Independent
Cllr Kieran McCarthy has called on the City Council and the ESB to work on a
joint programme of works to return the sub-station on Caroline Street to an art
gallery/ cultural space.’
The sub station
on Caroline Street is in the ownership of the ESB. Until recently the Sub
Station was advertised for Commercial Let. Cllr McCarthy has been informed that
Cork City Council does not have sight of the ESB’s plans for the building. And
that the wider needs in terms of cultural infrastructure in the city will be
reviewed in the context of the forthcoming Arts & Culture Strategy, currently
under development.
Cllr McCarthy
noted; “there is massive scope to do a joint partnership in re-opening the disused ESB substation as a cultural space.
It has a very rich industrial history. It was built in 1931 and was originally
used to convert direct current electricity to alternating current. This
substation is representative of the design employed by the ESB in the first
part of the twentieth century in Ireland.
“In 1932, the ESB
could boast cables running from Ardnacrusha Hydro Electric Station to Cork as
well as having the old generating station and offices at Albert Road, a Station
at Kilbarry, a transformer station at Fords, and the central substation in
Caroline Street. The annual consumption of electricity in Cork City was 8
million units by 1934 and 16 million units by 1945”.
“The
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage notes of this building: “This
functional building is a well-articulated building, with a high level of
architectural design. The building retains many interesting original features
and materials, such as the metal casement windows and metal folding doors”.
“It
is also ten years ago when the Triskel Arts Centre, whilst waiting for the
renovation of Christ Church, moved its gallery off site to the ESB
substation on Caroline Street and did a great job in utilising the space. In
addition, in 2018, Brown Thomas teamed up with Cork City Council and artist
Shane O’Driscoll to transform the exterior of the then disused ESB station
building which had fallen into disrepair. The City Centre Placemaking Fund from Cork City Council was
used to support the project”.
“It is a real shame that such a prominent building remains vacant with so many possibilities for its use. I will be continuing my lobbying of the City Council to partner up with the ESB in finding an appropriate cultural use for the building”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.
Press, 25 May 2021, “The abandoned substation has massive scope for transformation now that Cllr. Kieran McCarthy is urging the city council and ESB to turn it into a new entertainment venue for Leesiders. Originally built in 1931 in the art deco style favoured by ESB at the time, the substation was last used by Triskel Arts ten years ago”, Endless possibilities for this gem of a building on Caroline Street to be transformed as council consider new proposal, Derelict Art-deco substation could become amazing Cork city music and arts space – Cork Beo
Caroline Street Former ESB Sub Station, Cork present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has welcomed the conclusion of the
Douglas Flood Relief Scheme. “In the past two months, the contractor on the
Douglas Flood Relief Scheme has substantially completed all construction works
on the project. The remaining works consist of some minor snags, fence
installations and completion of final landscaping works”.
“What has emerged are enhanced recreational jewels in the heart of
Douglas Village with a larger focus on connecting The Mangala and Ballybrack
Woods across to Douglas Community Park. The flood prevention measures, which
have incorporated new seating and biodiversity areas and corridors, as well as
creating a stronger visual element upon the adjacent stream are most welcome”.
“It has been great in the past few weeks to see people sitting out
enjoying the new vistas and ultimately embracing an enhanced community space.
Great credit is due to Cork City Council, Arup Engineering and to the OPW. It
has been a long process over eight years from draft plans drawn up in
connection with Cork County Council to implementation under Cork City Council’s
watchful eye. In the past year, the advent of COVID also slowed down construction
work, which required much patience by the people
and businesses of Douglas”.
“There have also been status orange rainfall events in Cork, since the start of the year and the new flood defences in Douglas worked as expected and carried a huge volume of water through the village safely. From observations and experience on site it is believed that had the defences not been constructed, there would have been considerable flooding in the Ravensdale and Church Road area”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.
Independent Cllr
Kieran McCarthy has welcomed the good progress on the Old Railway Line Walk
works. Construction has already began on a new access ramp linking the Marina
and the old Railway Line walk.
Cllr
McCarthy noted: “This new access point will benefit pedestrians, cyclists,
people with disabilities and ensure better access to local communities and
visitors. At present, people with disabilities cannot access the greenway
between Pairc Uí Chaoimh and the Mater Private access point”.
