Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 12 May 2022

Journeys to a Free State: A New Connolly Hall

On 14 May 1922, the Cork branch of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union observed the anniversary of the execution of James Connolly, and later that day began a new chapter in their work in their new premises at the former Soldiers’ Home on King’s Terrace, Lower Glanmire Road. This was to become their future headquarters for almost 54 years.

The first Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union cards were issued in Cork in 1909 and indeed the Cork branch of the union was the first established outside of Dublin. It was set up by the dockers of Cork’s port. Within a matter of months, a serious industrial battle ensued, for in June 1909 a strike of over 100 members took place.

Despite the scarcity of industry and of employment in Cork in those years the union made very definite progress. In particular, the union had its own premises on Oliver Plunkett Street. In 1920 a more substantial premises was occupied by the union on Camden Quay. In August 1920, Crown troops made an assault while the Irish Trade Union Congress was meeting there. Four months later during the Burning of Cork on 11/12 December 1920, the Black and Tans targeted the union’s hall raiding it, smashed it up and destroying it by fire. It was then necessary for the union to move back to its old building in Oliver Plunkett Street. In early 1922 the Cork Soldiers Home on King’s Terrace came on the market and the union secured possession.

Initially the premises for the old Cork Soldier’s Home was donated and was opened as the first soldiers’ home in Ireland on 10 June 1877. The aim was to take young soldiers away from public houses and provide them a different space for entertainment and self-improvement. The concept was initially developed by evangelical Christian and philanthropist Elise Sandes. Research by historian Bryan MacMahon denotes in his research that by 1913 there were 31 such soldiers’ homes attached to army barracks, 22 in Ireland and the rest in India. With the establishment of the Irish Free State most of the homes were closed down. Only three remained open in the Irish Free State after 1921.

On 14 May 1922, the Soldier’s Home was formally taken over by the Cork Branch of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. The Cork Examiner describes that there was a large congregation at the Connolly Memorial Mass, which was celebrated in St Francis Church at 9am. Later in the day the members assembled at their old headquarters, and headed by their fife and drum band marched in processional order through the streets of the city. A well-ordered body of organised workers, preceded by the band of the union, proceeded through the city and attracted considerable public interest. The procession went through St Patrick’s Street, Grand Parade, South Mall, and across Brian Boru Bridge to the Soldier’s Home.

At 2pm Alderman William O’Brien, Dublin branch, General Treasurer, opened the door, and declared the new premises opened in the name of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. A short public meeting was held and addressed from the window of the newly occupied premises. William noted that he considered it a great honour to be associated with the ceremony. “This is a red-letter day in the annals of Cork and the history of the working classes. Two great events have taken place today, the anniversary celebration of the martyrdom of Connolly and the taking over of a hall, which lately was the post of the British garrison. My colleagues and I are proud to be there on behalf of the executive of the Union to show how we appreciate what has been done by the Trades Union in Cork, and how they have stood steadfast to the Union and to the working class organisation, notwithstanding all the difficulties they were up against”.

William continued to outline that a few short years previously the organisation was down but Phoenix-like, it had risen from its ashes, and the workers were never better organised than today. He noted: “we have built up the organisation, and every employer recognises it as a force that cannot be fought successfully or defeated. I am sure they recognise its great value and refuse to be drawn aside by anything that might occur to weaken it”.

On 18 May 1922, the first meeting held in the new Connolly Hall took place, which was a meeting of the branch committee. It was presided over by Michael Hill and attended by 38 delegates from the different sections. Michael was an insurance agent, a member of the National Executive Council of the union, and played a vital part in the affairs of the union in Cork in those difficult days. His theme that night, in the first union speech made in Connolly Hall, was the dire need for working class education so that the trade unionists could achieve a rationalised movement as the first essential step towards industrial democracy.

