Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 9 August 2012

The Sound of Heritage

I’m a firm believer in the power of place. That wherever, you stand, there are multiple stories around you, waiting to be excavated. Over the next couple of weeks, there are numerous heritage events on that testify to this claim. Heritage Open Day (Saturday 18 August) sees over 40 buildings open to the public with a number of tours and lectures. Heritage week (18-25 August) offers a week long celebration on all things historical in Cork.

Both events above offer perspectives on this city’s very rich history, much of which remains fully unexplored by writers and scholars of Cork’s past plus there are the multiple meanings and connections associated with these histories. The histories can present a narrative that makes one stop to listen and reflect on how the story is remembered and recounted, and fills the mind with curiosity and imagination.

Two of the city’s theatres are also presenting two shows, whose plots in part comment on the power of imagination, and on the power of identity and the role of the individuals in the making of that, The Sound of Music and Guerilla Days in Ireland, respectively. With The Sound of Music, I’m lucky to play a part in the musical. Indeed, standing in the dimly lit wings of Cork Opera House, waiting to walk on stage is the start of a leap of faith. The actor’s fourth wall or the auditorium of the Opera House is an abyss of darkness. Being part of a globally well known musical with a talented Cork cast and to thread the boards of the city’s great theatre is a source of pride for any performer.

The Sound of Music has its key characters but is also a huge ensemble piece. A call is set for all of us to come in every night to warm up. In the corridors of the dressing room, a routine plays out every evening; the building becomes full of life, the warming up of voices, people singing scales, costume checks, chats and conversations, nervous anxiousness awaiting the curtain up, the news of the day, the continuous viewing of the multiple pictures the regular time countdowns by Abbie, the stage manager, notes from the director Bryan, the personal successes and failure of the day are recounted. The lights and sets behind the curtain are double checked. A believable place for the audience is made out a blank dark canvas, the stage. The musical is brought to life through a combination of aspects, and through musicality and acting. The human creative side all combine amongst others to create a strong sense of place on the dark stage. In that perhaps is a message in itself that as we rush around for one building to other on heritage open day perhaps it is apt to reflect on how buildings are enlivened through their design, construction and routine functionality by people.

The Sound of Music is a family favourite; something rooted in global popular culture- a piece of culture passed down from generation to generation since it first outing on Broadway in 1959. One has either have either encountered it on stage or on film. It is the personal story of Maria Rainer’s encounters with the Von Trapp family and the subsequent happy ever after, told through the lens of the Nazi occupation of Austria 1938. It is a musical commentary by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein in post World War II America; they were giants of the musical theatre world and in The Sound of Music present a myriad of themes from questions of life and pushing oneself forward to the contrast of the politics of occupation of Germany over Austria. With a multitude of songs, Edelweiss one of act two’s last songs is the character’s Georg Von Trapp’s take on nationhood in Austria.

Over at the Everyman Palace, the story of Tom Barry’s life and times and his role in the evolving nationhood of Ireland are re-enacted. Aspects of Tom’s autobiography, Guerrilla Days in Ireland are acted out and the key threads of Tom’s journey in Ireland’s turbulent War of Independence is passed down and played out on the Everyman Palace’s dark stage. Again, played by a talented cast, they lead the audience through a montage of reconstructed images in Tom’s life, from his life in the British army, through leading brigades, through to his connections with national characters such as Michael Collins and Eamonn DeValera. Tom had a role like many others in a rapidly changing Ireland, one moving towards Independence and part of the fight for Irish identity and nationhood.

Both the Sound of Music and Guerilla Days of Ireland, have that common theme of the importance of identity running through them. Those themes also run through the stories of the buildings opened for heritage open day. Another example is City Hall, which I conduct a tour of in the morning of heritage open day. Mired in politics, civicness, the building presents a lens to study the who and multiple layers of how the city’s own sense of place developed. See Cork Heritage Open Day.ie or my own facebook page, Cork Our City, Our Town for further details.

To be continued….

