Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent,  29 September 2011

In the Footsteps of St. Finbarre (Part 268) – A Living Heritage

Sitting by my historical exhibition in Gougane Barra, I snap away the changing light and textures of Gougane Barra island. I love photographing the oratory in Gougane Barra. The sculptured head of St Finbarre for me is s a symbol of the entrance to the darkness of the interior beyond. On entering the oratory, I am always conscious on the movement from the mountainous setting to the interior of a church. I am always impressed by the silence inside this sheltered structure. The lit candles offer the only light. The stained glass windows with Irish saints reach out to me to tell the story of the early days of Christianity.

Characteristics of the oratory’s sacredness seems to be bound up with elements such as its visual presence even dominance on the pilgrimage island; the design of the architecture and overall meaning symbolism and thirdly the interior symbolism the pilgrim is led through. The Cork Examiner published the sermon of Fr Verdon who spoke at the official opening of the oratory on the Feast of the Assumption on the 15 August 1901 (p.6). He noted of the new oratory that it was “a temple raised to the Living God…it symbolised and imaged forth the material image of the Holy Catholic Church, that magnificent edifice, splendid, spiritual divine, founded by Christ upon the Rock”.

Rev C,M. O’Brien’s book on the Life of St Finbarr, possibly published to coincide with the dedication of the oratory, seems to serve as some kind of official guidebook to the oratory. He notes that St Finbarre’s Oratory (built c.1900/01) owes its origin to the local parish priest Fr Patrick Hurley who financed the erection of it to two wealthy Irish Americans in America (one living in Chicago). The new oratory replaced Fr Denis O’Mahony’s near two hundred year old ruinous oratory. Indeed, the entrance gable of the earlier oratory was still standing c.1900 as evidenced through photographs of the pilgrimage island by William Lawrence. The orientation of the oratory was changed from north to south in the older one to west to east in the newer one. The older gable wall was also taken down as revealed in early twentieth century photographs.  Part of its stone maybe part of further ruins near the present oratory.

The design of the church is bound with the Gaelic revival of the late nineteenth century. That was a time when there was a resurgence of interest in engaging with the Gaelic language and ancient Irish folklore, sports, songs, architecture, and arts were considered to be part of the pre-English conquest heritage of the native Irish people. The oratory is built in Hiberno-Byzantine style and modelled after the Chapel of Cormac on the Rock of Cashel (begun in 1127 AD). Caiseal constitutes the most famous architectural assemblage to survive from Medieval Ireland. The entire summit of the Rock has a very complex mix of ideas about structure, space and meaning. The place is bound up with a sacred history – the legend of St Patrick converting the Munster Gaelic kings of old.

Mr Samuel F. Hynes, Cork, designed St Finbarr’s Oratory and the artist was Mr M.J.C. Buckley, Cork and Bruges, Belgium. Samuel F Hynes was part of a wider group of late nineteenth century architects employed to create new symbolism for the Catholic Church which was growing in strength since the sanctioning of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. Samuel F Hynes prior to St Finbarr’s Oratory had been involved in the re-building or design of several additions of several churches. The chapel of the Convent of Mercy in Bantry was designed by him in 1877 and was a later addition to the Romanesque Revival complex. In 1895, Hynes was involved in the altering of the interior of St Mary’s Church, Pope’s Quay, Cork City. In August 1897 The Irish Builder published a report on his design work in the rebuilding of the Catholic church at Castletownroche. The previous year, Hynes had designed the new Catholic church at Lisgriffin, Co. Cork and was also involved in the design of Farranferris College in Cork City.

As for Michael J C Buckley, he was of Irish birth.  He seems to have been in business on his own until around 1881 when he became a partner of Cox and Son.  After the firm was bought out in the 1890s, Buckley appears to have returned to Ireland and continued to work. The walling is of mountain stone and is relieved by dressings of limestone, while the roof, like the Chapel of Cormac, was originally of stone, necessitated by the heavy rains that prevail in mountain districts.  Rev  C.M. O’Brien’s book Life of St Finbarrr (c.1901) notes that the western end of Gougane Oratory is ornamented by a boldly excised doorway of lime­stone, with hook shafts and caps and vases, the arches being enriched with chevron ornament. At the head of the label mould is a boldly cut head of St Finbarre. The original plan was to have a round tower at the entrance to the oratory but it was never completed.

Kieran’s new historical exhibition called Voices of the Lee Valley is on display next Saturday and Sunday afternoons on the pilgrimage island, Gougane Barra; all are welcome.

To be continued…

Captions:

610a. Gougane Barra pilgrimage island before the 1901 oratory was built, note the old oratory (source: William Lawrence Photographic Collection)

610b. St Finbarr’s Oratory, c.1901 (source: Ebay)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 22 September 2011

In the Footsteps of St. Finbarre (Part 267)

Voices of the Lee Valley

It was probably inevitable that close to the end of the River Lee series there would be another return to Gougane Barra. I suppose I am reflecting on the title of the series, “In the Steps of St. Finbarre”, as it approaches its conclusion and trying to pin down some thoughts of spending over five years studying and writing about histories and memories within the valley.

