Category Archives: Landscapes

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 16 September 2021

Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 16 September 2021

Journeys to a Truce: The Rebuilding Pana Report

September 1921 coincided with several notes being published by the Reconstruction Committee of the Corporation of Cork outlining their six-month review in the Cork Examiner. By an order of the Council of the Corporation of Cork on 26 February 1921 a special committee consisting of one member from each electoral area was appointed to supervise the work of reconstruction of the destroyed portion of the city during the Burning of Cork event on 11/12 December 1920.

The committee was authorised to co-opt members from other bodies such as the Cork Industrial Development Association, the Technical Instruction Committee, the Employers Federation, the District Trades and Labour Council and the Cooperative Building Federation. The committee was seen as thoroughly representative of the industrial, commercial, and labour interests of the city.

Between February and September 1921, six meetings of the general committee were held and their minutes are recorded in a surviving minute book (1921-1924) in Cork City and County Archives. Many discussions also took place between a sub committee, which was appointed to deal with the nuanced details, and to formulate proposals with the owners, architects and builders of the relevant premises.

Cork Corporation building bye-laws dictated that premises could only be re-erected without the permission of the Reconstruction Committee, whose job was to approve plans for entire buildings, so that proposed schemes could be viewed and regulated. The same applied to the temporary timber premises that had been erected – of which twelve businesses are recorded as located on cleared plots within the St Patrick’s Street area by late September 1921. Time limits were placed on temporary structures in order that actual rebuilding work be incentivised.

Despite the building by-laws, it was a fine balance by the Reconstruction Committee to give business owners some leeway, ask that rebuilding work be started but also create a spirit of collaboration. Many owners were still emotionally raw, were broke, could not survive on the offers of insurance companies, and needed more time to think about their future needs.

The job of the committee was also to lobby for the compensation packages arising out of damage, inflicted by British forces, to be delivered. But by September 1921, there was still no compensation forthcoming from Westminster. In general, it was hoped that perhaps part of the Truce negotiations may bring a significant compensation fund and one that could especially kick start the owner of a property, who did not have reserve funding put aside in order to rebuild.

In his six month review, chair of the Reconstruction Committee Cllr Barry Egan details that aside from compensation funding, one of the prominent aspects regularly discussed at committee level was the possible re-alignment of building lines in the damaged St Patrick’s Street area plus creating a widened Winthrop Street. In the pre-Burning of Cork era, footpaths were narrow and some buildings, constructed in the nineteenth century jutted out in front of their adjacent ones.

Winthrop Street, which was a much narrower street to what exists today, was targeted for widening and for creating more of a plaza as it meets St Patrick’s Street. It was suggested that the work could be accomplished by acquiring the burnt out sites of Messrs Thompson, Murphy and Tyler, and to determine a new building line running north and south through their sites.

To allow for more space, it was also proposed to close up and build over the next street – west of Winthrop Street – that of Robert Street – and transfer back the whole of what was described as block number three across the width of the street – in otherwards eliminate the street.  Discussions were held with property owners on Robert Street but strenuous opposition was put forward to the closing of that thoroughfare. The City Solicitor advised the Reconstruction Committee that streets could not be closed or eliminated except upon an agreement being entered into with the owners and occupiers of the property therein. The Robert Street closure was eventually put to one side in the negotiations.

Negotiations between the Reconstruction Committee and the business owners were intensive. However, the minute books do reveal positive public support for the work of the committee. In the six-month report, Cllr Egan places on record the committee’s high appreciation of the manner in which Mr William Roche of Roches Stores met the committee and the concessions supplied so far from him. The object with him was trying to rectify a building line in area number one on St Patrick’s Street and to possibly increase the width of Merchant Street on the western side. Messrs J Daly and company Ltd expressed a full sympathy with the improvements proposed by the committee and their willingness to make a concession of property towards the widening of Merchant Street. Merchant Street in time though was subsumed into Merchant’s Quay shopping in the 1990s.