The 1930s were a decade of industrial revival and the Cork branch increased its membership overall by 120 per cent in the first eight years. In Cork, this entailed the introduction of two branches headed respectively by Dominic O’Sullivan and Jim Hickey. The post-war years were also ones of steady expansion, with no less than seven branches servicing Cork City and County being created which catered for a wide variety of occupations and industries.

Not surprisingly, therefore, a decision was taken to construct a new centre for the Union in the city. The foundation stone of a more spacious Connolly Hall on Lapp’s Quay was laid on 15 June 1974. 

Kieran’s May 2022 Tours:

Saturday 14 May 2022, The Northern Ridge – St Patrick’s Hill to MacCurtain Street; meet on the Green at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 2pm (free, 2 hours, no booking required).

Sunday 22 May 2022, Views from a Park – Tramore Valley Park, in association with the KinShip Project; meet at Halfmoon Lane gate, 2pm (free, 90 mins, no booking required).

Saturday 28 May 2022, The Friar’s Walk; Discover Red Abbey to the Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 2pm (free, 2 hours, no booking required).

Caption:

1150a. Old Connolly Hall, King’s Terrace, Lower Glanmire Road, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 5 May 2022

Journeys to a Free State: A New Reconstruction Committee is Formed

The meeting between the Irish Provisional Government representative Diarmuid Fawsitt and the Cork Reconstruction Committee of Corporation of Cork had been long awaited. For over fifteen months since the Burning of Cork on 11-12 December 1920 there was a great desire to have the rebuilding proceeded with as rapidly as possible and for the lack of compensation forthcoming resolved.

As part of the Anglo-Irish agreement the principle of compensation was acknowledged for those who had suffered loss or injury of the kind governed by the enactments relating to Criminal Injuries. These included those sustained during action taken by the military operating under martial law between 21 January 1919 and 11 July 1921. Consequently, the Compensation (Ireland) Commission was established jointly by Westminster and Irish Provisional Governments respectively in early 1922. 

On 2 May 1922 Diarmuid Fawsitt of the Ministry of Economy met with a recently formed Cork Reconstruction Committee, which replaced an inhouse members committee. The new committee would have local councillors but more specifically representatives of owners of buildings, a representative of the Provisional Government in the form of Cork’s Alderman Liam de Roiste TD. Dublin based Thomas Cullen was the government’s supervising architect whilst Mr Patrick Harnett McCarthy was the government’s representative engineer.

The Cork Examiner outlines the statement at the meeting by Diarmuid Fawsitt. He was glad to tell those present that one of the Provisional Government’s earliest efforts was to come to an understanding with the British government to set up a compensation commission. All the arrangements with the British government had been advanced. Its personnel would be announced in the days to follow.

Diarmuid noted of the re-opening of all cases and re-examining previous compensation awards; “They were all aware of the destruction wrought in that country by the armed forces of the British government, and they were also aware of the prejudiced manner in which the then representatives of justice approached the cases. In a number of cases, amounts altogether too large were awarded, while in others they were quite inadequate. The Compensation Commission would have to investigate all cases that were undefended, and machinery was also being set up whereby claims could be reopened with a view to revision. The cases that would stand or those in which defences were put up by local authorities”.

Diarmuid outlined that considering the magnitude of the task, the work of the commission would take some time. In view of the circumstances the Provisional Government thought it better to make arrangements so that decree holders could get the necessary financial assistance to start rebuilding immediately. Otherwise, the work of rebuilding could be delayed further, and decree holders may hesitate to start building it all.

The Provisional Government had prepared a scheme for general reconstruction work throughout the country. Decree holders would be facilitated to obtain government loans, and to enable them to build, particularly where trade and industry concerns were central. All claims for government loans in advance could be made to the secretary of the Office of Public Works. Diarmuid noted: “every claim would receive a sympathetic consideration and all the circumstances would be taken into recognition and the financial assistance requisite in the circumstances would be forthcoming but the government”.

