Mayor casts spear  

LORD Mayor of Dublin Mícheál Mac Donncha took to the waters of Dublin Bay last week to participate in an annual ceremony dating back 529 years.  

Casting of the Spear was the first official duty for the new Lord Mayor. Dublin Port chairperson Lucy McCaffrey invested him as Honorary Admiral of Dublin Port at the ceremony. The title has been bestowed on the Lord Mayor of Dublin for over 20 years.

Historical records show that the maritime tradition of the Casting the Spear dates back to 1488 when Thomas Mayler, who was then Lord Mayor of Dublin, rode out on horseback and cast a spear as far as he could into the sea. This was to mark the city’s boundaries eastwards.  

Centuries later, the re-enactment ceremony reminds people of Dublin’s role as a port city in medieval times and highlights Dublin Port’s remarkable history since its establishment as a trading post some 1,200 years ago.

Newly invested Honorary Admiral of Dublin Port Mícheál Mac Donncha said:

“It is an honour to perform the Casting of the Spear ceremony which has become a highlight in the calendar for the Lord Mayor of Dublin. 

“I look forward to an exciting year ahead as Honorary Admiral of Dublin Port and working with the port and its communities to create new traditions and memories. 

“It is important that we keep alive the customs and traditions that define us as a port city.

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Speaking at the ceremony, Ms McCaffrey said:

“I would like thank Lord Mayor Mac Donncha for his participation in the Casting of the Spear, a ceremony that celebrates our heritage as a port city. Looking back to the origins of the ceremony, now more than half a century ago, it is extraordinary to think that our city’s boundaries were established as a port city by Thomas Mayler’s spear in the waters of medieval Dublin. 

“Today’s re-enactment celebrates that tradition and is symbolic of Dublin Port’s continued commitment to preserving, for the city and its people, an understanding of the history that binds the port and the city.

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Members of the local port community enjoying the launch of the 30th annual South Docks Festival witnessed the Casting of the Spear ceremony.