“A giant game of ‘Snakes
and Ladders’, which will include ladders and slides, will form part of the
green terraced area surrounding the new access ramp. New seating will
also be incorporated, new lookout points and water drinking facilities. There
will also be extensive soft landscaping works including significant new tree
planting, shrub planting and wildflower meadow planting with native pollinator
friendly species”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.
From 10 May, works
to resurface, widen and install public lighting on the Blackrock Greenway mean
that a section of the amenity between Atlantic Pond and Blackrock Station, will
be temporarily closed. Pedestrians and cyclists will be asked to observe the
diversions in place. These upgrade works are expected to continue for up to 10
weeks.
The Blackrock-Mahon Greenway Improvement
Scheme has been designed to enhance this popular route due to increased usage
by pedestrians and cyclists for recreation and commuting. The works are also to
encourage and prioritise its ongoing development as a green living corridor
with significant health and well-being benefits.
Independent Cllr
Kieran McCarthy has welcomed the good progress on the Old Railway Line Walk
works. Construction has already began on a new access ramp linking the Marina
and the old Railway Line walk.
Cllr
McCarthy noted: “This new access point will benefit pedestrians, cyclists,
people with disabilities and ensure better access to local communities and
visitors. At present, people with disabilities cannot access the greenway
between Pairc Uí Chaoimh and the Mater Private access point”.
“A giant game of ‘Snakes
and Ladders’, which will include ladders and slides, will form part of the
green terraced area surrounding the new access ramp. New seating will
also be incorporated, new lookout points and water drinking facilities. There
will also be extensive soft landscaping works including significant new tree
planting, shrub planting and wildflower meadow planting with native pollinator
friendly species”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.
From 10 May, works
to resurface, widen and install public lighting on the Blackrock Greenway mean
that a section of the amenity between Atlantic Pond and Blackrock Station, will
be temporarily closed. Pedestrians and cyclists will be asked to observe the
diversions in place. These upgrade works are expected to continue for up to 10
weeks.
The Blackrock-Mahon Greenway Improvement Scheme has been designed to enhance this popular route due to increased usage by pedestrians and cyclists for recreation and commuting. The works are also to encourage and prioritise its ongoing development as a green living corridor with significant health and well-being benefits.
Independent Cllr
Kieran McCarthy has expressed several concerns for the proposed boardwalk
concept that was recently presented as part of the ongoing Greenway consultation
behind St Gerald’s Place on the Rochestown Road.
Cllr McCarthy noted: “I
have walked the foreshore route with the local residents at St Gerard’s Place
at low tide and physically a boardwalk would abut many of their back doors,
which would be severely intrusive. There is an impression out there that the
partial trackways behind the houses can host a 4-5m wide boardwalk. The
trackways themselves are just 2m wide with backdoors of some houses fronting
onto them. Hence, a safe boardwalk 4-5m wide would literally be passing outside
people’s kitchen window. This isn’t even about taking people’s back gardens. There
is no physical space there to adapt any kind of laneway.
The other alternative
that is being proposed in social media is that to avoid the ‘outside the
people’s backdoor’ concept, a raised boardwalk structure could be constructed
at the foreshore edge. I have also been back to the site at high tide and high
tide comes all the way up to the foreshore edge. Hence, a raised boardwalk concept would
literally rip up the upper shoreline. A 4-5m wide boardwalk and something
over 300 metres long plus 3- 4 metres high off the shoreline would be highly
intrusive and damage the adjacent Special Protected Area of Lough Mahon.
There is also the
impression that the old Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway Line ran directly by
the shoreline. That is also a misnomer. The line in the mid nineteenth century was
built along the Rochestown Road to avoid the high cost of engineering anti shoreline
erosion features.
If the greenway must
come back to the roadside, it is important that every measure is put in
place to have a proper safe and sustainable greenway stretch. I welcome the
ongoing dialogue between local residents and Cork City Council to find a
solution – of a protected greenway and a widened Rochestown Road space.
And last and most of
all, I have concerns about the ongoing bullying of residents on social media and
from various opposing sides, and especially by individuals who operate
anonymous accounts and who do not sign their name. I am all for dialogue and
several people – who did sign their names – have contacted me asking for
feedback on the public consultation, who I have laid out my concerns with, but
the anonymous trolling has had a huge impact on the mental health of local
residents involved in the consultation process, and needs to stop”, concluded
Cllr McCarthy.
1099a. Fr James O’Callaghan, c.1917 (source: O’Brien family archive).