As regards the Cork City situation, Diarmuid detailed it was felt by the Provisional Government that it demanded a special effort on their part to help reconstruction in the city. He was glad to say that it was largely because of the city’s civic spirit that the government intervened. He wished to give credit to the Corporation of Cork and the owners of destroyed properties for having set up the initial reconstruction committee, which had been functioning there for some time. The work of that committee was preparatory to the work of the committee they were setting up.

In the new scheme it would be provided that advances would be made by the government up to three-fifths of the actual decrees obtained in courts. In otherwords, if a claimant held a decree for £5000, the Provisional Government was prepared to advance, as the building, was being constructed the sum of £3000. It was provided that the sum of £10,000 be made available immediately to the Reconstruction Committee through the Corporation’s finance officer.

The Reconstruction Committee would then consider what they would require each month. And so on until one of two things occurred – either the actual decrees were made good to the decree holders by the compensation commission are the buildings were completed when there would be no longer a necessity or obligation on the provision government or to provide the loans.

All claimants would have to satisfy the community that they were actual decree holders. Applications for payments would have to come before the City’s Treasurer or finance officer and would subsequently have to come before the architect and engineer of the Provisional Government for certification. Then the City Treasurer, on the authority of the committee, acting on the certificate of the city solicitor an engineer, would make an advance to meet the actual expense of building.

The engineer and architect of the provisional government would have their services at the disposal of the committee when required. Diarmuid concluded by noting “they would like to see the new Cork excel the old Cork, and they look forward to the day when Cork and the Port of Cork would enjoy greater prosperity than they ever did in the past”.

Caption:

1149a. Ruins of Roches Stores department store, St Patrick’s Street, 12 December 1920 (source: Hogan Photography, National Library of Ireland).

Saturday 14 May 2022, The Northern Ridge – St Patrick’s Hill to MacCurtain Street; Historical walking tour with Kieran of the area around St Patrick’s Hill – Old Youghal Road to McCurtain Street; meet on the Green at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 2pm (free, duration: two hours, no booking required).

Sunday 22 May 2022, Views from a Park – Tramore Valley Park, historical walking tour with Kieran in association with the KinShip Project; discover the site’s local history and about the historical sites surrounding the Park; meet at Halfmoon Lane gate, 2pm (free, duration: 90 minutes no booking required).

Saturday 28 May 2022, The Friar’s Walk; historical walking tour with Kieran; Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack Street, Callanan’s Tower & Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 2pm (free, duration: two hours, no booking required).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 28 April 2022

Journeys to a Free State: The Potential of the Port

In the spring of 1922, the Cork Harbour Commissioners commissioned Mr George F Nicholson, chief engineer of the Port of Seattle, to come to Cork in order to research and write up a paper on the challenges in the development of the port of Cork in the short term. George gave a public lecture in Cobh on his work in March 1922. His work was also discussed at length in the meetings of the Cork Harbour Commissioners across the Spring of that year.  He pitched a need to invest two million sterling (€145 million today) to modernise port facilities.

In the public lecture, George emphasised the fact that, he was an outside engineer and had no local connections. The Port Commissioners of Seattle granted George a leave of absence, without pay, for from four to six months. The Cork side were interested in the story of the Port of Seattle. The concept of that port had just come into existence on 5 September 1911, by a vote of the people of the Port District. It was created with a view to recovering public control over the waterfront of Seattle. Port construction commenced in 1913 with the establishment of a home port for the local fishermen.  From the beginning, the importance of recognising the waterfront with railroads, warehouses, and industrial sites was crucial.

The Seattle terminal was finished in 1914 and became the Northern Pacific Fishing Fleet’s home of operations. By 1916 Seattle had six separate deep-draft terminals, comprising one for grain and one for refrigerated goods, and a storage facility that held nearly one million gallons of vegetable oil. Seattle swiftly became the leading port on the West Coast in terms of the dollar value of its imports and exports, and it reigned unchallenged in Washington for decades.

