Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 18 February 2021

Journeys to a Truce: An Engineering Student Speaks

Cappoquin born Michael O’Donoghue was a final year student in early 1921, who was studying for his Batchelor of Engineering degree (mechanical and electrical) in UCC. He was Engineer Officer of the 2^nd Battalion, Cork IRA Brigade No.1. In his witness statement to the Bureau of Military History (WS1741), he provides insight into his life going between student and IRA member.

At UCC, Michael details that his class was a small one, about eight or so, and only three or four were Volunteers. University College, Cork had at that time great teams competing in the Cork County Senior Championships in hurling and football. In the years 1919-20-21 UCC teams reached the Cork County finals more than once. During January and early February 1921 Michael describes he put in a little hurling practice at UCC’s Gaelic grounds in the Mardyke. Selection of players for the University’s hurling and football championships – the Fitzgibbon and Sigerson Cups – were due for decision. He had not played much in Cork, but he had already competed in the Waterford championships in 1919 and 1920.

Turning up for hurling practice with Michael was Jerome Twohill, medical student, an ex-radio operator of the First World War and IRA member, and who also ‘digged’ in the Shamrock Hotel or lodgings at 31 Grand Parade. Mick Crowley, too, of Kilbrittain, afterwards second-in-command of Tom Barry’s flying column in West Cork, also turned up for hurling practices with John Joe Joyce of Midleton, a good friend of Michael.

Late in January 1921, Michael and volunteer Jack Daly met Raymond Kennedy, who was acting Officer in Command of the 2^nd Battalion. They asked him to arrange to have them redeployed to the Brigade flying columns in the county. Raymond told them that the county’s active service unit columns were at full strength and that scores of City Volunteers were offering their services for flying column operations in rural areas.  He told them that we were far more valuable in Cork City where the two city IRA battalions were holding down strong crown forces.

According to Michael, Cork City’s IRA members aimed to keep crown forces occupied and preventing them from being thrown into the campaign against the Flying Columns in areas from West Cork to North Cork to East Cork. As well as that British forces in Cork City hardly knew a single IRA officer either by name or by description.

During January and early February 1921, Michael kept a Colt .45 with ammunition in his lodgings in the Shamrock Hotel at 31 Grand Parade. The Shamrock was located above Miss O’Brien’s Restaurant. Many a night the landlady Mary O’Brien took the gun from him and concealed it herself during the long night hours, handing it over to him in the morning. There were a number of IRA men in the building sharing its 6-8 bedrooms, including her own brother. 

However, the 1921 Martial Law Ordinance decreed that all heads at households had to list the names and occupations of all those residing in their house and that they should hang this list for military inspection on the inside of the front door. Absentees or fresh arrivals or new residents were to be especially noted. The penalty for evasion of this blacklisting decree was all the rigours of a British military court martial. Miss O’Brien had complied, as did every other householder.

One day when Michael was at the university, a British military officer with about ten armed soldiers visited 31, Grand Parade. The officer removed the list of names, questioned Miss O’Brien about the then whereabouts of all the residents – who were out and noted the names of the men who were in. He ordered Miss O’Brien to show him to the rooms of these in turn, leaving his armed soldiers below in the hallway and at the door. He queried each man of those in about his name, age, occupation, and reason for being in, and checked, with particulars on list. Satisfied, he returned the sheet to Miss O’Brien and withdrew with his troops.

That night Michael remembers he kept the gun loaded in his overcoat pocket hanging in the wardrobe of his room. He shared the room with Mick O’Riordan, an IRA man with B-Company, 2^nd Battalion, who worked as a draper’s assistant over in the South Main Street.

The night passed without incident and next morning he brought the gun, loaded and all, with him to the Crawford Municipal Technical Institute where he was to do some practical work and study in the electrical laboratory.

Michael’s two IRA class-mates were Bill O’Connor and Ned Enright. During the morning laboratory work Michael did not feel at all at ease, carrying in his trouser pocket the big Colt .45. At lunch break, he decided on going ahead to the University College to hand up his gun to the quartermaster, Jerry Wall, of A Company, and then return to his digs. Enright, who was in digs down the Mardyke Walk, volunteered to accompany him as a scout and look-out. However, on route up College Road, both ran into a group of Black and Tans.

Both passed through a group of Black and Tans with nervousness speaking aloud being late for classes. They reached the College safely and gave the Quartermaster for safe keeping the gun for the company’s arms dump.

Captions:

1087a. Former site of the Shamrock Hotel, 31 Grand Parade, Cork City, present day, blue building in the centre (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 11 February 2021

Journeys to a Truce: The Compensation Claims Begin

This month, one hundred years ago, the Recorder or Chief Magistrate for Cork City, Matthew Bourke, began the municipal hearings for the compensation claims arising out of the Burning of Cork in December 1920. A total of 682 claims were before him and they were to occupy the court for several weeks. A handful were written up in the Cork Examiner and reveal the depth of the damage done but also the early steps being taken to rehabilitate livelihoods and building stock in the city centre.

