Gael.

The Lord Mayor confirmed that the theme of his term of office will be, ‘Celebrating Dublin’ - a year-long focus on championing the city’s people, places, and potential.

The Lord Mayor said: “Dublin is a city I love deeply. But like many Dubliners, I know it can do better. That’s why the theme of my mayoralty is simple but powerful: Celebrating Dublin. To celebrate Dublin is not to ignore its problems. It’s the opposite. It’s about lifting our city up and asking it, and ourselves, to live up to the best of what it can be.”

The Lord Mayor currently serves as Chair of the Council’s Protocol Committee and has served as Leader of the Fine Gael group on Dublin City Council for seven years, most recently following the June 2024 Local Elections. He is also a member of both the Housing and the Mobility & Public Realm Strategic Policy Committees.

In his sixteen years as a Dublin City Councillor, the Lord Mayor has held a wide range of senior roles, including Chair of the Planning & Urban Form Strategic Policy Committee, Chair of the North Inner City Policing Committee, and Chair of the Dublin Central Area Committee. He is currently co-Chair of the O’Devaney Gardens Redevelopment Community Consultative Forum, and serves on the boards of the Grangegorman Development Agency and Dublin Town.

The Lord Mayor was born in Cavan and raised in Northern Ireland, where he was educated at St. Michael’s College, Enniskillen. He moved to Dublin in 2002 to study Philosophy and Political Science at Trinity College. Before entering elected office, he worked in sales and later as a Political Aide to Minister Paschal Donohoe in the Oireachtas.

The Lord Mayor’s term will be anchored by five key priorities. These include:

• Launching a Lord Mayor’s Commission on Dublin 2050 to develop a long-term vision for the capital’s city centre.

The Lord Mayor stated that, “Cities across the world are being reshaped by post-pandemic life, changing how we shop, move, gather, and live. Dublin can’t drift - it must lead. This Commission will bring people together from every part of city life to ask one central question: what should Dublin’s city centre feel and look like by 2050?” 

• Tackling vacancy and dereliction by creating a public Dublin Vacancy Map and pushing for the reuse of empty buildings;
• Promoting sport and physical activity in every neighbourhood through the ‘Get Dublin Moving’ initiative;
• Embedding accessibility and inclusion into the city’s services and spaces as part of a new Dublin Disability Inclusion Drive;
• Establishing ‘Young Dubliners Speak’ - a citywide platform to give young people a voice in shaping civic life.

These priorities reflect the Lord Mayor’s belief that Dublin’s future must be built with ambition, inclusion, and collaboration at its heart.

Councillor John Stephens was elected the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin at this evening’s meeting.

**Photos will be syndicated to picture desks by Conor McCabe Photography**

ENDS