Cork City Librarian
David O’Brien was appointed Cork City Librarian in December 2020.
Previously, he has worked in the Community Section of Cork City Council where he helped direct the community element of the city’s Covid-19 response.
Originally from the Clonakilty area of West Cork, David is the 8th person in the history of the city to hold the position of Cork City Librarian.
David spent most of his career in library services, beginning as a library assistant in Cork County Library Service in 1981 where he worked in all areas of the service before becoming the local librarian in Clonakilty in 1991. He moved to Cork City Council Library Service in 1994 and worked in several libraries throughout the city. He was the Executive Librarian in Bishopstown Library when it was established in 2005, before moving to Douglas Library.
In 2016, David took up the position of Administrative Officer in Cork City Council’s Community Development Unit. He was RAPID Coordinator for a large area of Cork City’s Northside, stretching from Fairhill to Blackpool, The Glen and Mayfield. He also held the roles of Cork Age Friendly City Programme Manager, liaison with the Public Participation Network and he acted as administrator to the Joint Policing Committee.
David believes that there will be great change as we move into a new phase of library service provision in Ireland, presenting new opportunities both in terms of the recently announced New City Library building on Grand Parade and in the way we develop our overall services. Libraries, he believes, will develop further as essential hubs in the community ensuring culture, education and information is accessible to everyone. The New City Library will be the focus of a changing city – a city with ambition, working in partnership with other sections of Cork City Council, stakeholders, agencies, and communities.
“Coming back to the Cork City Council Library Service as the City Librarian is a great honour for me. We have a great team of people in the library service, and I look forward to working with everyone in the coming years to further develop the key resource of Cork City Libraries.”
Previous Cork City Librarians
- Liam Ronayne 2004-2020
- Hanna O’Sullivan 1986-2003
- Seán Bohan 1965- 1984
- James Gaffney 1961-1965
- Dermot Foley 1955-1960
- Eugene Carberry 1933-1955
- James Wilkinson 1892-1933