There is an addendum document to the committee’s six-month report. Joseph Delany, the City Engineer, outlines his concerns that without plans being submitted, the rebuilding ran the risk of building heights and respective architectural design being out of sync with neighbouring rebuilds. Technically a business could come back with just a one storey design and with a jarring architectural design. The City Engineer references the need to set a fixed policy on the use of Irish materials such as local limestone in particular. Mr Delany noted: “if there is no standard as to height there are possibilities of one-storey deformities placed in juxtaposition to buildings of three or four storeys high on either side. Balance, symmetry, unity, harmony in design will be difficult to achieve under these conditions of procedure by individuals”.

Caption:

1117a. Section of map produced from Reconstruction Committee Minute Book, 1921-1924, showing proposed building plot re-alignments (see red line) (source: courtesy of Cork City and County Archives, ref: CP/CM/RE/1).

Cllr McCarthy: Marina Park Section Opening Delayed Until November, 14 September 2021

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

In a recent reply to a question posed by Cllr Kieran McCarthy at the recent City Council meeting, Cork City Council have noted a revised completion date of the Marina Park section next to Páirc Ui Chaoimh. Due to Covid 19, delays in construction works and poor weather has pushed the opening date from this month to mid to late November this year.

Cllr McCarthy noted: “The park looks more or less ready to open. It looks well and will add immensely to The Marina district. It’s been a long two years with construction work stopping and starting due to Covid 19. Phase one works has comprised the construction of a new public car park at the Shandon Boat Club end of the Marina, as well as a new cycle lane and pedestrian walkway – these are all now completed and are very well used. The public can now see the grass on sunken lawn areas in the park section and the diversion of a watercourse, as well as new pathways – all of which are in place.

“One can also see that the installation of perhaps the most eye-catching part of the project – a noticeable red steel pavilion on the site of, and replicating, the central hall of the former Munster Agricultural Showgrounds. The sides of the pavilion will not be enclosed, and there will be possibilities for coffee pods and outdoor seating and arts and crafts. The project is a e.10m investment into the area, of which nearly e.5m came from EU Urban Sustainable Funds, which are part of the EU’s structural funds and are a crucial source of funding for cities”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.

Second Call-Out, Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project 2021/22

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

The Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project launches in its 20th year and is open to schools in Cork City. Funded by Cork City Council, the Project is an initiative of the Cork City Heritage Plan. 

The Project (est. 2002/03) is aimed at both primary and post primary level.  Project books may be submitted on any aspect of Cork’s rich past. Suggested topics are over the page. The theme for this year’s project – the 2021/22 school season – is “Cork Heritage Treasures”.

FREE and important project support in the form of funded workshops (socially distanced, virtual or hybrid) led by Cllr Kieran McCarthy in participating schools will be held in October 2021. This is a 45min physical or virtual workshop to give participating students ideas for compilation and resources.

2022 Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project BrochureDownload

First Call-Out, Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project, 2021/22

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

The Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project launches in its 20th year and is open to schools in Cork City. Funded by Cork City Council, the Project is an initiative of the Cork City Heritage Plan. 

The Project (est. 2002/03) is aimed at both primary and post primary level.  Project books may be submitted on any aspect of Cork’s rich past. Suggested topics are over the page. The theme for this year’s project – the 2021/22 school season – is “Cork Heritage Treasures”.

FREE and important project support in the form of funded workshops (socially distanced, virtual or hybrid) led by Cllr Kieran McCarthy in participating schools will be held in October 2021. This is a 45min physical or virtual workshop to give participating students ideas for compilation and resources.

2022 Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project BrochureDownload

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 19 August 2021

Cork City Events, Cork History, Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorized
1113a. Daly's Bridge aka Shaky Bridge, present day, which is one of the featured bridges in Kieran's new audio heritage trail (picture: Kieran McCarthy).
1113a. Daly’s Bridge aka Shaky Bridge, present day, which is one of the featured bridges in Kieran’s new audio heritage trail (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 19 August 2021

Kieran’s Heritage Week Audio Heritage Trails

The midway point has been reached for National Heritage Week 2021. There is still time to engage with my two virtual projects this year – the audio heritage trails of the Bridges of Cork and The Marina respectively. Usually, I am up to my eyes happily facilitating historical walking tours. But Covid is still scuppering my physical events. but hopefully the next few months will coincide with better news for the gathering of large groups that do not have to be socially distanced apart.