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 13 May 2021
Journeys to a Truce: Fr O’Callaghan’s
Last Stand
Ireland experienced a tragic
Whitsuntide bank holiday weekend in mid-May 1921. Many deaths amongst civilians
and Crown forces were reported from various parts of the south of the country.
About four o’clock on
Saturday evening, 14 May, a bomb was thrown at police in the Blackpool
district, near O’Connell Street. One constable was killed and three wounded.
One died later on. Large swathes of military and police searched the area with
much of Blackpool ransacked. Several arrests were made across the city.
One tragic outcome was the quest to arrest
Alderman Liam De Róiste of Sinn Féin on Cork Corporation. In the search for
him, instead of Liam being arrested, a renter within his house was shot and
died from his wounds. On Saturday night/ Sunday morning, 15 May, Father James O’Callaghan
was staying at Liam’s residence in Upper Janemount, Sunday’s Well.
From the Templemartin district, County Cork,
Fr O’Callaghan was ordained at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 1908. He was a
fluent Irish speaker and was a valued Irish teacher in Ballingeary Irish
College. He had a ministry abroad between 1908 and 1912 and was curate in
Ballingeary from 1912 to 1917. He then became Chaplain at the Good Shepherd
Convent between and 1917 and 1920. In 1920 he was made curate of the North
Cathedral Parish and at Clogheen Church. he was attached to the convent of the
Good Shepherd’s.
Fr O’Callaghan’s new post in
the North Cathedral left him with no living quarters. He was an acquaintance of
Sinn Féin Corporation member and Teachta Dála Liam de Róiste. He asked Liam
for hospitality and was invited to stay at the parliamentarian’s house.
According to a report which Liam
sent to Bishop Cohalan after Fr O’Callaghan’s murder, Crown forces raided his
house only a few days after Fr O’Callaghan had moved in and treated him roughly.
At the General Elections
held in May 1921 under the provisions of the 1920 Government of Ireland Act, Liam
De Róiste was an unopposed Sinn Féin candidate for the Cork borough
constituency. Afraid that this situation would draw hostile interest from the
Crown forces, Liam decided not to sleep in his house at night, leaving Fr O’Callaghan
there together with his wife, his mother-in-law and the priest’s housekeeper
Katie Kearney. Katie was from Inchigeela and had been a housekeeper of the
priest for fourteen years.
On Saturday night /Sunday morning, 15 May
1921 between 3.30am and 4am, a number of armed men broke open the
glass-panelled door and rushed into the house. Liam De Róiste was fortunately
not there at the time. Liam’s wife Nora, detailed to the Cork Examiner
in the days that followed and to her husband for his diary that her mother was
present and that both occupied bedrooms immediately over the hall door. Fr O’Callaghan
and Katie had their respective rooms at the other side of the house.
Nora enquired who was there and got an order
to come down and open the door. She declined. One of the men climbed up a
garden trellis and entered a bedroom through the window. She grappled with him
and a revolver fell from his hands. Threatening him with a clothes brush she
made him back out the window.
Meanwhile, other members of the party of men
had forced the opening of the half-door and one man walked up two flights of
stairs and branched off to the two other rooms in the house – occupied by Fr
O’Callaghan and Katie respectively. They both met the intruder outside their
bedrooms. A scuffle ensued between the man and Fr O’Callaghan.
Katie Kearney (years later) penned her memory
of the evening and recalls of the scuffle; “As the Tan came up the stairs,
he had a cap on his head and a scarf on his neck. I put up my hand to pull off
the cap and scarf and was not able to do so. I said to them ‘This is Fr O’Callaghan,
you won’t shoot him’. He drilled towards me and the Priest went backwards a few
steps. The Tan followed him and pulled him to the bedroom door. I saw him
prepare the revolver and I grasped it by the muzzle and as I did one shot rang
out against the partition. He shook the revolver out of my grasp and pulled
over the Priest and shot him through the spine and paralyzed him, he fell on
the corridor, the Tan walked down the stairs and away”.
Father O’Callaghan was seriously wounded in
his liver and spine before the raiders took their departure. The Corporation
ambulance was summoned, and Fr O’Callaghan was conveyed, still conscious to the
North Infirmary. It was there that he detailed that he knew his attacker – a Black
and Tan who was on regular duty in and around Shandon Street. Some hours later
at 6pm he succumbed to his injuries in the presence of a nurse and Liam De Róiste
who prayed for the priest by his side.
