The title was changed to Lord Mayor in a charter issued by Queen Victoria on 9 July 1900.

[6] The Lord Mayor is elected to office annually by councillors of Cork City Council from amongst its members.

From 1979 to 2014, the position of Lord Mayor was rotated between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party on an annual basis as a result of a pact between the three parties which attracted much controversy and public criticism.

[7][8] Following the 2014 local elections, a D'Hondt method was adopted, which rotated the mayoralty between Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Fine Gael, and independents.

Apart from a few reserved functions, which are exercised by the City Council as a whole, executive power is exercised by the chief executive, a council official appointed by the Public Appointments Service.