On 17 February 1921, the first case taken was that of the proprietors of the Munster Arcade – Messrs Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson and Company, who claimed losses of £405,000. On top of this there was a claim by the landlord of the premises Charles Harvey. The two sets of solicitors present J J Horgan and Messrs Staunton and Sons put forward their respective cases. Mr Horgan described uniformed crown forces, converging on the Munster Arcade in the middle of St Patrick’s Street on 11 December 1920 after setting Grants and Cashes on fire. He continued to detail the blowing in the front windows and the throwing in of explosives. With the front on fire, the five or six employees in the building made their way to the door leading to Elbow Lane.

The employees were met by several uniformed men and held up. Some of the men entered the premises taking with them explosives and tins of petrol and a bag containing some heavy substance. They went upstairs and set fire to the other parts of the premises. Meanwhile, the employees were let go at the door but were met by another party of uniformed men who told them to go back and shots were fired at them. They finally managed to escape into Cook Street and took refuge in a house there.

The Munster Arcade also had premises in Oliver Plunkett Street, where a furniture business was mainly carried on, and these were destroyed completely. With regards to damages, it was estimated that it would cost at least £93,450 5s 1d to rebuild this latter building. They had a cabinet factory at the other side of George’s Street, which would cost £7,774 5s 9d to rebuild. Then there was a laundry and shirt factory held under a yearly tenancy in Robert Street, the contents of which were valued at £583 9s 2d. They were not making a claim for the reconstruction of these premises as they were only yearly tenants, but he understood that a claim had been lodged by the owner.

Then there were the interior fittings and equipment on the St Patrick’s Street site. With regard to the stocks, every single item was destroyed, but fortunately the books were kept in a fireproof room, and they were saved. The company desired that not one halfpenny more that they had lost should be awarded. They wished to make no profit as regards these stocks. Their last stocktaking was on 31 July 1920 and the stock at that time was taken at the cost price, except where the value was less than cost price by reason of certain goods having been a long time in stock. That value was £74,507. Since that date there was added stock at the cost price of £59, 626 5s 10d, which was brought up to £59, 895 11s 1d by freight and carriage charges, making a total stock of £134 402 11s 1d.

Sales in the same period and from 31 July amounted to £45,855 15s 4d. Some goods that were also on approbation at the time of the fire brought the net loss as regards stock-in-trade to £88,146 15s 9d.

In addition, the company had erected temporary buildings, but they felt that the temporary trade pursued in them would only pay its way. They estimated that there was no probability of getting a place of the magnitude of the Munster Arcade into operational order under a period of about three years. The company did not expect in substance to make any profits of the company for three years totalling £37,341 or an average roughly of £12, 447 per year. The auditors considered that the figure would be a very reasonable and moderate claim for the injury done to the business.

The company had also taken a shop at 97 St Patrick’s Street, for which they had to pay £406 subject to a yearly rental of £130 and they had to erect temporary wooden premises costing £3,500. During the cessation of work they had to pay salaries for a month, as well as paying the rent of the destroyed premises for two months.

Evidence was then presented by Patrick Barry who was a dispatch employee, Mrs Gaffney who was a housekeeper at the premises, and Finbarr McAuliffe, who was an apprentice. Mr Robert Walker was also examined. His father, Robert, was the architect of the original Munster Arcade premises and Robert (Junior) presented the original plans of the premises.

Robert had prepared a detailed estimate of the cost of re-constructing the premises as they were before. The Arcade, he said covered three-fifths of an acre, and noted that the cost to rebuild it would be £119, 742 and it would take three years to complete the work. Mr Denis Lucey, Building contractor, Denis O’Sullivan, Furniture Department, Patrick Barry on the cost of plumbing, heating, and gas fitting. John Rezin gave evidence of the value of the claim for customers goods in possession of the company at the time of the fires as well as the employee tools and personal property.

Matthew Bourke, the Recorder, ended the Munster Arcade cases and the following day gave his verdict. He deemed that some of the figures given bordered on excess and gave a compensation figure for £213,647. However, with the British government not set up to give compensation. The Munster Arcade, and the rest of the 681 claims would have to wait until after the treaty was signed in January 1922 before any movement was made on resolving compensation claims. Indeed, reconstruction only began at the Munster Arcade in 1924 it was to be in late 1926 before the new premises was finished.

Captions:

1086a. Munster Arcade pre Burning of Cork, December 1920 from Stratten and Stratten’s Dublin, Cork, and the South of Ireland 1892 (source: Cork City Library).

1086b. The reconstructed Munster Arcade building, present day, now Penneys (picture: Kieran McCarthy).