Originally the internment of
Fr O’Callaghan was fixed for St Joseph’s Cemetery, but by request of the
residents of Clogheen, where the deceased ministered, the place of burial was
changed to Clogheen. Despite widespread warnings the streets and roads were lined
to mark their respect as the funeral cortege passed. A cross now marks his
burial place at the Church of the Most Precious Blood. Over many decades, the
story of the murder has been passed down by many historians and especially by the
O’Callaghan family. Fr O’Callaghan’s coat complete with bullet marks has
survived as part of their family heirlooms. Remembrance was also shown through
the name of Cork’s Fr O’Callaghan’s GAA Club for several decades.
Many thanks to Mary and Donal Healy, Maureen and Mary O‘Brien, Rita
O’Brien, Cork City and County Archives, and Cllr Ken Collins for their help and
insights with this article.
Captions:
1099a. Fr James
O’Callaghan, c.1917 (source: O’Brien family archive).
1099b. Mary Healy (nee
O’Brien) and Mary O’Brien with Fr James O’Callaghan’s priest jacket, present
day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
1099c. Burial place of Fr James O’Callaghan, Clogheen Church, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
1099b. Mary Healy (nee O’Brien) and Mary O’Brien with Fr James O’Callaghan’s priest jacket, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
1099c. Burial place of Fr James O’Callaghan, Clogheen Church, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
To ask the CE for an update on the progress of Marina Park? (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Motions:
That the double yellow lines be returned to the corner of Park Hill and Skehard Road. Cars are parking on the corner making vehicles difficult to exit and enter with ease (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
That the City Council and the ESB work on a joint programme of works to return the sub station on Caroline Street to an art gallery/ cultural space (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
That appropriate trees be replanted at the Japanese Gardens, Ballinlough, following the recent cutting due to health and safety (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
Cllr Kieran McCarthy, speaking virtually at Strasbourg, 9 May 2021
Europe Day is upon us once again. Traditionally,
the 9 May is marked by senior European politicians recalling the history of the
EU, its treaties, coupled with the EU’s added value and solidarity, and
outlining the priorities and challenges of the EU in the modern world.
The European Committee of the Regions (COR) remains
at the heart of the EU narrative. It is an assembly of local and regional
politicians from across the 27 member states. Through my membership, I have
been involved in many discussions on the frontline role of the EU’s cities and
the 281 regions in how they approach issues from poverty to climate change,
from enterprise to connectivity and how they faced down the COVID pandemic. The
crucial role of local and regional government is plain to see. I have seen first-hand
the importance of sharing knowledge and experience to help each other, create
more sustainable cities, towns and regions and to feed into present and EU
future policy areas.
On this year’s St Patrick’s Day, Cork City Council
projected onto the old concrete R & H Hall grain silo in Cork’s South docks
an old Irish proverb. It ran – “ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na
daoine” – which means – it is in each other’s shadow we live – which
invokes the sense of community and interdependence. And it is clear that both the member state
and the local and regional authority both live in each shadow and both are
dependent on each other. Consistently
the COR asks to be partner with the European Council and seeks to bring the
idea of community back to the top table in Brussels and Strasbourg.
Resilience and solidarity, more so than ever
before, are needed across the EU in the next few months as European cities and regions
continue the massive task of organising vaccinations.
The battle with the pandemic is, of course,
not over yet and there are still many challenges ahead. In the first place, a
fine balance between, on the one hand, the measures we need to take to limit
the spreading of the virus as much as possible, and on the other, the strong
need of many of our businesses to go back to work and the long-awaited wish of
our citizens to go back to normal life and to enjoy their social life and
freedom of movement freely. We also need to look towards recovery and ensure
that it is felt across all sectors of society. It is my belief and that
of the Committee of the Regions that regional and local government needs to be
to the forefront of national recovery and resilience plans.
Local and Regional governments are on the frontline in
building the future of Europe. We are the story builders, strategy
builders, the capacity builders. We build ideas from scratch and bring them to
life. We are more than the sum of our parts. If you empower the Regions the EU
will be a success.
In the past year I have been fortunate to be
President of the European Alliance political grouping with the COR. In the past
few weeks with my secretariat, I have organised events focussing on the bigger
picture challenges of recovery in the post pandemic. Most recently we have
explored the impact on tourism and on regional airports. We also organised
a very interesting event “Preserving ‘PEACE’ on the island of
Ireland”. The PEACE programme is vital to ensure cross-community project
development in Northern Ireland and to avoid a border on the island of
Ireland.
