Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 23 February 2017

The Wheels of 1917: The Sinking of the Laconia

      One hundred years ago, World War I was raging just outside the entrance to Cork Harbour. German U-Boats patrolled the south coast of Ireland targeting British merchant vessels. Many were torpedoed and sunk. One such ship which met with two torpedoes, one hundred years ago this week, was the Cunard Ocean Liner Laconia. The seven-deck liner, complete with officers’ cabins on the top deck was launched in 1911. It was en route from New York to Liverpool when on on Sunday night, 25 February 1917 it was attacked with the loss of 13 passengers, including three Americans. The death of the Americans influenced the course of the war. A graphic account of the sinking by an American journalist Floyd Gibbons aboard was credited as one of the catalysts in pushing the United States into joining the war after it was read to both Houses of Congress.

    Both the Gibbons account and the Cork Examiner on 28 February 1917 highlighted the plight of the Laconia, which was torpedoed about (11 km) northwest by west of Fasnet Rock. The first torpedo struck the liner on the starboard side on the stern side the engine room, but did not sink her. The effect of the torpedo explosion caused the big Cunarder to list to starboard, causing some difficulty in lowering the port lifeboats. She soon returned almost to an even keel before starting to settle, and all the boats—eleven in number got clear. By now the submarine had got into position for the firing of her second torpedo. Amongst the last to leave the ship and to jump into the water and swim to the boats were Captain William Robert Duncan Irvine and the chief engineer. The wireless operator, Mr O’Donovan. a native of Kinsale, sent out the SOS call. The ship’s surgeon, Dr Kennedy, a native of County Tipperary made sure that frail passengers were in lifeboats before he took to his own boat.

   When all the boats were clear and the fate of the Laconia was no longer in doubt the German submarine came up alongside, and the commander opened conversation with a number of queries. His attitude, according to the press, appeared to have been one of cynicism and indifference to the fate of the boats, as when asked if he was aware that he was torpedoing a ship carrying women and children he is reputed to have replied, “Oh, they will be all right; keep on and a patrol will pick you up in a few hours. Good night”. Afterwards the submarine moved off into the darkness. The patrol boat that rescued the boats of the Laconia also rescued the crews of the steamers Falcon and Eires which had been sunk earlier on the Sunday. The patrol sloop drew alongside the deep water quay at Queenstown and the people of the town received 277 survivors. Motor cars and ambulances conveyed the survivors to temporary accommodation in the town’s various hotels.

   A number of survivors, after leaving the torpedoed vessel, spent nine hours in a waterlogged lifeboat, until picked up by a mine-sweeper and taken to Bantry. Such was the impact to the exposure of the elements that out of 21 on the boat as many as seven died, and those included two American ladies, Mrs Mary Hoy and Miss Elizabeth Hoy. Rev V D Sargend, OP, who was travelling from the West Indies to England via New York, to take up an appointment as army chaplain noted that this boat was immediately launched after the torpedoing. There was no superintendence of the lowering of their boat and it hit the stern of the steamer while she was being lowered. Several of the side planks were burst open and it took sea water as it hit the water. From 10pm until 8am the boat drifted without oar or steering gear in this boat with rising water levels. They were not picked up until 3 o’clock that day. Everybody on board had crowded into the bows and stern. The big waves washed those who were in a weakened condition overboard. Mrs Hoy and her daughter, Miss Hoy of Chicago were two of the drowning casualties.

    There were in all 23 American citizens on the ship and of this 17 were members of the crew. Two of the four surviving American passengers included Rev Father Waring of St Joseph’s Seminary, Baltimore, USA and Mr Floyd Gibbons of the Chicago Tribune. In Floyd account of the sinking of the Laconia he noted; “It was 10.30pm. Then came the five blasts on the whistle. [Gibbons gets into one of 10 lifeboats.] The ship sank rapidly at the stern until at last its nose stood straight in the air. Then it slid silently down and out of sight”.