Caption:

653a. Maria (Carol Anne Ryan) and the Von Trapp Children, The Sound of Music, Cork Opera House, August 2012 (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-EMhWOvBsG0

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent,  2 August 2012

Technical Memories (Part 26)

County Versus City

It was Arthur F. Sharman Crawford, who acted as spokesman before Cork County Council in early May 1913. He had been instructed by the Cork County Borough Technical Instruction Committee to appear before Cork County Council to ask for a contribution towards the funds of that committee. His speech and subsequent actions give an insight into the extent of technical education in County Cork plus the relationship between the Crawford Municipal Technical Institute, its city plus its county committees, and Cork Corporation and Cork County Council.

On the 2 May 1913, the Cork Examiner, reported on Crawford’s concerns. The Crawford Municipal Technical Institute educated 2,113 students, of whom they estimated 554, or 26 per cent, resided in Cork County. Cork Corporation struck a rate of 2d. in the pound, which realised £1,440 for the education of those students, but the County ratepayers were contributing nothing towards the education of the 554 students who came to the schools from the County.

Crawford to the County Council noted “if those students [county] did not use the schools it would mean that the county would have to leave them uneducated or else provide schools for them at very large expense”. He proposed that the council should consider a like grant of 18s. per head for their students – that would work out at £500 per year, or one eight of a penny in the pound. He believed that the County Council and the city’s corporation should be working together. Mr Crawford added that he was very proud of the enthusiasm that those students had displayed in connection with the education. He gave the example of a boy from Kinsale, who attended their classes in the institute for a few years, and he rode on a bicycle to and from the city in order to avail of that education. They also had several attending the institute from Mallow, and a large number from other places.

Arthur Sharman Crawford gave a paper on 29 May 1913 at the annual congress in connection with the Irish Technical Instruction Association, which was held in Bangor, Co. Down. Again he commented on the lack of forthcoming funding from county councils; “Many students outside urban, county and borough boundaries enter, enjoying all the advantages of these schools. No doubt, the committees of these schools were in most cases glad to have such students, but find their usefulness impaired by want of funds, owing chiefly to the fact that their resources were crippled by having to pay interest on capital raised for the building, equipment and maintenance of these schools. The town technical schools were the natural centres of institution for the rural districts immediately surrounding them, and without these schools, the county authorities would be compelled to spend large sums to provide education for these students.”

Under the circumstances, Crawford argued that the situation could be improved either by the enlargement of the educational areas, pooling of the funds, and amalgamation of schemes, or by the county authorities paying a capitation fee to the schools used by their students with perhaps a small pro-rata representation on the committees.  From the floor of the congress, Canon Courtenay Moore (historian, writer) said that with reference to the amalgamation spoken of by Mr Crawford, experience had shown that it was not so easy as had been suggested. Dundalk and Drogheda had been in a joint scheme, and had to withdraw from it. He gave three reasons why there should not be amalgamation. The students from the outside area were mostly suburban students, and if they did not pay rates directly they paid them indirectly, in as much as they purchased the “necessaries of life” in the urban district or borough. Secondly, the fees paid and the attendance grant from the pupils more than repaid any outlay on their behalf. Thirdly, the contribution from the Department was much more proportionately than that given to the County Committee. Practically all the County Committees spent up the levels of their incomes and could do no more. County Councils had to rent schools, and in many instances had to build them also.

In a follow up article on the 20 June 1913, the Cork Examiner noted that the Cork County Council was contributing to the county technical education project. The list of classes that were held in the Cork Rural District in 1907-08 comprised domestic economy at Ballyglass, Courtbrack, Matehy and Inniscarra; Lace and crochet at Riverstown, Blackrock, Shanbally and Monkstown; woodwork at Ballincollig, and engineering at Ringaskiddy, Courses in trades, preparatory school, and naval architecture took place at Passage West.  In the 1909-1910 session and onwards into the 1910s, domestic economy classes had spread to Douglas, Ballinora, Ballincollig, Ballinhassig, Firmount, Stuake, Berrings, Dripsey and Leemount; woodwork at Ballincollig, Waterfall and Ballinhassig; Commercial classes were held at Blarney and Riverstown. Queenstown broke away from the County Technical Education Committee and adopted its own system. In the end the matter of the County Council giving substantial funding toward the Technical Institute for its County students did not happen.