My group’s members are continuing to focus on
topics ranging from green recovery to rural revival, from smart specialisation
to SME development, from Cohesion Policy critique to urban policy – to name but
a few. We continue to push these positive priorities for the benefit of
our regions. There is much to learn from each other.
I have also been very proud to see
Cork City Council’s involvement in an array of EU co-operation programmes. In
2019, CCC appointed a full-time EU Affairs Coordinator, Ronan Gingles, to facilitate
and fully inform access to quality engagement in EU opportunities and
initiatives. The role has a whole-of-organisation remit to support European
activity that clearly contributes to and informs Cork City Council’s objectives
and the development of Cork as an inclusive, future-focussed, sustainable, and
competitive European city of scale.
Cork City Council continues to be involved in EU projects such as URBACT, Interreg,
H2020, EU Urban Agenda, Digital Cities – they all help local government to gain
further perspective on how it is ahead or behind in thinking upon a topic or in
the provision of infrastructure. The
projects are providing opportunities to significantly broaden our horizons by
means of in-depth exchange and collaboration on specific issues.
Cork
City Council also currently maintains memberships of a number of European
networks as a means to enhance engagement in EU activity, create interaction
with peers, access to knowledge and tools, including best practice; and identify
opportunities including project bids.
Europe Day this year will also coincide
with the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe. It needs to be
a truly bottom up approach and local and regional government and citizens are
best placed to provide clear and understandable input into the discussions. The
Committee of the Regions commits to be actively involved with this process and to
ensure that it leads to real benefits and tangible outcomes.
It is in each other’s shadow we live, but it is how
those shadows blend together to create solidarity, to celebrate diversity and
ultimately showing that the European project is leaving no one behind – that
are all crucial in the European Union of today.
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy
serves on the Irish delegation to the EU Committee of the Region in Brussels
(CoR) for 2020-2024. The 329-strong body of elected representatives from across
Europe’s cities and regions provides the formal mechanism for sub-national
input into the EU policy process. Kieran is currently the President of the
European Alliance political grouping in the CoR; read more at www.web.cor.europa.eu.
“On the 9th May we will celebrate Europe day which is also the 70th anniversary of the Schuman declaration , which is the basis of the European Union we have today. When Ireland joined the European Communities in 1973, few people could foresee that it will evolve in the union we have today.
This sense of community needs to be the centrepiece of the conference on the future of the EU. The conference cannot be a top down exercise but a real participatory mechanism which embraces the needs of the citizens whether they are in Cork or Corsica; in Brussels or Białystok.
Local and regional authorities can build bridges between the EU institutions and the citizen and I hope the European Committee of the Regions can be pivotal in these discussions.
As vaccinations roll out we need to look towards the recovery in our communities and allowing people a step towards normal life. This is why we welcome the Digital Green Certificate as a step to allow European citizens to visit family and friends in different regions or allow business to recover, in particular in our tourism sector.
The Next Generation EU is now available for boosting our recovery, this needs to be made available to finance local projects. This is how we will ensure local sustainable and green jobs which will help the social and economic development of our cities, villages and local communities. The CoR is a willing partner to make this happen.
Finally, after a long way, there is light at the end of the tunnel and we need to #HoldFirm and #Staysafe,Kieran”
Much reference is given in the
newspapers of Spring 1921 to Cork Volunteers from across the batalions of the
Cork IRA Brigades being rounded up and sent to Ballykinlar Internment Camp in County
Down. Monaghan born Frank O’Duffy was interned in Camp II, Ballykinlar from
January to December 1921 and acted as Prisoners’ Commandant in that camp from
June to December 1921.
In his witness statement in the Bureau
of Military History (WS665), Frank describes that there were two internment camps
at Ballykinlar – Camp I and Camp II. Though these two camps adjoined each other
for a short distance at one end being separated only by the double fence of
barbed wire, which encircled each camp they were isolated from each other, and
communication between the prisoners in one camp and those in the other was banned.
Frank relates of this latter issue: “This regulation was overcome, however, by
the simple plan of throwing messages (attached to a stone) from one camp to the
other at the place where the two camps adjoined. To prevent these messages
falling into the hands of the British a code of signals was arranged to
indicate ‘coast clear’, and safe receipt of the message”.
