Cork Independent, 11 May 2017 The Wheels of 1917: The Queenstown Patrol
Sir Lewis Bayley of the British Navy gave Commander Joseph Taussig’s four days to mobilise the six American destroyers, which arrived into Queenstown on 4 May 1917 (see last week’s column). In the ensuing days of preparation work and strategy creation, stories were shared of the engagement between the British flotilla leaders Swift and Broke on one side and six German destroyers on the other side, as well as German submarines.
According to Taussig’s diary entries, by 7 May 1917, a naval strategy had been worked out – some of the core points of which are below. The destroyers, British and American, were to work in seven pairs for the short term. Taussig’s fleet were to replace the larger British naval destroyers, which in time were to be sent back to the British base at Plymouth in the English Channel. The destroyers were to be made to work six days at sea. Ships chasing a submarine on the sixth day with two thirds of their fuel gone were to stop chasing their folly and come home. Shelter was to be taken in bad weather. When ship-wrecked crews were picked up, they had to be brought directly into the harbour. As German submarines were returning to torpedoed and floating steamers to get metal out of them, destroyers were encouraged to wait and approach them with the sun at their back. If they met what appeared to be a valuable ship in dangerous waters they were to escort her. If an SOS call was received, and they thought they could be in time to help, they were to go and assist the ship; but as a rule, they were not to go over 50 miles from their area.
Destroyers were to be careful not to ram boats to sink them as cases had occurred whereby they had been left with bombs in them ready to explode when struck. Senior officers of destroyers were to give the necessary orders with regard to what speed to cruise at, orders for zig-zagging; they knew the capabilities of their ships best. When escorting, it had been found best as a rule to cross from bow to bow, the best distance away being about 1,000 yards; however, this depended on a myriad of factors, which included sea conditions and visibility. Reports of proceedings were not required on arrival in harbour unless for some special reason such as signalling for preparing for attacking submarines and rescuing survivors.
Much confidence was placed in the strategic mind of Commander Taussig. Like his father before him, Joseph was noted as well-known figure with exceptional ability as a naval officer. Joseph Knefler Taussig was born of American parentage in 1877 in Dresden, Germany, where his father, who also became a rear admiral in the Navy, was stationed. His father was Edward David Taussig, a native of St Louis, Missouri, and his mother, Ellen Knefler Taussig, was a native of Louisville, Kentucky. Joseph’s father graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1867 and retired in 1909, ten years after his son completed his work at the Academy. Joseph graduated from high school in Washington, DC, in 1895 and was appointed to the Naval Academy that same year. At Annapolis, young Taussig was known primarily as an all-around athlete: he won first-place medals in the high jump, broad jump, and 200-yard hurdles; he was a member of the crew, varsity football team, and runner-up for the wrestling team.
In 1900, whilst a midshipman, a member of the naval forces, Joseph was sent to China with other members to squash a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901. Near Tientsin, Joseph was wounded and sent to a hospital to recover with an English Captain John Jellicoe who was Chief-of-Staff to Admiral Seymour, who was in charge of the British forces. It was a legend of sorts that grew up around Joseph and that diplomatic relations were something not new to him. In addition, a letter from Admiral Jellico was handed to Joseph in Queenstown in May 1917 welcoming him and the American Navy to the battle zone.
In a public speaking engagement at Carnegie Hall, New York on 30 January 1918, Joseph Taussig recalls that in the three weeks before his arrival to Queenstown, German submarines had sunk 152 British ships in the nearby Atlantic area. Hence, he had depth bombs installed so as to fight off the submarines. He noted in his speech; “we escorted many ships and we saved many lives. I cannot say we sunk any submarines. The submarine I found was a very difficult bird to catch. He always sees you first. Only once did my vessel, in seven months, succeed in actually firing at a submarine. He then went down after the fifth shot was fired. At that he was five miles away. But they were afraid of the depth bombs. I saw results on several occasions, which led me to believe that I had at least damaged one of two”.