George was employed to see if any learnings could be brought from Seattle to Cork Harbour. He opened his talk in Cobh saying that his opinion was unbiased, and his recommendations were made from a purely engineering and traffic standpoint. At the outset, he thought that Cork Harbour should be made a national port, if not the national port of Ireland, by the new Provisional Government. Mr Nicholson stated that the Lower Harbour should be given preference in the future development work, especially developing the rail connections and deep water shipping.

George advocated very strongly in his lecture that the City of Cork and town of Cobh consolidate as one city under one corporate limit. This, he argued, was necessary for the “successful development of Cork Harbour as a whole”. Cork Harbour, he detailed, had a fine opportunity in its new development work, to install more efficient facilities than the surrounding European Ports. But harmonious co-operation between the two communities, acting as one city, with the Harbour Board was vitally essential.

George called for Cork and Cobh to learn from the serious mistakes made by other ports in this regard. He referenced the Atlantic Coast Ports of North America who profited by the mistakes made by the older European ports. In the previous fifteen years the Pacific Ports of North America had learned by the mistakes made by the Atlantic ports.

George pointed out that the upper river harbour in Cork city was not capable of accommodating the evolving size of ships that large steamship companies were standardising upon. There was also a great need at Cork for – (1) transit sheds, where goods could be stored in transit and protected from the weather; (2) shipside tracks, so that freight could be loaded direct between ship and railway wagons without man handling; and (3) mechanical freight handling equipment lor the economical handling of grain, coal, and all miscellaneous cargo.

George highlighted the importance of the entrance channel to the lower harbour was of first and prime importance. He noted that was no use in erecting modern facilities inside the harbour if steamers could not reach them in any kind of weather and at all stages of the tide.

George deemed that the deep water quay at Cobh was impossible for a number of reasons: (1) There was no room for future expansion, there were only 46 acres available, including a large portion of White Point, while at Cuskinny Bay there were several hundred acres. There were also issues in turning large vessels around rocks and at points in the main channel.

The place of Cuskinny Bay as a terminal site for the lower harbour was detailed in the lecture. George proposed that a modern terminal should erected there, and that any boat, large or small, could then berth there in the worst gale. He noted: “The Cuskinny pier would be the means of getting back the mail business going to Northern England and Scotland, as many hours would be saved. Also it would result, in the attracting of new commerce. When you have the passenger traffic, you will also obtain considerable freight traffic”.

George concluded by showing very interesting stereo views of the modern port of Seattle. It was clearly shown in these views the excellent terminals constructed in that port in the previous years at a cost of £3m; as well as the great assortment of mechanical freight handling equipment for which Seattle was noted. It had the reputation of owning and operating more labour-saving devices, in comparison with its number of terminal facilities, than any other port in the United States and Canada. 

In the months that followed, George’s report was sidelined due to the Irish Civil War, but the creation of extra terminal space was kept on the Harbour Commissioner’s agenda but only became a physical reality in the mid to late twentieth century. One could argue that the Ringaskiddy port development in today’s context was inspired by a multitude of reports such as the Nichols report commissioned through the past century.

Caption:

1148a. Postcard of Cork Harbour from Queenstown, now Cobh c.1910 from Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 21 April 2022

Journeys to a Free State: Disbanding the Royal Irish Constabulary

The establishment of the Irish Constabulary was begun by the Irish Constabulary (Ireland) Act 1836. Previous to this, the Irish police force at the time of the Act of Union of 1800 was still comprised only of small units of sub-constables. Originally, the prime role of the Royal Irish Constabulary was upholding the peace, which involved the suppression of armed rebellion, religious riots or agrarian disturbances. Their position was extended when it took on the functions of the Revenue Police, which involved “inquiries on behalf of departments of state, collected agricultural statistics, enforced the fishery laws and performed a variety of duties under the laws relating to food and drugs, weights and measures, explosives and petroleum”.