Each camp was self-contained, apart
from the fact that there was only one hospital for sick prisoners. This was
located in Camp I, and this fact was availed of for discussions of important
issues of policy between the prisoners’ leaders of the two camps: a reliable
person from Camp II “went sick” and got transferred to the hospital.
It was also availed of to transfer men who were wanted by British crown forces
from one camp to the other. Though there was a British medical officer on the
staff of the Camps, the medical treatment of the prisoners was left mainly to
their own doctors, of whom there were a number among the prisoners. So, names
could be changed on documentation.
Each camp contained (when full) 1,000
(one thousand) prisoners. These were divided, for purposes of administration,
into four companies (250 men each), and each company was housed in ten huts (25
men to each hut). The companies in Camp I were described as A, B, C, and D, and
those in Camp II as E, F, G, and H. In addition to the huts, in which the men
slept, the camp buildings included large central huts for use as chapel,
dining-hall, recreation (concerts etc.), canteen, cook-house, work-shops, etc.
The sanitary arrangements were very primitive with latrines and buckets.
At first no objection was raised to
the prisoners’ drilling in the camp, and all (especially the younger men) were
drilled for some time each forenoon. A roll was made (and checked, as far as
possible) of all prisoners who were Volunteer Officers, and lectures and
training. Frank details: “Prisoners who had taken part in ambushes or other
military events gave an account of them, and discussions on tactics, etc. took
place. After a few weeks, an order was issued by the British forbidding drill
in the camp, but military training continued secretly”.
Formal classes in subjects such as Irish maths and
surveying also took place. Examinations were held and certificates issued at
the end of some of the educational courses. Lectures, debates, and discussions
were frequently held. Frank describes that historical anniversaries for Wolfe
Tone, Robert Emmet, and host of other names were faithfully celebrated.
Dramatic performances were also staged frequently. Some of the prisoners
devoted all their spare time to the preparations for these performances, (making
costumes, scenery, etc.), and the results of their work sometimes reached a
high standard.
In his witness statement Frank also compliments the Irish
classes section – who have as he notes, “the most faithful and hard-working of the Irish
teachers” – being Cork’s Cllr Micheál Ó
Cuill (of Cork Corporation). Micheál’s obituary in the Cork Examiner on
19 September 1955 describes that he was a native of the Macroom district,
he came to Cork circa 1910. He was connected with Countess Markievicz in
the founding and organising of Fianna Eireann and a few years later was largely
responsible for the formation of Cumann na mBan.
Micheál was one of the Cork volunteers who paraded at
Easter 1916 hoping to take part in the Rising. When circumstances prevented
Corkmen from playing their part he set out alone for Dublin and had got to the
neighbourhood of the city when the surrender took place. He was arrested and deported
to Frongoch.
Micheál was a close friend of Terence MacSwiney
and TomásMacCurtain and worked closely with them in the Irish
Volunteers. He became a member of Sinn Féin’s bench in Cork Corporation in
January 1920. It was he who, speaking in Irish,
proposed Tomás MacCurtain for the office of Lord Mayor on 30 January. On
Terence’s death Micheál was sent to be among the Guard of Honour to the deceased
Lord Mayor in London. He also acted tor some time as Deputy Lord Mayor
following Terence’s death before Donal Óg O’Callaghan took on the position. In
late 1920 he was arrested in Cork City and sent to Ballykinlar.
Micheál was an ardent lover ofIrish and
a fluent speaker of it, He was one of theprominent Gaelic League
organisers and teachers in the country and later in time became Vice President
of a Cork branch of the Conradh na Gaeilge. For many years he conducted classes
at An Dún, Queen Street (now Fr Mathew Street). About 1930, he joined the staff
of the Cork County Vocational Education Committee as Irish inspector. He became
very well-known at the summer courses of Ballingeary, which hesupervised
every summer.
1097a. SS Ardmore II, c.1930 (source: Cork City Library).
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 29 April 2021
Journeys to a Truce: The Advent of SS
Ardmore II
During the
First World War the City of Cork Steam Packet Company lost six vessels, and the
company were determined to replace the losses with the construction of new vessels.
In particular, the new ships were designed to meet the requirements of the
cross-Channel trade, especially the cattle trade. One of the ships replaced was
the SS Ardmore, which was hit by a torpedo on 13 November 1917. It was replaced
by the SS Ardmore II, which looked very similar in design to the original.