Joseph Taussig found the patrol duty very difficult as the ocean was strewn with wreckage for a distance of 200 miles off shore. Judgement was important; “it was hard to tell a telescope when we saw one. We fired at fish, floating spars and other objects because we could afford to take a chance. The submarines grew less active or did less damage as the summer [of 1917] wore on”.
Captions:
894a. Painting by Burnell Poole, 1925. Depicting three U.S. Navy destroyers fighting heavy seas while on World War I escort service, off Queenstown, Ireland (source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington).
894b. Commander Joseph K Taussig in the 1920s (source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington).
The Wheels of 1917: The American Navy Arrives in Queenstown
The morning of 4 May 1917, one hundred years ago today, coincided with an important event in the history of Queenstown, now Cobh. The news was not printed in British or American papers, yet in some mysterious way it reached nearly everybody in the town. A squadron of American destroyers, which had left Boston on the evening of 24 April had already been reported to the westward of Ireland and was due to reach Queenstown that morning. At almost the appointed hour, six warships came into view under the command of senior officer Commander Joseph K Taussig,. The American flag of the Stars and Stripes was decked on public buildings, on private houses and on nearly all the water craft of the harbour. This was the first contingent of the American Navy to arrive in Irish waters.
Media sources for this significant event offer an insight into the faithful day of 4 May – not at that time due to secrecy – but certainly in the ensuing year 1918 as the American Navy relayed agreed positive narratives in East Coast North American newspapers and in speaking engagements at sites such as Carnegie Hall in New York. With the modern digital age, more and more of American newspapers have also been digitised and these offer the researcher wider lenses to study Cork’s role in a World War. In addition, the personal papers of Commander Joseph K Taussig are contained in the Naval Historical Collection Division of Washington DC. Published is the diary that Taussig kept during his time in command of the first US destroyers to arrive in the Atlantic war zone in 1917.
Taussig’s flagship was the Wadsworth. The other vessels of the division and their commanding officers were the Conyhgham (Commander Alfred W Johnson), Porter (Lieutenant Commander Ward K Wortman), McDougal (Lieutenant-Commander Arthur P Fairfield), Davis (Lieutenant Commander Rufus Zogbaum), and the Wainwright (Lieutenant Commander Fred H Poteel). At the outbreak of the hostilities these vessels comprised the US’s Eighth Destroyer Division and were stationed at base no 2 in the York River in Virginia, USA. At 7pm on 6 April 1917, the day that the US Congress declared war on Germany, Commander Taussig received a signal from the Pennsylvania, the flag-ship of the Atlantic fleet – “mobilise for war in accordance with department’s confidential mobilisation plan of March 21”. By 14 April 1917, Commander Taussig received a message to take his flotilla to Boston and there fit out for “long and distant service”. Ten days later he sailed with instructions to go 50 miles west due east of Cape Cod and there open his sealed orders.
At the indicated spot, Commander Taussig broke the seal and read the subject “Protection of Commerce near the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland”. The instruction signed by Josephus Daniels read, “Proceed to Queenstown, Ireland. Report too senior British officer present and thereafter co-operate fully with the British navy. Should it be decided that your force act in co-operation with the French naval forces your mission and method of co-operation under French admiralty authority remain unchanged…when within radio communication of the British naval force off Ireland, call G CK and inform the Vice-Admiral at Queenstown in British general code of your position, course and speed. You will be met outside of Queenstown. Base facilities will be provided by the British admiralty. Communicate your orders and operations to Rear Admiral Sims at London and be guided by such instructions as he may give. Make no reports of arrival to navy department direct”.
It took ten days to make the trip across the Atlantic due to a south-east gale, which accompanied the ships for seven of the ten days. So rough was the sea that Taussig recalls in his memoirs that they could not set their mess tables and ate off their laps. On the ninth day off the south coast of Ireland, the fleet were met by a small British destroyer, the Mary Rose, who came along side flying a flag with “welcome to the American colours” on it. The small ship led the fleet past Daunt Rock lightship off Robert’s Cove where a tug boat was waiting on which was an official photographer sent from London, who took moving pictures of the division as they passed. They stopped just outside Roche’s Point, and a British naval officer came on board each destroyer to pilot them to their berths. Despite the secrecy, the news that the destroyers had reached Queenstown appeared in the German newspapers several days before. For the first time in many months, a German submarine laid a mine field of twelve mines directly off the entrance to Cork Harbour. British mine sweepers swept them up.
