Kilkenny represented at historic all-island cities meeting

The first-of-its-kind event took place in Belfast

Published 8th Jul 2026, 08:00 BST Cathaoirleach Mary Hilda Cavanagh in attendance with officials from all Ireland’s cities and former NYC Mayor, Bill de Blasio The first-of-its-kind event took place in Belfast Sign up to our Kilkenny Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Kilkenny Live within your account.

In a historic first, all twelve cities on the island of Ireland came together for the inaugural Summit of the Cities.

Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council represented Kilkenny at the event, where she met with officials from the island’s eleven other cities.

The event marked the first time ever that civic representatives of every city - including Lord Mayors, Mayors and Chairs - came together to discuss shared challenges, opportunities for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and partnership between urban centres across Ireland.

From Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, to Bangor, its newest, civic leaders, policymakers, business representatives, academics and international experts travelled to Belfast for the event.

The Summit explored topics including arts and cultures, cross-border trade, housing and regeneration, smart cities and AI.

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The event also welcomed a number of distinguished international speakers, including former New York City Mayor, Bill de Blasio and former Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary, Sue Gray, who shared insights drawn from their experience at the highest levels of city government and public administration.

Speaking following the event, Carl Whyte, Partner at MW Advocate, one of the Summit’s organisers said: “With a combined population of nearly two million people, Ireland’s twelve are its cultural, social and economic heart and bringing them all together for this historic event marking the start of a new era of friendship and collaboration.”

“From cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands and budgets measured in the hundreds of millions, to smaller cities whose names are woven through our history, our cities face many of the same challenges and opportunities.”

“What unites everyone here today is that we all want the cities of our island to be the best places in Europe to live, work and visit,” he added.

“Nearly 250 attended the event, which also included an address from the directly elected Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith. The Summit organisers plan for the future to include the event becoming an annual discussion.

“What’s clear is the energy and commitment of those leading cities to drive their success and for that reason we’ll be announcing plans for the Summit of the Cities 2027 later in the year,” Mr Whyte concluded.