Both new audio trails are hosted by Meitheal Mara and I. All you need is your smartphone and some headphones. The first audio trail provides insights into the histories of the Cork city centre’s bridges, their place in Cork and some of their surrounding histories. The walk around the bridges is about two hours in duration. The trail is clockwise from South Gate Bridge up the south channel and down the north channel to cross back to the south channel. It ends at Nano Nagle Bridge.

They say the best way to get to know a place is to walk it. Through many centuries Cork has experienced every phase of Irish urban development. It is a city you can get lost in narrow streets, marvel at old cobbled lane ways, photograph old street corners, gaze at clues from the past, engage in the forgotten and the remembered, search and connect for something of oneself, and thirst in the sense of story-telling – in essence feel the DNA of the place. With so many layers of history in Cork, there is much to see on any walk around Cork City and its respective neighbourhoods. The River Lee has had and continues to have a key role in the city’s evolution.  Many Corkonians and visitors have crossed over the River Lee’s bridges and have appreciated the river’s tranquil and hypnotic flow.

The audio trail begins at the oldest of the city’s bridges – that of South Gate Bridge. In the time of the Anglo Normans establishing a fortified walled settlement and a trading centre in Cork around 1200 AD, South Gate Drawbridge formed one of the three entrances – North Gate Bridge and Watergate being the others. A document for the year 1620 stated that the mayor, Sheriff and commonality of Cork, commissioned Alderman Dominic Roche to erect two new drawbridges in the city over the river where timber bridges existed at the South Gate Bridge and the other at North Gate.

In May 1711, agreement was reached by the council of the City that North Gate Bridge would be rebuilt in stone in 1712 while in 1713, South Gate Bridge would be replaced with a stone arched structures. South Gate Bridge still stands today in its past form as it did over 300 years ago apart from a small bit of restructuring and strengthening in early 1994.

The second of the new audio trails is on The Marina. 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, that archives, newspaper accounts, census records and old maps and other insights have survived to showcase how the area and the wider area has 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.

Cork’s Marina was originally called the Navigation Wall or in essence it was an additional dock for ships adjacent to Cork City’s South Docks area. It was completed in 1761.

Following the constitution of the Cork Harbour Commissioners in 1814 and their introduction of steam dredging, a vigorous programme of river and berth deepening, quay and wharf building commenced. The dredger of the Cork Harbour Commissioners deposited the silt from the river into wooden barges, which were then towed ashore. The silt was re-deposited behind the Navigation Wall.

During the Great Famine, the deepening of the river created jobs for 1,000 men who worked on widening the physical dock of the Navigation Wall. In essence a fine road was constructed, which linked into Cork’s South Docks. To give an aesthetic to the new road, a fine row of elm trees was planted c.1856 by Prof. Edmund Murphy of Queen’s College Cork (now UCC). The elm trees were part of a crop and tree growing experiment.

In 1870, the Gaelic poet and scholar Donncha Ó Floinn put forward to the Improvements Committee of Cork Corporation that the new road of the Navigation wall be named Slí na hAbhann, which means the ‘pathway by the river’. Ó Floinn’s proposal was not accepted. The matter came before the Improvements Committee again in 1872. This time Ó Floinn suggested that the promenade be named ‘The Marina’. He outlined that ‘The Marina’ was the name allocated to a recently reclaimed piece of land near Palermo in Sicily. In July 1872, Cork Corporation formally adopted ‘The Marina’ as the name of the new road or promenade.