In 1867, the Irish Constabulary was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). After 1916 it faced the effect of the violence from the Irish War of Independence. 

Following the formation of the Irish Free State in early 1922, on 31 March 1922, the disbandment of the Royal Irish Constabulary began in southern Ireland. They were to be replaced by the creation of the Irish Free State’s Civic Guard. Approximately 7,000 RIC men, excluding officers, awaited disbandment in Ireland with many waiting to evacuate barracks in various parts of the country. Of these, between 4,000 and 5,000 were focussed in the Dublin and Kildare area.

 Britain’s National Archives in Kew, London records that pensions were paid by the Paymaster General in London, and the service records of members of the force passed to the Home Office which were subsequently transferred to The National Archives. An annual sum of £1,500,000 was put aside for their pensions. This sum was guaranteed by the British parliament and, under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, all or part of it was to be provided by the Irish government.

In Cork, in early April 1922, there was ongoing fallout from the murder of a former member of the RIC who was shot dead on a crowded Cork City street on 25 March. Retired William Gloster, a former sergeant, returning to his home at Elizabeth Fort was passing through the southern end of South Main Street at 1.30 pm when a group of young men shot him at least six times.

On 12 April 1922, the handing over of the city’s RIC Barracks began. There was considerable activity in the vicinity of the Bridewell and Tuckey Street when both those barracks, as well as the annexe on the latter, on the Grand Parade, were handed over by the RIC to an officer of the IRA from Dublin. At 11am, District Inspector Riordan, Union Quay attended at the Bridewell, where he was met an IRA officer from Dublin, and some local IRA officers. There, with the assistance of Head Constable Nestor and Sergeant McCoy, the station sergeant, an inventory of the property being left was made. By 11am the RIC walked out, leaving an IRA guard in charge.

The party then proceeded to Tuckey Street, where District Inspector Riordan again handed over the barracks to the IRA officer. Then the annexe on the outer side of Tuckey Street, and overlooking the Grand Parade was visited, and a like process was gone through. Large crowds remained outside both barracks during the process of evacuation, but there were no disturbances. The police from both barracks then went to Union Quay.

The other three barracks were evacuated the following day on 13 April – the barracks an Empress Place on Summerhill North, Elizabeth Fort and Union Quay, with its annexe at Moore’s Hotel at Morrison’s Island. These were handed over to the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Donal Óg O’Callaghan.

Union Quay took more than two hours to complete the checking of the inventory before it was officially handed over by Captain Moran to the Lord Mayor. It was a large spacious building of modern brick, built and capable of affording accommodation to upwards of 150 men. Before they were completely departed at Union Quay. Constable Lowry, the men’s representative, approached the pressmen present, and said he had desired on behalf of the old city force to express their gratitude to the people of Cork. Some of them has been in the force for over 30 years.

From early morning, the RIC were busily engaged in removing luggage to the City’s Custom House Quay, where the steamer, SS Lady Wicklow, was berthed. The vessel was specially chartered for the conveyance of RIC members to Dublin. The steamer hosted 20 officers, 400 police, with all their luggage and equipment on board.

At the quayside, City Councillor and Home Rule supporter Sir John Scott was present and noted that he had been present when the barracks were handed over to the Lord Mayor for Cork Corporation. He noted that he had experienced a feeling of pleasure and also of regret – pleasure of meeting once more members of the RIC, and regret when he came to think that they were leaving the city. Continuing he paid a fine tribute to the officers and members of the force, and wished then “every good luck, long life and prosperity in the future”. At the close of Sir John Scott’s address, a policeman who said he was of the oldest members of the force, expressed thanks, and called for three cheers for Scott. 

In mid-May 1922 disbandment commenced at Cork’s Victoria Barracks.

Caption:

1147a. Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Donal Óg O’Callaghan receiving the keys of the Union Quay barracks, Cork, 13 April 1922 (W D Hogan Collection, National Library of Ireland).