   In March 2009, it was announced that the wreck of the Laconia was located and claimed by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc, a commercial archaeology company in Tampa, Florida. Britain claimed it is the legitimate owner of the wrecks because, under a wartime insurance scheme, it paid the owners of the vessels when they sank, in effect making the remains the property of the British taxpayer.

Indices of and links to previous Our City, Our Town columns can be viewed at www.corkheritage.ie

Cork 1916, A Year Examined (2016) by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan is now available in Cork bookshops.

Cork City History Tour (2016) by Kieran McCarthy is also available in Cork bookshops.

Captions:

883a. Picture of Laconia, c.1912 (source: Cork City Library)

883b. Queenstown, now Cobh & the deep water quay, c.1917 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy and Dan Breen)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 16 February 2017

The Wheels of 1917: Agriculture and the Cork-Muskerry Tram

   One hundred years this week, on 20 February 1917, the Cork Muskerry Light Railway Company published their report for their annual general meeting in the Cork Examiner. The meeting was held at their offices on Western Road under the chairmanship of Mr George Colthurst (of Blarney Castle estate). The report gives insights into agriculture and the connections from the city into mid County Cork. The line was primarily built in the 1880s for tourists to link Cork to the tourist town of Blarney and its historic castle. Supporters of the railway line also aimed to provide improved transport for locals with livestock and farm produce between the farming area north-west of Cork and the city and for coal and minerals in the reverse direction.

    Beginning on Bishop’s Marsh (now the River Lee Hotel), the Cork terminus was a single-storey building covered by a corrugated iron roof with a long platform. The iron engine and carriage shed spanned three tracks. the first four miles of the line going west were very like that of a tramway. From the terminus, the line crossed the south channel of the River Lee via a small bridge leading to Western Road. The iron supports for the bridge can still be seen. The initial stops were at Victoria Cross, Carrigrohane and then northwards to Leemount, Healy’s Bridge and Coachford Junction. there There were two branch lines, one to Coachford and the other from St Ann’s Hydro, near Blarney, which followed the Shournagh valley to Donoughmore.

    In 1917 the physical railway line was deemed in a good condition but due to the war it was impossible to get timber sleepers. Two years previously, the railway company had placed an order for an engine but owing to war requirements they were unable to obtain the delivery of it. This, according to Mr Colthurst, placed them in a difficulty with regard to the repairing of their rolling stock. The company had been compelled to restrict somewhat their service of trains and were forced to take off the line two of their trains.

Financially the company was holding its own. The gross receipts for the company for the year end from all sources amounted to £12,072, as against £11,467 the previous year, which showed an increase of £605, compared with the corresponding period of 1915. Colthurst’s report highlighted that there were great increases in the numbers of boxes of eggs, fowl and butter carried over the line. The chairman noted that “it showed that the people of the country were returning to their old industrial pursuits and producing such commodities in abundance”.

   Last year the Central Statistics Office published an account of agriculture based on contemporary statistics one hundred years. It denoted that farming was a significant industry for 1915-17 – there were 359,700 farms over one acre in Ireland whilst in 2010 the total number of farms had declined to 139,860 farms, a reduction of over 60%. In 1917 egg production made an important contribution to the rural economy, representing 11% of total agricultural exports from Ireland. Eggs were a consistent source of income and could be exchanged with local shopkeepers for crucial items such as tea and sugar which could not be produced on farms. The care of poultry and the income from eggs was normally a role taken on by the farmer’s spouse. It may have been her only source of independent income. The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction introduced initiatives for the improvement of egg production, including the establishment of egg production co-ops. Schemes to improve the breed of hen used and improvements in the packaging of eggs for exports were also introduced.