Listen to Kieran’s new audio trails under history trails at www.corkheritage.ie

Captions:

1113a. Daly’s Bridge aka Shaky Bridge, present day, which is one of the featured bridges in Kieran’s new audio heritage trail (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

1113b. The Marina, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

1113b. The Marina, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

1113b. The Marina, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 12 August 2021

Arts, Cork City Events, Cork History, Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorized, Ward Events
1112a. Upstream view of the south channel of the River from Cork's Parliament Bridge on a recent sunset; Discover the story of the city’s bridges and some of the rich local history on Kieran’s new audio heritage trail on the history trails section at www.corkheritage.ie.
1112a. Upstream view of the south channel of the River from Cork’s Parliament Bridge on a recent sunset; Discover the story of the city’s bridges and some of the rich local history on Kieran’s new audio heritage trail on the history trails section at www.corkheritage.ie.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 12 August 2021

Cork Heritage Open Day and Week Approaches

Cork Heritage Open Day and Heritage Week are looming. Cork Heritage Open Day which is organised by Cork City Council in partnership with the Heritage Council, is a wonderful celebration of the built heritage in the city. To mark the start of National Heritage Week, Cork Heritage Open Day will take place virtually on Saturday August 14.

The website www.corkheritageopenday.ie will go live on Saturday 14 August and will feature virtual guided tours of over 45 historic buildings from all over Cork City. Members of the public are allowed a glimpse of some of Cork’s most fascinating buildings ranging from the medieval to the military. The event showcases the many elements of Cork City’s rich heritage in a fun, family friendly way. The team behind the Open Day do group the buildings into general themes, Steps and Steeples, Customs and Commerce, Medieval to Modern, Saints and Scholars and Life and Learning.

These themes remind the participant to remember how our city spreads from the marsh to the undulating hills surrounding it, how layered the city’s past is, how the city has been blessed to have many scholars contributing to its development and ambition in a variety of ways, and how the way of life in Cork is intertwined with a strong sense of place.

It is always a great opportunity to explore behind some of Cork’s grandest buildings. With the past of a port city, Cork architecture is varied and much is hidden amongst the city’s narrow streets and laneways. Much of its architecture is also inspired by international styles – the British style of artwork pervading in most cases – but it’s always pays to look up in Cork and marvel at the Amsterdamesque-style of our eighteenth century structures on streets such as Oliver Plunkett Street or at the gorgeous tall spires of the city’s nineteenth-century churches.

For my part I am involved in a short film on the history of Cork City Hall. Cork has had a number of City Hall sites through the ages but none as grand as the present one. In the age of the Anglo Norman walled town and eighteenth century, civic business was conducted in King’s Castle. Business was also conducted in Cork City Courthouse for a time in the nineteenth century. In 1883, it was decided by a number of Cork businessmen that the Corn Exchange should be converted into an exhibition centre, a centre, which in 1892 became Cork’s City Hall. In December 1920, the premises were burned down by fires attributed to the Black and Tans as retribution for republican attacks. A new City Hall by architects Jones and Kelly was subsequently built. The limestone like for so many of Cork’s buildings is from nearby Little Island. The foundation stone of Cork City Hall was laid by Éamon de Valera on 9 July 1932.

 Sites that also appear on the online Cork Heritage Open Day are Riverstown House in Glanmire, the Quaker Meeting House and Graveyard, The Maryborough Hotel, Cork Opera House, The Courthouse on Washington Street, Ballincollig Gunpowder Mills, Blarney Castle, Cork City Hall, Cork Savings Bank, St Luke’s Church and the Military Museum in Collins Barracks.

The virtual one stop shop www.corkheritageopenday.ie celebrates various Cork Communities who through interviews, video and imagery tell their story. For example, check out:

  • Memories of a Cork Jewish Childhood, which has been produced by Ruti Lachs and sees former Cork residents remember their childhoods in Ireland, their Jewish upbringing, the synagogue and the characters. Interspersed with photos from the last hundred years of life in Jewish Cork, these stories paint a picture of a time and community gone by.
  • Anne Twomey from the Shandon Area History Group speaks about Emma Hourigan, an extraordinary woman from the Maddens Buildings in Cork who played a central role in the Irish Revolution 1916-1923.
  • Biddy McDonagh and Jean O’Donovan from the Traveller Visibility Group discuss their language Gammon and Cant and the tradition of the Beady Pockets in the Traveller Community.
  • Jim Fahy speaks about the language of the Stone Masons “Bearlager na Saor”.
  • Valerie Power, Breda Scanlon and Suzanne Dineen pay tribute to the Shawlies in Cork.
  • Historian Michael Lenihan uses historic postcards to show how Cork has changed in the past 100 years.