To be continued…

Caption:

652a. Dressmaking and millinery workshop, Crawford Municipal Technical Institute 1912 (source: Souvenir programme, 1912)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 19 July 2012

Technical Memories (Part 25)

The Uncertainties of War

“Many of the citizens of Cork were given a sidelight on Sunday of the horrors of war as they watched the arrival of refugees from Belgium by the Cork Steam Packet Company, SS. Inniscarra…every detail of every happening in the conflict is eagerly sought, the development of affairs closely watched, and the significance of every move fully weighted” (Southern Star, 3 October 1914, p.7).

The 53 Belgians, who arrived to Cork in October 1914, numbered six groups of families-grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers and children. There were 12 men, 24 women, and 17 children. They came from small towns about Louvain, and spoke Flemish-only three of them, spoke French. They were only a small portion of thousands who came to the refugee centre at Alexandra Palace, London. Those that came to Cork were escorted by a Belgian lady named Lily Coulier. This young lady was engaged in the north of England as a governess, and hearing of the stress of her fellow country mean and women, with the permission of her employer, she offered her services to one Emile de Cartier, a Belgian diplomat and envoy in China and Siam. He resided in London at the time and was Director of the Relief Committee in England. Lily’s knowledge of English made her invaluable as an escort.

In the Cork context, Lily joined her group, 53 in number, at Paddington station and travelled with them to Fishguard. There, two nuns of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Montenotte, Cork, met her and helped her to escort her group to Cork on the SS Inniscarra. Miss Coulier told a representative of the Cork Examiner that she was to bring circa eighty refugees to Cork, but some of them hid themselves so as not to come. They did not want to be too far away from home. The City of Cork Steam Packet Company gave their premises at St Patrick’s Quay to house the 53. Whilst in Ireland, they were not allowed seek employment. The Southern Reporter reported; “Cork will not see these Belgians want for food. This may be expressed in the enthusiastic reception given them yesterday morning…the wharf was thronged, and with fresh accessions to the crowd to about nine o’clock, when the SS Inniscarra berthed there was a dense throng on the quayside, and hearty cheers greeted the exiles”.

The SS Inniscarra, which had a gross tonnage of 1,412, was built at Newcastle by Wigham Richardson, and Co. in 1903.On 12 May 1918, the SS Inniscarra, on a voyage from Fishguard to Cork with a general cargo, was sunk by a German Submarine, 10 miles to the south east of Ballycotton Island. A total of 28 people lost their lives on that occasion. It was one of many ships targeted by the German Navy during World War I.

The targeting of food supplies is discussed in the Journals of the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for 1914-1915. Dr. Denis Kelly, Bishop of Ross, in an address to the Department, and in view of the uncertainties of war, made a number or arguments for the retention in Ireland of as many food supplies as possible. He gave a warning against the sale of breeding stock, and recommended the retention of sufficient seed to sow a greatly extended area of grain crops. He argued as well for the economising of grain and other concentrated feeding stuffs by sowing crops suitable for soiling in spring, and the saving of flax weed in districts where the crop was grown. 

Dr. Denis Kelly (1997-1924, from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary) impressed on the Department that farmers, labourers, and all those having land suitable for the purpose, should make provision for growing for household purposes cabbage and other vegetables suited for winter cultivation. He also asserted that occupiers of land had a duty to make immediate preparation in the national interest as well as their own, for a largely-increased area of tillage crops, especially grain and potatoes, necessary for the food of our people. Noting in his address to the Department: “if war be accompanied by want of food, or even by scarcity of food. in order to feed our own people, we would require three-quarters of a million acres of wheat, When I was a child this country did sow half a million acres of wheat, but the sowing is now down to 37,000 acres. The area under oats should be increased to one million acres. The area under potatoes is now 383,000 acres. In 1861, Ireland grew over one million acres”.

Ireland depended largely on the exportation and sale of its crops from the tilled land. Asking a what if question, “what would happen if the fleet of the German Navy succeeded in getting control of the Atlantic Ocean, even for a short period?” He noted: “there will be undoubtedly be great suffering and great shortage of food.  We ought to get that fact well into our minds. We saw the other day that two large German food ships were seized by our navy as prizes of war. That food has not reached Germany and never will”.