   Colthurst at the Cork Muskerry Light Railway meeting highlighted increases in cattle and sheep carried over the Cork Muskerry line – cattle, 696, and sheep, 805 – but in pigs there had been a reduction of 66. The statistics from one hundred years ago reveal that most farms and small holdings kept a cow for milk for the house and liquid milk was not transported over long distances. In 1916, Dairy Shorthorn cattle were the predominant breed of cow used for milk production. Kerry cattle were utilised for milk production in Munster, especially in mountainous areas of Kerry and the Berehaven district of county Cork where larger breeds could not be kept. Kerry cattle were also kept on smaller holdings in Limerick, Cork & Tipperary. In 1916 beef production was primarily to produce live cattle for export. The main beef breeds in 1916 were Beef Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus, Ayreshire, Hereford and the native Irish Dexter breed.

    Colthurst in his report attributed the fault of the decrease in pig transport to the bacon curers who only paid low prices “for pork that would not enable the producer to produce pork”. From statistics, he highlighted that the number of pigs slaughtered in Ireland during 1916-17 was a little more than half of the number slaughtered three years previously. However the export of pigs was twice as much as it was three years previously. Many pig buyers took the pigs to England, where they were given a higher price for them than in Ireland. In general, almost 100% of Ireland’s exports in 1917 were to Britain, with Ireland mainly exporting primary products (i.e. products that required little or no processing such as live cattle, raw wool, eggs, etc). Today, the UK takes 41% of Ireland’s agri-export.

My book Inheritance, Heritage and Memory in the Lee Valley, Co. Cork (2010) is still available from www.historypress.ie (limited copies). It was based on a series of Our City Our Town columns on the histories and memories of Inniscarra and Dripsey.

Captions:

882a. Cork Muskerry Tram locomotive on Western Road, Cork City, c.1910 (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Daniel Breen)

882b. Cork Muskerry Tram locomotive on Western Road, Cork City, c.1910 (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Daniel Breen)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 2 February 2017

The Wheels of 1917: A New Engineering Prospect

    One hundred years ago, February 1917 coincided with a renewed focus on the value of engineering works for employment and industrial image in the region. The detail of the Ford project was progressing. In addition, in the first week of the local press, Passage West and its ship building industry came under scrutiny when its docks complex was purchased by the shipping magnate Messrs Furness, Withy & Co, Ltd. This was an enormous global firm, which provided the city and region an extra bargaining chip to the Westminster government on why the Ford complex should be sanctioned in Cork. Indeed, by the end of 1917, some 800 workers were employed at Passage West and Rushbrooke.

   Passage West and Rushbrooke Docks were built by Henry Brown and William Craig, and were formally opened by Queen Victoria on her visit to Passage West in 1832, and the two dry Docks were named respectively the Royal Victoria Dock and Albert Twin Dock. The town of Passage West flourished and prospered because of the large amount of employment given in the consultation and repair of ships. Serving the town was the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway, which was opened from Cork to Passage in 1850, and extended to Crosshaven in 1904. It was 16 miles long and served the important shipbuilding centre at Passage West, the well-known residential district of Monkstown, the rich agricultural area around Carrigaline, and the famous seaside resort of Crosshaven.

   The Rushbrooke Dock was built by the late Joseph Wheeler in 1860. He was an extensive shipbuilder in Cork, where he built many sailing ships for local and other owners. The rapid growth of other shipyards to cope with the advancing types of ships in England and elsewhere affected Passage, and for some years a period of depression ensued. The fate of the docks and the town was a matter of anxiety. The facilities offered a fine waterway but lack of investment capital.

    In 1880 the Passage West and Rushbrooke Docks passed into the hands of entrepreneur Sir John Arnott, from whom they were again subsequently purchased by the Channel Dry Docks Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Ltd, in 1898. In 1900, there was talk of Harland and Wolfe coming to Monkstown and, although there was much enthusiasm for the project, it never materialised. In 1910, the Managing Director, Mr Oliver Piper, purchased the Docks himself. It was Oliver Piper who brought Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, on a guided tour of the Royal Victoria Dockyard when he came to view Cork Harbour in the summer of 1912. It was hoped that the visit would result in Admiralty work for the dockyard. When Furness & Withy purchased the site from Piper he continued to work them until March, 1917. He then went on to create the Queenstown Dry Docks firm, which pursued work for Furness & Withy.