For the first time, Cork Heritage Open Day, celebrates the natural heritage of Cork and members of the public can enjoy a wonderful guided tour of the Mangala in Douglas with William O’Halloran and a fascinating insight into the Glen River Park with Julie Forrester and Gerard O’Brien. For those wishing to test their knowledge of the streets, bridges and buildings in Cork, historian Liam O’hÚigín has created a special quiz for Cork Heritage Open Day!

Heritage Open Day is usually the start of weeklong heritage week events in Cork. For the second year in a row, physical events have been curtailed. My own historical walking tours remain ‘off the road’ at present. I have written up over fifteen of my tours complete with pictures and some very short films and put them in a new section on my website www.corkheritage.ie.

In addition on the website I have partnered with Meitheal Mara and Joya Kuin in putting together two audio heritage trails. The first is on the various historic sites down The Marina and this came out in early June. Our Heritage Week Audio Heritage Trail is on the 31 bridges of Cork. Start at South Gate Bridge and make your way anti-clockwise around the South Channel and North Channel of the River Lee. All you need is a smart phone and a set of head phones!

Captions:

1112a. Upstream view of the south channel of the River from Cork’s Parliament Bridge on a recent sunset; Discover the story of the city’s bridges and some of the rich local history on Kieran’s new audio heritage trail on the history trails section at www.corkheritage.ie.

1112b. Canon from the Siege of Sevastopol, 1854-55 on The Marina, Cork, present day; Discover the story of The Marina and its rich local history on Kieran’s new audio heritage trail on the history trails section at www.corkheritage.ie.

1112b. Canon from the Siege of Sevastopol, 1854-55 on The Marina, Cork, present day; Discover the story of The Marina and its rich local history on Kieran’s new audio heritage trail on the history trails section at www.corkheritage.ie.

Cllr McCarthy to Discuss History of Cork City Hall for Virtual Cork Heritage Open Day

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

Local historian Cllr Kieran McCarthy will participate in the virtual Cork Heritage Open Day this Saturday 14 August. Cork Heritage Open Day which is organised by Cork City Council in partnership with the Heritage Council. The website www.corkheritageopenday.ie will go live on Saturday 14 August and will feature virtual guided tours of over 45 historic buildings from all over Cork City. Members of the public are allowed a glimpse of some of Cork’s most fascinating buildings ranging from the medieval to the military.

Kieran will participate by showcasing some of the stories connected to Cork City Hall as an important heritage building within the city. Kieran noted: “Cork has had a number of City Hall sites through the ages but none as grand as the present one. In 1883, it was decided by a number of Cork businessmen that the Corn Exchange should be converted into an exhibition centre, a centre, which in 1892 became Cork’s City Hall. In December 1920, the premises were burned down by fires attributed to the Black and Tans as retribution for republican attacks. A new City Hall by architects Jones and Kelly was subsequently built. The limestone like for so many of Cork’s buildings is from nearby Little Island. The foundation stone of Cork City Hall was laid by Éamon de Valera on 9 July 1932”.

Maryborough Hotel will also feature in this year’s Heritage Open Day. For the first time, the Open Day will also celebrate the natural heritage of Cork and members of the public can enjoy a wonderful virtual guided tour of the Mangala in Douglas with William O’Halloran.

In addition, for National Heritage Week, Kieran has partnered with Meitheal Mara and Joya Kuin in putting together two audio heritage trails. The first is on the various historic sites down The Marina and this came out in early June. Their Heritage Week Audio Heritage Trail is on the 31 bridges of Cork. All you need is a smart phone and a set of head phones. The bridges audio trail can be found on Kieran’s www.corkheritage.ie website under history trails from 14 August.

