Arms date from an era in which the majority of the population were illiterate. Hence a simple pictorial method was necessary. A later development was the inclusion of a motto, sometimes, as in the case of Cork, in Latin, and the inclusion of a motto marks the move to a more literate society. The very early examples of the Cork arms do not therefore include the motto. History does not record who composed the Cork motto. The basic motif and the individual components of the Cork arms are extant from the 17th Century.

The Arms of Cork City were only officially registered by the Chief Herald of the Geneaological Office, Dublin Castle on 2nd August 1949 ¹
The arms were described in the registration as follows:   "Ordha ar thonntrach mara long tricass fá lántseol dualdaithe idir dhá thur dhearg ar charraiglacha dualdaite ar gach tur bratach maisithe le sailtir dheirg leis an rocs Statio Bene Fida Carinis " which translates into English as "a three–masted ship in full sail on the waves of the sea between two red towers flying saltires with the motto Statio Bene Fida Carinis"

The current coat of arms comprises two battlemented towers with a medieval galleon sailing between them.      The towers are said to represent the King's and Queen's Castles, which operated the medieval portcullis gate that allowed ships to enter the interior dock of the walled town.

The Latin motto reads: "Statio Bene Fida Carinis". The motto lends itself to various free translations from the pragmatic
"a safe harbour for ships" to the more poetic
"a faithful friendly cove where ships can safely ride
when tempests loosed by Jove spread havoc far and wide"

The Cork Coat of Arms can be seen in various places through out the City:      

The Coat of Arms inscribed in stone which is exhibited at the entrance to Cork Public Museum was that which was salvaged from the Cork City Hall when it was burnt down in 1920.

Other variants of the Cork City Seal existed.

In the Cork Public Museum there is a pen and ink sketch of the arms by Daniel Maclise taken from a stone at the old Custom House, North Main Street.      In this a ship sails between two towers or castles, bearing a sailor in Elizabethan period dress and a bird on the ship's rigging.

Cork City has other official insignia.       In the days of the Anglo-Normans, the Corporation of Cork had jurisdiction over the harbour, and for centuries the Mayor symbolically asserted his authority over the harbour by throwing a dart into the sea at a particular point.       Established under a charter of Henry V11, dated 1st August 1500, the custom of "throwing the dart" was carried out until the 20th Century, when it was discontinued. In recent years it has been resurrected by Cork City Council and the Lord Mayor's Office.

Reference: Vol 113 Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society