    Mr Piper on 5 February 1917 in the Cork Examiner noted on the takeover of his firm; “the Docks have been acquired by the very important firm of ship-owners, Messrs Furness, Withy and Co, Ltd, of London. Liverpool and Hartlepool, whose phenomenal rise in such a few years to the very highest position in shipping is an indication of the ability and energy of its directors. They have been satisfied by their personal investigations and reports that the South of Ireland is virgin soil, and has potentialities of very great importance to a shipping corporation possessed of the ability, energy and immense resources that the purchasing company enjoy”.

London’s National Maritime Museum denotes of the international reputation of Messrs Furness Withy & Co that it was was incorporated as a company in 1891 upon the amalgamation of Christopher Furness’ business in West Hartlepool and London with Edward Withy’s shipbuilding yard in Hartlepool. By 1914 the company had acquired interests all over the world in liner and tramp shipping and in shipbuilding, but from 1920 they concentrated on liner services.

In 1911 Furness Withy acquired a large holding in Houlder Brothers and the company’s British & Argentine’s vessels were operated in association with those of the Houlder Line. In 1914 the Furness-Houlder Argentine Lines was incorporated for the purpose of building a fleet of large, fast twin-screw steamers for the conveyance of chilled and frozen meat from the River Plate to London in conjunction with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, Furness Withy and Houlder Brothers. There were other additions to the company. The Prince Line was purchased in 1916 and with this services were developed to the Mediterranean and from New York to the Far East and the River Plate. The River Syndicate was incorporated in 1920 to acquire a controlling interest in the Danube shipping which had formerly belonged to South German, Austrian and Hungarian companies. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the company sold of several of its non-profiting shipyards of which Passage West Docks was one.

    In 1931, the site of the Royal Victoria Dockyard was purchased by a new company, Haulbowline Industries Ltd (HIL). The Harbour Board supported the HIL shipbreaking venture by decreasing tonnage dues on metal from scrapped ships. The company still focusses in the trade of scrap iron and today, some loading and unloading of cargo is also completed at the dockyard.

Indices of and links to previous Our City, Our Town columns can be viewed at www.corkheritage.ie

Cork 1916, A Year Examined (2016) by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan is now available in Cork bookshops.

Cork City History Tour (2016) by Kieran McCarthy is also available in Cork bookshops.

Captions:

880a. Passage West from Glenbrook, c.1910 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

880b. Wall of former Royal Victoria Dockyard, Passage West, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article

Cork Independent, 5 January 2017

The Wheels of 1917: Setting the Scene

    The 1 January 1917 began with historical echoes of the previous year. The year 1916 coincided with many great stories of a changing society in Cork from the adjustment of the clocks to Greenwich Mean Time to differing attitudes towards the Easter Rising versus those on the front lines in trenches in France to the celebration of Irish culture through the architecture of the new Honan Chapel. As the year progressed, so many different aspects of Irish culture and society came under bombardment or were progressed as outlined in the various Our City, Our Town columns last year.

    I hope for the next few weeks to write about some key themes of physical, social and political developments in the city and region in 1917. A study of the daily news stories that made the headlines in local newspapers such as the Cork Examiner at first glance showcase a less eventful year than 1916. Controlled by the British government, censorship was ever present in the newspaper. However, taking many of the overarching news themes over a year, one can see key changes within society to how to best approach society issues such as war, industrialisation, the political quest for Home Rule, the role of the church, the role of violence in campaigns for a United Ireland, the impact of the re-emergence from prison of key Easter 1916 Rising key participants in late Spring 1917 such as Éamon DeValera and Countess Markievicz. The Countess herself brought a renewed call to rebellion in public meetings on the streets of Cork and Clonakilty in mid-August 1917.

