San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell, right, an Irish American who earned his master's degree from University College Dublin, and Tony Fitzgerald, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, signed MOUs at a ceremony in City Hall Monday, April 23, that commit the sister cities to jointly seek membership in the Rainbow Cities Network. They would be the first cities in their countries to join the global network of municipalities committed to protecting the rights of their LGBT citizens.
"We want to continue to fortify the bond between our cities," said Farrell, who named Monday Tony Fitzgerald Day in the city and county of San Francisco.
He also presented his counterpart with a framed image of the U.S. postage stamp honoring the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first out LGBT person elected to public office in San Francisco, and four of the Milk stamps. Fitzgerald returned the honor by giving Farrell a pen set with Cork's motto, "A safe harbor for ships," embedded in crystal and a copy of the book "The Freedom of Cork," which includes a story on the late President John F. Kennedy's visit to the city.
"In our time we like to say it means a safe place to live and work," said Fitzgerald.