Cllr McCarthy: Consultation on Draft Cork City Development Plan Open, 31 July 2021

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

Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy is calling on residents, and communities in the south east of the city and beyond to have their say on the 2022-2028 draft Cork City Development Plan. The draft Cork City Development Plan, has recently been published and provides an overarching framework to help shape the transformation of the City over the next six years by supporting the creation of 20,000 homes and 31,000 jobs.

Cllr McCarthy noted: “Eight weeks of public consultation on the plan have just commenced and I encourage members of the public, community groups, representative organisations to make a submission to the draft plan before the closing date of 4 October. The draft plan can be viewed at www.corkcitydevelopmentplan.ie and the public can have their say on the Plan at https://consult.corkcity.ie/”

“There is some great ideas and opportunities within this draft blueprint for Cork as the city embarks upon an exciting phase of growth and change – with sustainability, quality of life, social inclusion, and climate resilience at the plan’s core. In particular the need to protect green spaces and create more in areas from Ballinlough to Douglas is essential”.

Cork City Council CE, Ann Doherty said: “This Plan is significant in many ways; not least it is the first local policy-based expression of the ambition for Cork contained in ‘Project Ireland 2040’ and the National Planning Framework. The Plan follows widespread listening and engagement with stakeholders in the first round of public consultation. The draft plan’s rationale is further informed by a suite of evidence-based studies on the various opportunities and challenges facing the city”.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 15 July 2021

Cork History, Landscapes, Uncategorized

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 15 July 2021

Journeys to a Truce: The 11 July 1921 Settlement

This week is the centenary of the signing of the Truce on 11 July 1921 bringing the Irish War of Independence in Ireland to an end. Technically talks had begun in December 1920 but they petered out when British Prime Minister David Lloyd George demanded that the IRA first relinquish their arms. Renewed talks began in the spring of 1921, after the Prime Minister was lobbied by Herbert H Asquith and the Liberal opposition, the Labour Party, and the Trades Union Congress.

From the perspective of the British government, it seemed as if the IRA’s guerrilla campaign would persist indefinitely, with escalating losses in British casualties and in finance. In addition, the British government was confronting acute blame at home and abroad for the measures of British forces in Ireland. On 6 June 1921, the British made their first peace-making act, calling off the strategy of house burnings as reprisals.

On the other side, IRA leaders and in particular Michael Collins, felt that the IRA, as it was then organised, could not continue indefinitely. It lacked arms and ammunition to face down the even regular British soldiers arriving into Ireland.

On 24 June 1921, the British Coalition Government’s Cabinet decided to propose talks with the leader of Sinn Féin. Coalition Liberals and Unionists agreed that an offer to negotiate would strengthen the Government’s position, especially if Sinn Féin refused. On 24 June Prime Minister Lloyd George wrote to Éamon de Valera as “the chosen leader of the great majority in Southern Ireland”, suggesting a conference. 

Sinn Féin agreed to talks. De Valera and Lloyd George ultimately agreed to a truce that was intended to end the fighting and lay the ground for detailed negotiations. Its terms were signed on 9 July and came into effect on 11 July. Negotiations on a settlement, however, were deferred for several months as the British government demanded that the IRA first decommission its weapons, but this demand was ultimately withdrawn. It was arranged that British troops would stay restricted to their barracks.

However, in the three days between the terms being signed and coming into effect, Irish Truce historian Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc details at least sixty people from both sides of the conflict were killed across the country. Such stories appear in the heart of Dara McGrath’s photographic exhibition entitled For Those That Tell No Tales in the Crawford Art Gallery on sites associated with the War of Independence. There is a poignant picture of an execution location of The Lough with associated descriptive text. It was at 8 pm, on the evening of Sunday 10 July 1921, four young unarmed and off-duty soldiers, Private Henry Morris (aged 21) and Corporal Harold Daker (aged 28) of the South Stafforshire Regiment and Sappers Albert Camm (aged 20) and Albert Powell (aged 20) of the Royal Engineers were seized by a patrol of seven Volunteers. The Volunteers had been searching an area from Donovan’s Bridge along the Western Road in search of a suspected civilian informer. Executed on the northern side of The Lough, the four bodies were dumped at Ellis’s Quarry on its southside. All four were found blindfolded and shot dead.