To be continued…

Caption:

650a. SS Inniscarra berthed at Penrose Quay, c.1915 (picture: Cork City Library)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 12 July 2012

Technical Memories (Part 24)

The Die of War

“The present juncture, notwithstanding the inevitable disturbance in the labour market, is favourable for active preparation for the great commercial developments resulting from the war. With the prospect of new markets it becomes essential to study the conditions for supplying them, and to adjust our methods of production and distribution accordingly” (George Fletcher, Assistant-Secretary of Technical Instruction, 20 April 1915).

In George Fletcher’s paper of 1915 (see last week) he alluded to a number of conditions, physical, geographical and social that Irish industry needed to focus upon. He pointed to the fact that the larger portion of Ireland was unsuited to the introduction of large, highly-organised industries, such as those that characterised the north of England and the north east of Ireland. The principal factors to consider were the cost of labour, the cost of raw material, the neighbourhood of markets and cost of transport, the cost of motive power, and rents.

Industrially and commercially the interests of Ireland were intimately bound up with those of Great Britain, which was by far the country’s greatest market, and as Fletcher noted what concerned one country concerned the other. On presenting information on the numbers involved in agriculture in Ireland the numbers had decreased in the late nineteenth century by nearly 100,000 and those engaged in industrial work alone decreased only by 26,000. The land under cultivation had diminished by about one half since 1851. In general, the population diminished at the same rate as the land went out of cultivation. Ireland was also without coal and iron and lacked certain other raw materials as well. According to Fletcher, it was also a regrettable fact that just as the change from tillage to cattle rearing displaced human labour so did the change from the simpler methods of production to the use of machinery. He noted though that on several occasions, the displacement due to the introduction of machinery was temporary and was followed by increased employment as factories sough to produce more.

George Fletcher flagged that the higher cost of living in cities necessitated higher wages; “The workman in the smaller towns can, with lower wages, secure greater comfort. The difference between the rates of wages will, in many cases, be sufficient to turn the balance in favour of the small town. The value of labour cannot be measured by the rate of wages alone. Low wages do not imply cheap labour”. He gave the example, that closely associated with the linen weaving industry of Ulster was the hand-embroidery of linen. The industry was essentially a home industry. It was carried on by women and girls, and yielded in the region of £250,000 per annum in wages. In times past it was considerably larger. For twenty years previously to 19195 it had declined, both as to the number of persons employed and the prices paid for work. Manufacturers were getting their linen embroidered abroad. Huge quantities of handkerchiefs were sent to Switzerland, to be embroidered on machines introduced no less than fifty years previously. As a result the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction undertook to aid in the maintenance of two schools of machine embroidery, one at Ballydougan, Co. Down and the other at Maghera, in Co. Derry.

Before war broke out, Germany was sending Ireland over a million pound’s worth of toys and games per annum. The export of such goods from the United Kingdom to Germany was of the value of £50,000. The cutting-off of the supply of nearly a million pound’s worth of toys was to Fletcher “a serious menace to domestic peace; the nursery was in danger, and immediately men’s and women’s minds were turned to producing toys”.

Before the war Ireland was importing into the United Kingdom from Germany over a million pound’s worth of glass and a further £1 ¼ million’s worth from Belgium.  Experiments were being conducted in the laboratories of the Royal College of Science with a view to testing the suitability of Irish sand to make Irish glass. The first results were encouraging and awaited verification by tests on a commercial scale. To Fletcher, another great opportunity arose from the country’s leather trade. German exports to Ireland per annum amounted to over £2 million’s worth of leather. In his conclusions, George Fletcher considered that a condition essential to success was high efficiency in production and that, “the war had brought home to a large number of people truths which a year ago found only unwilling hearers”.

During World War One over two thousand Corkmen were killed, some eleven hundred of them from Cork City alone. Many of them lie buried with hundreds of thousands of other British soldiers in the cemeteries of northern France and Flanders. At the South Mall is a memorial to those Irishmen who died in the First World War.  It was erected in 1925, and is one of the few example Irish examples of its type. Carved in relief on a modest limestone obelisk, sitting on a plinth, is the profile of a Munster Fusiliers soldier in full military uniform, head down, gun at rest.

To be continued…

Caption:

649a. Gravestone, A Soldier of the Great War, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium (picture: Kieran McCarthy)