Next Sunday, the 25^th, is the feast day of St. Finbarre, the Patron Saint of Cork. To coincide with this the annual Gougane Sunday, ceremonies (start 2.30pm) will be held and once more the memory of the saint and his relevance in this world will be re-activated. To mark this and to say thanks in a sense to all those who contributed to this series, on the island I will have a historical exhibition on display on people and places in the valley, entitled Voices of the Lee Valley. In addition I hope to run two short walking tours of the pilgrimage island next Sunday, one at 1pm and the other at 4.30pm (meeting at the exhibition on the island). These tours are free and all are welcome.

The new historical exhibition is one I have been work-shopping with the kind permission of the Diocese of Cork and Ross over a number of days over the last number of weeks. One of the aspects that have become an important strand of my research is the aspect of outreach, that in any landscape research project, one should walk the land and engage with those that respect it. I find it interesting as well to see some of the photos and memories collected over the Lee series on display in Gougane Barra. Of all the sites in the valley where participation in its heritage is encouraged as well as reflecting on its deep history is Gougane Barra.

W.G. Hoskins’ The Making of the English landscape, in his early research on landscape, represents the countryside as an ancient place, ‘throbbing’ with messages about the past that only some people could decode.  In a similar vein, another scholar Jim Duncan, asserts that the landscape serves as a vast repository of symbolism, iconography and ideology. Certainly Gougane Barra has these elements in abundance.

Perhaps the first to engage with the memory of St. Finbarre was the Catholic priest Fr. Denis O’Mahony. His advent in the late seventeenth century to the site brought his own thoughts of how to mark the story of Finbarre. Fr. O’Mahony introduced a memorial, a series of cells and gardens on the pilgrimage island. He chose to physically enhance the symbolism of the island site. It could be argued that Fr. O’Mahony built his monastery as part of a religious strategy to uphold, use and pass on it’s values to contemporary society. Fr. O’Mahony brought his own mindset and education as a priest and re-invented the folklore of St. Finbarre in a tangible way by building a new living hermitage and in turn created a living and working ruin to the saint.

However, all that remains in Gougane Barra are the cells and their enclosure wall – the gardens by Fr. O’Mahony are gone and have fallen to the ravages of time. The extant ruins in Gougane Barra have become an unquestioned part of the social environment of the way of life in the place. They are embedded in the landscape and convey powerful cultural and ideological messages. They are the collective representations, which organise and structure people’s perceptions of this space.

Sitting amongst the Fr. O’Mahony’s central ruin on Gougane Barra pilgrimage island and observing people and their interactions with the site, peoples’ relationships with the site are complicated and full of messages. Certainly each person I have observed and have spoken to over the last number of weeks have their own personal relationship with the site. Interestingly, the absence of historical panels explaining the site seem to heighten the interaction and connection with the site, with many people, who seem to visit the site for the first time asking those with them questions about what the pilgrimage cells are.  Anything that can be read is read. The old Irish script on the central cross, said to mark St. Finbarre’s hut, provides part of the forum to debate this place. There is a quest for understanding. Those who were regular visitors to the site or showing people around gave their perspective on the site.

In one half an hour of one of my visit, the array of conversations was varied. Themes such as St. Finbarre, the first Bishop of Cork, were raised as well as the region’s history were discussed such as Michael Collins to talking about other difficult times in Ireland’s history. As kids ran around the site, they were silenced and told to respect the place. All entered the cell spaces, viewed the cross signs in some of the eight cells. Few criss-crossed the site and many moved clockwise around the site. The site, if anything, starts participation, a reminiscing and a search for a personal connection.

Historical walking tours with Kieran, Gougane Barra Pilgrimage Island, Sunday 25 September 2011, 1pm & 4.30pm (before and after the Gougane Sunday ceremonies)

To be continued…

Captions:

609a. Gougane Barra lake, September 2011 (pictures: Kieran McCarthy)

609b. Voices of the Lee Valley, Kieran’s new historical exhibition

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 15 September 2011

The Fruits of Sacrifice

“The opening of the City Hall-took place at 4pm. The building was packed in the gallery and on the main floor, while the attendance overflowed into the isde and amny were unable to gain admission. When the President walked through, the gathering rose to their feet and cheered vigourously. He was preceded by the Lord Mayor of Cork and members of the Corporation, in their official robes, the Corporation in their official robes, the Chairman and members of the Cork harbour Commissioners, the visiting Mayors, and many well known citizens of Cork. It is estimated there was close on 3,000 people in the hall when the opening ceremony took place.” (Cork Examiner, 9 September, 1936)

It was in Cork City Hall’s new Concert Hall on 8 September 1936 that the Lord Mayor, Sean French introduced the speeches section at the official opening ceremony of the building in front of over 2,000 guests. He was a city merchant and was Lord Mayor of Cork from 1924 to 1929 and again from 1932 until his death in 1937. He outlined that the former City Hall building (opened 1890) had been revamped in the early years of the twentieth century and officially opened on 4 October 1906 but then fell victim to its burning in December 1920. He noted that the Corporation in contemplating a new City Hall decided to invite designs from architects living and practising in Ireland.

