Category Archives: Uncategorized

Kieran’s Cork Harbour Festival Events, Early June 2021

Cork City Events, Cork History, Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorized, Ward Events

– Bridges of Cork – Online Talk:

  • 8 June 2021, 19:30 – 20:30, In association with Cllr Kieran McCarthy.

Cork City’s growth on a swamp is an amazing story. The city possesses a unique character derived from a combination of its plan, topography, built fabric and its location on the lowest crossing point of the river Lee as it meets the tidal estuary and the second largest natural harbour in the world. Indeed, it is also a city that is unique among other cities, it is the only one which has experienced all phases of Irish urban development, from circa 600 AD to the present day. Hence its bridges all date to different times of urban growth and possess different architectural traits. This zoom presentation explores the general development of the city’s bridges and why they were historically so important and are still so important in connecting the different parts of Cork City together.

Bridges of Cork – Online Talk ~ Cork Harbour Festival

FREE, Register here: https://forms.gle/pazrXi1nVPQFSqKJ7

Daly's Bridge, AKA Shaky Bridge, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Daly’s Bridge, AKA Shaky Bridge, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

– Bridges of Cork Treasure Hunt:

  • 12 June 2021, 13:00 – 13:15, In association with Cllr Kieran McCarthy.

They say the best way to get to know a city is to walk it – in Cork you can get lost in narrow streets, marvel at old cobbled lane ways, photograph old street corners, look up beyond the modern shopfronts, gaze at clues from the past, be enthused and at the same time disgusted by a view, smile at interested locals, engage in the forgotten and the remembered, search and connect for something of oneself, thirst in the sense of story-telling – in essence feel the DNA of the place. This treasure hunt is all about looking up and around and exploring the heart of Cork City whilst exploring the stories and place of the city centre’s bridges.

Suitable for all ages, approx. 2hr self-guided walk, mixed footpaths on city’s quays.

FREE, Join: Meet Cllr Kieran McCarthy at National Monument, Grand Parade, Cork, between 13:00-13:15, no booking required. Bring a pen. Self guided heritage treasure hunt.

Bridges of Cork Treasure Hunt ~ Cork Harbour Festival

St Patrick's Bridge, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

St Patrick’s Bridge, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

– The Marina – Self Guided Audio Trail:

  • 4 June 2021 – June 14, 2021, 06:00 – 23:55,In association with Cllr Kieran McCarthy, FREE

A stroll down The Marina is popular by many people. The area is particularly characterized by its location on the River Lee and the start of Cork Harbour. Here scenery, historical monuments and living heritage merge to create a historical tapestry of questions of who developed such a place of ideas. Where not all the answers have survived, The Marina is lucky, unlike other suburbs, that many of its former residents have left archives, autobiographies, census records, diaries, old maps and insights into how the area developed. These give an insight into ways of life and ambitions in the past, some of which can help the researcher in the present day in understanding The Marina’s evolution and sense of place going forward. Take a walk with us and discover more.

The audio tour will be available here to stream live on your smartphone from 4-14 June 2021, The Marina – Self Guided Audio Trail ~ Cork Harbour Festival

Autumn at The Marina, Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Autumn at The Marina, Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Cllr McCarthy: Former ESB Sub Station Should be a Major City Cultural Asset, 24 May 2020

Arts, Cork History, Enterprise, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, Uncategorized

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)
Caroline Street Former ESB Sub Station, Cork present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Cllr McCarthy: Enhanced Recreational Jewels in the Heart of Douglas Village Most Welcome

Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, Uncategorized, Ward Development

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. 

Cllr McCarthy: Good Progress being made on Greenway Works

Uncategorized

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.

Cllr McCarthy: Working with Residents Crucial on Rochestown Greenway Proposal, 14 May 2021

Uncategorized

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.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 13 May 2021

Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized
1099a. Fr James O'Callaghan, c.1917 (source: O’Brien family archive).

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).
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).
1099c. Burial place of Fr James O’Callaghan, Clogheen Church, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

Kieran’s Question to CE and Motions, Cork City Council Meeting, 10 May 2021

Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized, Ward Development

Question to CE:

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).

READ more on Kieran’s Questions and motions,
Kieran’s Council Questions and Motions | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

Cllr McCarthy: Empower the Regions and the EU will be a Success, 9 May 2021

Cork City Events, European Work, International, Uncategorized
Cllr Kieran McCarthy, speaking virtually at Strasbourg, 9 May 2021
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.

European Committee of the Regions Work, 7 May 2021:

European Work, Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized


READ the May 2021 European Alliance newsletter, a group which I am proud to chair at present,

https://web.cor.europa.eu/ea/News/Newsletter/Documents/EA%20Newsletter%2005-21.pdf

Introduction to May Newsletter by Kieran:

“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”

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 6 May 2021

Cork History, Uncategorized
1098a. Ballykinlar Internment Camp, Co. Down, 1921 (picture: Cork City Library).
1098a. Ballykinlar Internment Camp, Co. Down, 1921 (picture: Cork City Library).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 6 May 2021

Journeys to a Truce: A Corkman at Ballykinlar

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.

Captions:

1098a. Ballykinlar Internment Camp, Co. Down, 1921 (picture: Cork City Library).

1098b. Internee William Johnson’s sketch looking out from one of the camps in Ballykinlar, 1921 (picture: Down County Museum).

1098b. Internee William Johnson's sketch looking out from one of the camps in Ballykinlar, 1921 (picture: Down County Museum).
1098b. Internee William Johnson’s sketch looking out from one of the camps in Ballykinlar, 1921 (picture: Down County Museum).