CORK CITY Council met yesterday before the funeral Mass of former city manager Jack Higgins, to pay tribute to the “ultimate public servant” who cared passionately about his beloved Leeside.
Mr Higgins (73) died on Saturday at Mercy University Hospital, Cork.
He is credited with having been instrumental in the redesign of the streetscape in Cork city centre and in the redevelopment of Mahon on Cork’s southside as a commercial area.
Mr Higgins served as Cork city manager for five years from 1995, having acted as assistant manager during Joe McHugh’s tenure.
He was also city manager of Limerick for eight years.
The special meeting in council chambers heard from various councillors, including Jim Corr (FG) who said the deceased had had a good sense of humour and was a quick thinker.
Cllr Corr said he had fond memories of drafting Jack Higgins in at the last minute for a Fianna Fáil versus Fine Gael tennis match. He joked that Mr Higgins readily agreed to play but ruled out the possibility of being aligned with either of the parties.
Cllr Corr added that Mr Higgins was “a great Corkman” who was “committed to his work”.
His comments were echoed by Cllr Terry Shannon (FF), who said Mr Higgins was proud to be the first Cork-born manager in the history of the city.
“He was very proud of that accolade. He was the ultimate public servant. He was very involved in the arts and active in that capacity.”
Meanwhile, lord mayor of Cork Cllr Mick O’Connell said Mr Higgins was a lovely person who laid the foundations for much of the developments we are seeing today.
“Although city manager for a relatively short time [he] . . . was a driving force behind the commercial development of Mahon and the redevelopment of the city centre. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jack’s widow, Phil, and his family at this time.”
Cork city manager Joe Gavin spoke of Mr Higgins’s “huge loyalty to councillors and the city council”. He said the deceased was always good company and that if you met him at a social event “you would go away enriched”.
Mr Higgins was laid to rest at St Michael’s cemetery after Mass at St Michael’s Church, Blackrock, Cork. He is survived by his wife and the couple’s six children.