On 28 April
1921 at noon, the SSArdmore II made her maiden visit to Cork with
flags flying and decorated with bunting. She was welcomed by the sirens of all
the vessels in the river. She was the largest of the fleet of the Steam Packet Company’s
cross-channel steamers and was built by the Ardrossan Dry Dock and
Shipbuilding Company, Ltd North
Ayrshire, Scotland. From
1919 for a time, Harland & Wolff Ltd managed the yard on behalf of the Royal Mail Group.
The SS
Ardmore II was launched in August 1921 in the presence ofdistinguished
company at Ardrossan Port. The Managing Director of the City
of Cork Steam Packet Company Sir Alfred Read, at the launching ceremony, was
very anxious not only to restore their pre-war position in that trade, but to
improve on it, and that they were “contracting for vessels that would give the
maximum of service”.
The
christening ceremony was performed by Lady Margaret Pirrie. At the event, she was
presented with a silver chalice as a souvenir that looked like the Ardagh
Chalice. Margaret Pirrie was
Belfast’s first woman justice of the peace and the first woman to
receive the freedom of that city. Pirrie was also involved in charity work,
working as president of the Royal Victoria Hospital. She also served on the
Senate of Queen’s University, Belfast, and as president of Harland &
Wolff’s, the Belfast shipbuilding firm of which her husband was chair.
The SS
Ardmore II was fitted to carry about 1000 mixed cattle. In addition, she could
carry 75 first-class passengers, and also accommodate for steerage passengers. The
ship was fitted with five steam cranes for handling cargo. The Cork Examiner
described the vessel and its sea route: “She is a beautiful vessel, and most
up-to-date in every way, and an idea of her well-appointed
accommodation may be gathered from the fact that she cost over a quarter of a
million…The Ardmore will ply between Cork and Liverpool, and on her first visit
to Cork to visited and inspected by a fairly largenumber of
people who greatly admired her beautiful proportions. She leaves or Liverpool
to-day at two o’clock”.
Owing to
the unfortunate strike of joiners, which began in November 1920, the City of Cork
Steam Packet Company was forced tobring the steamer into commission
before her saloon and cabin accommodation were properly built.
The SS Ardmore
II was to be the first oil-burner to be used by a cross channel company between
England and Ireland with a speed of 14 knots. Previously the first steamshiptocross the Atlantic was in 1838 when Cork’s SS Sirius
established the record.
The
insulation was by the J D Insulating and Refrigerating Company, Ltd, Liverpool,
and the cooling system was by the Thermotank Company, Glasgow. The ventilation was
through the use of tempering batteries by James Keith Blackman Company, Ltd.
and the ventilation arrangement in the cattle spaces was created by the same
firm.
Fast forward to 11 November
1940, the SS Ardmore II had on board 500 cattle, about the same number of pigs
(which were deck cargo), and a quantity of agricultural produce. The actual
crew of the vessel numbered 20 and with them were five cattle or bullockmen. Still
owned by the City of Cork Steam Packet Company she was commanded by Captain
Thomas Ford of Liverpool. Thomas had been with the City of Cork Steam Packet Company
for sixteen years. He was well known in Cork, Dublin, Liverpool, Fishguard and
other ports through his lifetime at sea.
On 11 November 1940, the SS Ardmore II departed Cork for
Fishguard with a cargo of livestock. Hours later she was reported missing with
her crew. An uneasy vigil was maintained. Air and sea searches proved futile.
On 26 November one of her lifeboats, unfilled, was washed ashore on the Welsh
coast. The body of Captain Ford was discovered near Aberystwyth on 3 December.
Ten days later that of Seaman Frank O’Shea was retrieved from another Welsh
beach. His remains were returned to Cork for burial.
What caused the loss of the
ship was not verified for nearly sixty years. In February 1998, the wreck of the
SS Ardmore II was found by divers three miles south of the Saltee Islands, off
the Wexford coast, in 183 feet of water. The hull showed signs of a large
explosion from a mine near the engine room. In the Second World War section of
the Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition in Collins Barrack Museum, Dublin there is a
model of the SS Ardmore II and a plaque on Cork’s Penrose Quay also
remembers the 1940 tragedy.
Captions:
1097a. SS Ardmore II, c.1930 (source: Cork City
Library).
1097b. Plaque commemorating the sinking of SS
Ardmore II, Penrose Quay, Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
1097b. Plaque commemorating the sinking of SS Ardmore II, Penrose Quay, Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