   The news of the first week of 1917 set the undertone for what was to come. War was ever present and by the late spring of 1917, one can feel the closeness of the front of war to Cork as more and more references are given to German submarines waiting in Irish waters to attack mercantile vessels. There are also continued references to Irish soldiers in various battalions awaiting action on the frontlines. The Reserve Camp of the 3rd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers in Aghada was focused upon on the 1 January 1917 in the Cork Examiner as a space of peace and quiet over the Christmas period. The Royal Munster Fusiliers raised a total of 11 battalions from the pre-war, two regular and two reserve battalions. The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was mobilised at Tralee on 4 August 1914 and later that month deployed to Berehaven and Bantry Bay for training. In October 1914, it was moved to Cork. In May 1915, it was relocated to Aghada and Cork Harbour. Here the camp was tented and hutted in nature because nearby Fort Carlisle was full. The camp was in a field opposite the Presbyterian (former Church of Ireland) Church. The reality of the hutted camp was that it was in a poor state of repair, the training grounds confined to a few fields with no elaborate training trench system and the musketry course was thirty miles away in Youghal.

   On Christmas Day 1916, Christmas Services were held in the Catholic Church and Presbyterian Church for the Battalion. The Christmas dinners in the various companies commenced at 1 o’clock, the huts where the dinners were served were decorated. The Commanding Officer, Buttevant man, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Sherlock Brasier Creagh, visited the various companies, where he was joined by the company officers. He read the King’s message to the troops, and expressed the hope that “the men were thoroughly provided for, and that they would enjoy themselves to the fullest extent”. In addition to refreshments, tobacco, cigars and cigarettes were distributed among the men. In the evening a dance look place in the local Y.M.C.A. Hall. In October 1917, the Battalion was re-located to Ballincollig and in November 1917, the battalion was moved to England at Devonport.

   A key term shining through various historical sources for the City and region in 1917 is that of Americanisation. The year 1917 was to coincide with re-election of President Woodrow Wilson and the subsequent call by the American House of Representatives and Senate to declare war on Germany. Through entering the war in April 1917 there arrived to Cork Harbour fleets of gun ships to attack the increasing attacks of German submarines, and a proliferation of American soldiers into the towns of the Harbour area and Cork City. At the end of January 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced the resumption of unrestricted warfare.

   Another key piece of Americanisation was the negotiations to bring a Ford tractor factory to the site of Cork’s City Park Racecourse and Deep Water Quay at the Marina. By January 1917, negotiations between representatives of the promoters and the heads and legal representatives of the local public bodies concerned, had been brought to a successful conclusion. It was announced in the press on 1 January that all preliminary details had been arranged, and that, subject to the necessary Parliamentary sanction being obtained i.e. the Cork Improvement Bill – everything would be in order and the scheme could proceed. These Parliamentary powers were to be sought for immediately but it would take until mid-July 1917 before the bill got final royal ascent after passing through Westminster and the House of Lords.

If you missed one of the columns in 2016, check out the Our City, Our Town index at my website, www.corkheritage.ie

Cork 1916, A Year Examined (2016) by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan is now available in Cork bookshops.

Cork City History Tour (2016) by Kieran McCarthy is also available in Cork bookshops.

Captions:

876a. Postcard of Cork Harbour, c.1910 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

876b. Aghada, c.1910 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 15 December 2016

Remembering 1916: Railways Connecting the Region

   There are some great historical narratives within Cork’s news for 1916. A number address Cork’s links to the region through its railway line infrastructure. In newspapers and archives one can read about the benefits of such lines as the Cork Bandon and South Coast Railway, the Cork Muskerry Tram and the Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway Line connecting people, animals, fisheries and place from the coast and hinterland to the city and vice-verse – igniting the region and city into one.

    The Cork South Coast and Western Railway Company across one year between 1915 and 1916, as reported at their company AGM in mid February 1916, stressed the importance of their transport link. They highlighted that the total number of passengers the company carried was 503,531. This was an increase of 31,000 and in money £2,037 over the previous year. In parcels and miscellaneous traffic there was an increase of 18, 885 tons, representing £1,588 in money. Of this increase 4,134 tons was in coal and coke owing to a greater quality having been sent over the railway from Cork instead of being shipped direct to the western ports by coasting vessels.