The only surviving account of the executions by a Volunteer participant is the official report sent to IRA Headquarters. It simply reads: “We held up four soldiers and searched them but found no arms. We took them to a field in our area where they were executed before 9pm”. It has been suggested that the killing of these men was a personal reprisal by the IRA for the murder of Volunteer Denis Spriggs just two days earlier on 8 July. Private Morris was from Walsall and served in the East Kent Regiment during the First World War. He is buried in Ryecroft cemetery, Walsall. Corporal Daker was the son of William and Mary Daker. He is buried in St Ann’s Churchyard, Chasetown, Walsall. Sapper Albert Camm was from Holland Street in Nottingham. Sapper Powell was the son of Arthur and Jane Powell of Abbott Road, London. He is buried at Nunhead, All Saints Cemetery in Southwark.

On the advent of the Truce, Michael O’Donoghue, Engineer Officer with the 2nd Battalion of Cork No.1 Brigade remarks in witness statement (WS 1741) of the Bureau of Military History of a new-found freedom and an almost too good to be true scenario;

“Now came July, and with the scorching summer heatwave came rumours of peace and negotiations for a cease fire. Then before we had time to realise what was happening, as everything moved so suddenly, the Truce was upon us on a July 11th 1921 at midday. Overnight everything was changed. The fugitive rebel army, the IRA, was recognised as Ireland’s national army by the British Government. There was an uneasy peace. ‘Twas hard, even for the IRA themselves, to credit that the fortunes of war had changed to such an extent. we could now move everywhere in town and country. We exulted in our new found authority and importance. Everywhere the people regarded us as heroes and hailed us as conquerors and turned our heads with flattery, adulation and praise. We were youngsters in our teens and early twenties, and who could blame us if we got intoxicated with all the hero worship and rejoicings. Even those people who had maintained a cautious neutrality, standing on the ditch during the War of Independence, now rushed to acclaim us and to entertain us”.

Caption:

1108a. Execution location site for four British soldiers, 10 July 1921 at northern side of The Lough, Cork, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Cllr McCarthy: Ballybrack Woods Stream Needs to be Protected, 9 July 2021

Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, Uncategorized

Cllr Kieran McCarthy has asked Irish Water that Ballybrack Woods stream needs to be protected more from pollution outbreaks as witnessed in recent weeks. Cllr McCarthy noted: “I was very disappointed to see the pollution outbreak in the stream. Much work has been done by volunteers such as Douglas Tidy Towns, citizens environment activists and Cork City Council to protect this gem of a green space within the heart of Donnybrook”.

 “Irish Water has got back to me and have completed their site investigation; the water quality is back to normal and whoever the culprit was and has stopped pouring a chemical or chemicals into the stream. Many thanks to everyone for raising the pollution incident so quickly. Irish Water at this point have not formally discovered who the culprit was, so one needs to be legally careful on naming anyone.  I’d ask though that all users of the woods and the Mangala just keep an eye out for future pollution incidents and report them just as fast”, concluded Cllr McCarthy.

In correspondence to Cllr McCarthy, Irish Water confirmed that a site inspection of the wastewater infrastructure was undertaken in the Calderwood/Ballybrack area on 7 July following Irish Water receiving this report. The wastewater infrastructure at Calderwood Road and the Ballybrack Walkway were inspected and was observed to be operating normally. A full walk through check of the Ballybrack Stream was undertaken – there was no evidence of pollution (no gross solids, no ragging, no evidence of third party discharges) on the date of the visit.

The wastewater network was inspected along the route of the pollution incident. This was observed to be operating normally. In addition, a member of the public advised the team during the site visit that construction work in the area may be the cause as they had observed similar incidents over recent weeks. From these investigations Irish Water have noted: “it would appear that the most likely source of this issue would appear to be related to third party activity in the area. However Irish Water are unable to formally confirm this issue”. The wastewater infrastructure in the area is fully operational and is operating normally.