French was initially elected to Cork Corporation in January 1920, with a mere 73 first preference votes. In the turbulent period that followed — with the deaths of Lord Mayor MacCurtain, Lord Mayor MacSwiney and the Burning of Cork — he worked steadily in the Corporation, earning a reputation as a straightforward, honest talker at committee and full council meetings. 

He entered public life at a time of national stress, but the turmoil also presented opportunities and he did not lack the ambition, or the confidence, to take them. 

However, his ambition was initially halted by the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the Civil War; his staunch anti-Treaty stance led to his arrest on September 12, 1922 and he was sent to the Newbridge Internment Camp.

French returned to Cork Corporation 13 months later, with renewed determination. The resignation of Lord Mayor Donal Óg O’Callaghan opened a door and French made it known at an internal Sinn Féin party meeting that he was interested in becoming Lord Mayor; he duly received the party nomination. 

However, the Sinn Féin split due to the Treaty meant that his election was not a foregone conclusion. 

French was hopeful of support from the Labour Party councillors, but he knew he was facing a tough battle in the mayoral contest.

This was confirmed when the Cork Executive of Cumann na nGaedheal released details of a letter it had issued to all party members and pro-Treaty members of the Corporation. The letter — as printed in the Cork Examiner on Tuesday 29 January — stated that Cllr Barry Egan had been unanimously chosen as the mayoral candidate. 

With battle lines firmly drawn, tensions were high as members gathered in the council chamber of Cork Courthouse on January 30. Seán French had spent the previous days intensely lobbying his colleagues but had doubts as to how some of them would vote, especially the Labour Party members. 

The Cork Examiner (January 31, 1924) reported that the public gallery was ‘well filled’ and that there was an ‘outburst of applause’ when a group of councillors, including the two main protagonists, Seán French and Barry Egan, entered the chamber.

Cllr Daniel Gamble proposed Seán French as Lord Mayor for the coming 12 months, claiming that his ‘outstanding abilities’ were known to all of the members. French was encouraged when Labour’s Alderman William Kenneally rose to second the proposal. 

Barry Egan was proposed and seconded by Alderman Edward Coughlan and Alderman Patrick Higgins respectively, both elected under the Sinn Féin banner in 1920. 

The scene was now set but, before the vote was called, a row broke out in the chamber. Labour’s Cllr Allen complained that party members were being coerced into voting against their political opinions. 

Alderman Kenneally, who had seconded the nomination of Seán French, objected to his colleague’s use of the word ‘coerced’, while Sir John Scott argued that national party politics about the Treaty and Civil War should not have been introduced. 

This drew a pointed response from Cllr Allen: ‘Sir John Scott is not such an innocent little lamb. He knows quite well that this a political fight today. The Sinn Féin Executive gave orders to elect their man and the Treaty Party gave orders to elect their man."

As chair of the meeting, Cllr John Horgan interjected and stressed that it was time to vote, rather than making speeches. There was a hum of excitement and suspense in the council chamber as votes were cast and then counted. The outcome could not have been tighter.

For Cllr Seán French, 23 votes, for Cllr Barry Egan, 22.

A relieved Seán French signed the roll in acceptance of the honour and he was then invested with the chain of office.

The new Lord Mayor delivered a short acceptance speech, stressing that improving and progressing Cork had to be the primary duty of all of the elected members. French stated that he had always stayed true to his ideals and that would not change. 

He ended by making a promise to his fellow councillors: "If any individual member of the council has anything to suggest to advance Cork, you will have a whole-hearted friend in me and I will give you every assistance. I urge you to forget our differences in the interests of the city."

The Cork Examiner (January 31, 1924) launched a scathing attack on the election of Seán French, noting: "A particular section of the Corporation pay little attention to the wishes of their constituents. This was shown yesterday when, by a narrow majority, a “coalition” succeeded in electing as Lord Mayor a gentleman who, whatever his personal attributes, has openly associated with the party which the electors of Cork repudiated by a nine to two majority."

The hard-hitting editorial warned that the citizens of Cork would have the opportunity at the next election ‘to select men who would not treat serious matters with frivolity’.

It concluded by stating that the citizens would only have themselves to blame if they did not elect representatives to carry out the work which needed addressing. 

It would be akin to ‘seeing their money virtually thrown into the capacious bottom of the Lough, money which might be more usefully employed in the lighting or cleaning of the streets’. Though stung by some of the criticism, Seán French was contented and proud following his election as Lord Mayor. 

Now 34, he was relatively inexperienced in the political world having only been elected to the Corporation in 1920. He had worked hard and earned the respect of his fellow councillors, especially through his diligent committee work.

Despite ‘losing’ a year due to internment, he had secured enough votes on his return to win the mayoral election and follow in the footsteps of three Cork Republicans he greatly admired — Tomás MacCurtain, Terence MacSwiney, and Donal Óg O’Callaghan.

Alas, Lord Mayor French struggled to unite the council and, with the Cork Progressive Association and the Cork Examiner demanding an inquiry into local administration, it was no surprise when Minister Séamus Burke intervened. 

He ordered the holding of an inquiry which ran for nine dramatic days. While tension filled the air in the Courthouse each day, Seán French was the star of the show, resolutely defending the right of the Corporation’s elected members to sort out their own problems.

French was anxious to make the Corporation more efficient, free from central government interference. 

Other elected members in the city were either disinterested or had lost faith in local democracy and, inevitably, Cork Corporation was dissolved on October 31, 1924, with Philip Monahan taking over as Commissioner. 

For the next four and-a-half years, Seán French was Lord Mayor in name only. He won a seat to the slimmed-down Cork Corporation of 21 members when it was re-instated in March 1929. He was also re-elected as Lord Mayor, a position he held until 1937 (bar a two-year period from July 1930 when Blackrock’s Alderman Francis J. Daly assumed the mayoralty).

Lord Mayor Seán French died on September 12, 1937. The Cork Examiner (September 13, 1937) noted: ‘In his passing is recognised a severe loss to the city in general, for Seán French was one who upheld the prestige of his office with a quiet grace. During his various terms of office as Lord Mayor he had many difficult situations to meet, but he bore himself with remarkable dignity in turbulent times when he was Lord Mayor first, as well as in later days when Cork was rebuilding itself and its civic institutions after the retarding influences of the Anglo-Irish and civil strifes … Perhaps his outstanding attribute as Lord Mayor was the manner in which he conducted the business of the Corporation meetings as chairman. In this capacity he proved himself above politics, although he was himself possessed of very fixed political views, and the Corporation showed its appreciation of his worth as chairman when it elected him Lord Mayor by a unanimous vote more than once’. 

• The political life of Seán French is captured in a book by Aodh Quinlivan and John Ger O’Riordan, entitled First Citizen. The book formed part of Cork City Council’s 1920-1923 Commemoration Programme and was published by Cork City Libraries in November 2023.