A large number of designs were received and the adjudicator Lucius O’Callaghan, President of the Architect’s Association of Ireland, awarded first to Messrs. Alfred Jones and Stephen Kelly, architects, of Dublin.  The Irish architectural online archive noted that Alfred Jones was a man of wide interests. For the last eighteen years of his life he was engaged in compiling a biographical index of Irish architects and engineers and in transcribing relevant material from the Irish Builder and other sources to that end.

In the early 1930s, Messrs. Sisk and Sons were accepted as the builders. Established in 1859 by John Sisk, in his native Cork, it is as builders and contractors that the founder and subsequent generations have primarily built their reputation in business. As part of the City Hall project, they had to peg out 900 piles as foundations for the building to begin with.  Their specially designed new offices were located on, Douglas Street, into which the Sisk firm moved into in 1933. The classical styled Cork City Hall building is faced with dressed limestone, which was quarried locally in Little Island.

When Eamonn DeValera rose in the new Concert Hall to reply to speak, he spoke first in Irish and then continued in English. He noted of the sacrifices of Tomás MacCurtain and Terence McSwiney; “They united the people in Ireland and throughout the world as they had never been united before and steeled their resolution to make good their right to govern themselves; no matter what sacrifice it might entail. The people of today are enjoying the fruits of the sacrifices they made, the Irish nation is being restored and developed, and it lies with the young people  of Cork who are now growing up to see that the future is in every way worthy of the past.” Eamonn DeValera also paid tribute to Cork craftsmen plus concluded by noting; “The people of this city have clung tenaciously to their nationality with courage and hope even in the darkest hours. Surely that courage and hope will not fail them now when the dawn is at hand. In declaring this hall opened, I do so in the belief that it is a symbol of the resurrection of the Irish nation and that it will mark a new era of progress for Cork and its people.”

Shortly after Eamonn DeValera had commenced to speak, a young woman in the hall stood up and attempted to speak. She shouted “We protest” and “it is an insult”. Gardaí took the girl outside. At the conclusion of his speech another woman attempted to speak but was not heard due to the prolonged applause. She was also removed by Gardaí. Both women had attempted to voice their concerns that City Hall should not have been rebuilt until Ireland was fully united, that it was a betrayal of the memory of the two former Lord Mayors MacCurtain and McSwiney.

The article in the Cork Examiner also shows a montage of ads surrounding the news story of the official opening. These showcase the local craftsmen involved in the project.  W.J. Hickey of Maylor Street, Cork, supplied approximately 2,000 tons of cement used in the construction of Cork City Hall.  Barry & Co., Broad Street, Cork completed the terrazzo floors and tiling. Haughton’s Ltd., South Terrace, Cork, supplied the timber builder materials. John Buckley & Sons, Half Moon Street, Cork, provided the wrought iron balustrades. Cash & Co. Ltd, Cork, provided the Lord Mayor’s Chair, Council and Press Chairs. The Munster Arcade, Cork, furnished all the seating and carpets. J.S. McCarthy, 23 & 24 Castle Street, Cork, did all the painting and decorating. Brightside Engineering Co. (Ireland) Ltd provided the Central Heating System. Cork Iron & Hardware Co. Ltd. provided building materials such as re-inforcing bars, girders, wire, cut nails, expanding metal, sheet lead etc. The Typewriter Company (Ireland) Ltd., 28 Marlboro Street, Cork, equipped departments with Royal Typewriters. The South of Ireland Asphalt Company, Victoria Road, Cork supplied the mastic asphalt roof.

Fitzgerald & Co., 74 Grand Parade, Cork, installed the comprehensive electrical installations. The switchboard and distribution boards came from Siemens Electric Lamps and Supplies Ltd. Dublin while the three miles of steel conduit and seventeen miles of cables and twenty water heaters came from Siemens Schuckert, Dublin. Strand Electric, Covent Garden, London, supplied the stage lighting equipment for the Concert Hall. The tower clock, chimes and Master Clock was by Gillett & Johnson, Ltd. Croydon England. Research by Cork City Hall electrician John O’Sullivan in the current hall revealed that the clock was meant for an Indian palace but was bought by Philip Monahan due to its suitability for the top of Cork City Hall.

To mark the 75^th anniversary of the official opening of Cork City Hall, I have a small exhibition entitled Rebuilding Cork City Hall, 1920-1936 on display till 25 September in the foyer of the new building. A second exhibition on the 1930s design and plan of Cork City Hall has been compiled by Cork City and County Archives and this is on display outside the Council Chamber.

Captions:

608a. A floodlit Cork City Hall; it was floodlit in September 1986 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its official opening (pictures: Kieran McCarthy)

608b. Concert Hall, Cork City Hall