    Lime, brick, stone and slate all showed decreases. Building operations had been to a great extent suspended owing to the war. The quantity of stone required for the streets of Cork was also reduced. In barytes traffic there was an increase of 2,639 tons. Enhanced prices and the total cessation of the usual continental supply to the markets led to an increased output from the mines at Clonakilty and Bantry. Imported grain showed an increase of nearly 19,000 tons. The traffic of grain had almost doubled in the previous 12 months, and like coal, was capable of great development if additional sidings were constructed on Anderson’s Quay and on a new timber wharf at Victoria Quay.

   The railway company carried 2,650 more cattle whilst in pigs there was an increase of 4,676. The fish traffic from Skibbereen, Kinsale and Bantry was at normal levels, while from Baltimore there was transported 1,645 tons of fresh mackerel and herring, showing an increase of 850 tons, over the previous year’s consignment from that port, and making a record year. The completion of the new pier there being constructed by the Congested Districts Board and by Cork County Council, made Baltimore a very important fishing station. From 1879, Baltimore had developed as a centre of an expanding mackerel fleet. Eleven steamers brought the spring mackerel to England on an almost daily basis. In 1887, the Baltimore Fishing School for the training of 150 boys in a fishing occupation was founded. In 1880, a new pier was built and in 1893, a new spur rail track from Skibbereen to Baltimore was opened to transport the fish to other markets in the city and county.

   At the annual company meeting of Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway in late February 1916 serious difficulties were presented – namely the closing of Crosshaven by the military authorities on the outbreak of the war, the increased cost of coal, labour and stores, and the erection of a new pier at Queenstown. The gross revenue showed an increase of £1,419, but had they been permitted by the military authorities to carry on the usual summer and excursion traffic to Crosshaven, they would have had large additional receipts.

   Crosshaven Station closed shortly after the commencement of the war. This effected trade within the village. In addition small boats with oars were used by the men of Fountainstown, Myrtleville and Fennel’s Bay. The fishing grounds were located around the harbour mouth. Those without boats waited for the mackerel to come inshore and caught them by the hundred with large pocket nets. A barrel of salted mackerel could be seen in every fisherman’s cottage in preparation for winter each year. Without the train fast transport to Cork’s markets limited trade. Tourism was also affected. Crosshaven in 1916 was a growing tourism town; it had five hotels, twelve shopkeepers, and four vintners.

    The military authorities prohibited civilians from approaching the coast line between Ringabella Creek and Crosshaven village, either by day or night. All the summer residents were ordered away, but as a matter of equity they were refunded a portion of the cost of their season tickets. No persons were allowed to enter the district without military permits. All excursion traffic by train and boat was prohibited, with the result that the Crosshaven traffic was practically decimated. This state of affairs continued up to 27 June 1915, when a slight modification of the regulations was made, exempting visitors from the necessity of permits, but no excursion traffic was permitted, and as a consequence hardly anyone visited Crosshaven.

   From the first day of the war the railway company had done everything in their power to assist the naval and military authorities. There was a great demand by both services, for the transport of stores to various camps within the Harbour and to Haulbowline. Finding it impossible to satisfy their requirements with the existing goods steamers, the directors purchased an additional vessel, the “Taffy” at great expense, and though able to carry all the naval and military stores offering, they were doing so without profit.

Cork 1916, A Year Examined (2016) by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan is now available in Cork bookshops.

Cork City History Tour (2016) by Kieran McCarthy is also available in Cork bookshops.

 Captions:

874a. Baltimore fish market, c.1916 (source: West Cork Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

874b. Crosshaven, Cork Harbour, c.1916 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 8 December 2016

Remembering 1916: Questions of Gender

    One hundred years ago this month the focus of gender swept into the newspaper media. In early November 1916, Miss Jeannette Rankin, Independent candidate, was elected Representative from Montana. This was the first time in the history of the United States of America that a woman has been elected a member of Congress. Miss Rankin was a suffrage campaigner through whose untiring efforts women won the fight for the ballot in Montana. This was also four years before the ratification of the amendment to the United States Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.

    Across the Atlantic Ocean, in Ireland and Britain, the exodus of males to the fronts of World War I led to a shortage of workers (approx. 1.6 million) across a myriad of services, professions and trade. Hence large numbers of women were recruited into jobs vacated by men who had gone to fight in the war. New jobs were also created as part of the war effort, for example in munitions factories. The high demand for weapons resulted in munitions factories becoming the largest single employer of women during 1918. In addition, the introduction of conscription in 1916 made the need for women workers urgent.

   In the first few days of November 1916, the innovation of female letter-carriers reached Cork. Thirty aspirants, under the superintendence of the regular male staff, started at 6am to learn the work and finished at 9am. The introduction of what the postal system described as “post-women” to Cork was not to result in their permanent employment. They were only taking the place of postmen, whose services were not available. They were paid 5d per hour during their period of duty. The authorities stated the “post-women” were not to be asked to handle heavy parcels; their duties were confined to letters and letter packets. An editorial in the Cork Examiner on the 7 December remarked on the heavy weights of packages questioning the inequality indirectly; “During Christmas the long hours and weights carried are excessive, and tire out strong men who are used to years of that work. Therefore, if the women are only to carry light loads, who is to bear the brunt of the load that was hitherto divided between the eighty male auxiliaries and the permanent staff?”

   On 9 December, the Cork Examiner highlighted the exclusion of female students as resident pupils. A letter by Sir Bertram Windle, President of University College Cork, appeared in the press: “I have been favoured with a copy of the letter, which is being sent by the Munster branch of the Irish Association of Women graduates in connection with the admission of women graduates as residents in the South Infirmary. The number of women medical students is rapidly increasing and it will be enormously to their advantage to have an opportunity of seeing the practice of a great medical institution, as can only be seen by those living within its walls. If, therefore, your committee can at all find it possible to accommodate them I can only say that you will gain the gratitude of all those who are interested in the education of women”.

    The House Committee of the South Infirmary discussed the situation and recommended that there was no suitable accommodation for resident female students. They suggested that female students be admitted as day boarders from 9.30am, until such an hour as may be agreed on by the committee. Females students were to assist in the work of the hospital in the same way as the male students, and to be provided with meals on payment of one guinea per week, if desired.

   On the afternoon of 12 December 1916, through the courtesy of Captain F Downie, Director of Munitions (no.10 Area, Ireland), Lieutenant Hinge, Lord Mayor Thomas Butterfield and a representative of the Examiner were conducted around the Cork National Shell Factory, where 150 people are employed. This was located at St Peter’s Market, now the Bodega Bar on Cornmarket Street. They were taken from machine to machine, at each of which several girls were employed. The gas heaters registered a heat of 1,000 degrees centigrade, and into which the nose of each shell was inserted and heated to a great temperature before being placed into dies.

      Captain Downie expressed regret that he was unable to obtain skilled labour in Cork and pointed out that the men who were working hard at the bottling press and gas heaters were men who were trained at the Dublin National Shell Factory, and that more skilled workmen would be required. The factory aimed to employ 250 persons, who were to work in three shifts. Each shift was to be under the superintendence of a matron who is a trained nurse, and who will look after the general health of the workers. The scale of the wages paid to the girl workers was 10s 6d per week of forty-five hours as probationers. At the conclusion of the probationary period, they were to take their places in one of the three eight-hour shifts, when their wages according to the shift in which they were engaged, namely – those on the shift from 6am to 2pm were to receive 2s 6d per day, 2s 9d per day if on 2pm to 10pm shift; and 3s 3d per day if on the shift from 10pm to 6am.

 Cork 1916, A Year Examined (2016) by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan is now available in Cork bookshops.

 Cork City History Tour (2016) by Kieran McCarthy is also available in Cork bookshops.

 Captions:

 873a. Cork GPO, c.1916 (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)

 873b. Picture of World War I munitions factory, London, c.1916 (source: Getty Images)