The fleet berthed safely at the naval pier where the American Consul, Mr Wesley Frost, met them. There were several automobiles in waiting and they were whisked to the Consulate’s office. There Lord Mayor Thomas C Butterfield made a speech of welcome, where he laid stress on the close relations between the Irish and the American race. He was followed by the Resident Magistrate, Walter Callan. All the time proceedings were filmed by the London photographer. The American guests then proceeded to Admiralty House and reported to British Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly to receive their orders.
To be continued…
Captions:
893a. Bernard F. Gribble’s Painting, The Return of The Mayflower; Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D Roosevelt commissioned the painting in 1919. In 1933, when Roosevelt became President of the United States, the painting hung in the oval office (source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington).
893b. Mr Wesley Frost, American consul, and British Naval officers greeting Commander Taussig and the other officers of the destroyer flotilla upon their arrival in Queenstown, May 4, 1917 (source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington).
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy was recently part of a five-person delegation from the European Committee of the Regions to the UK’s Local Government Association and to the Mayor’s Office London to explore the impact Brexit will have on UK towns, cities and regions. The delegation also met British Secretary of State, David Jones, and stressed that it will continue to cooperate with the UK’s local and regional government throughout the Brexit negotiations and beyond. The meeting was also attended by political representatives of the UK’s devolved administrations and local authorities from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Cllr Kieran McCarthy at the meeting commented: “Brexit will have a huge impact on local and regional governments in both the UK and the EU, which is why we will continue to work closely together to understand the local economic, political and social consequences. There is much historic goodwill on both sides, the UK’s and the EU’s. Positive diplomacy is required and not the ‘taking pot shots’ mentality, which has prevailed in certain camps around the Brexit debate todate”. Cllr McCarthy also expressed the impact of a hard Brexit on Ireland and has called for the Committee of the Regions that Ireland’s case to be a priority in the Brexit negotiations.
The delegation visit follows a meeting between the Committee’s leaders and its UK delegation in mid-January with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, who confirmed his wish to open a channel of dialogue and communication to allow local and regional stakeholders to be informed and heard throughout the process.
The European Committee of the Regions, the EU’s assembly for democratically elected local and regional politicians, has a consultative role in EU policymaking. Of its 700 members and alternates, 48 come from the United Kingdom. President Markkula and the Committee’s delegation which was composed of leaders from its political groups namely: Markus Töns (DE/PES) Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Parliament; Kieran McCarthy (IE/EA), Member of Cork City Council; Kate Feeney (IE/ALDE), Member of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council; and Rob Jonkman (NL/ECR), Member of the Executive Council of Opsterland.
Speech given by Cllr Kieran McCarthy to Jim MacKinnon, City-County Expansion/ Merger advisory group under Jim MacKinnon,
February 2017
Cork: Towards an Atlantic Maritime Hub of Innovation Cllr Kieran McCarthy
Mr MacKinnon you are very welcome to this chamber – it’s great to meet another geographer – where you took the planning route in Scotland, I took the cultural geography route to explore memory, narrative making and identity within case studies within this city – attempting to champion its history, heritage and its ambition. Both the planning and cultural are important branches of geography and embody principles of exploring space and place and the concept that place matters. We need to pursue sustainable place making and not only as elements of economic efficiency – we need to create places as part of society, integrated into society, and with a strong narrative, great story and persistent identity structure such as Cork possesses.
For the past two years, I have been fortunate to be an Irish member of the EU Committee of the Regions and am fortunate to have colleagues from Edinburgh and Glasgow and as far as Lerwick on the Shetland Islands. I have always appreciated the Scottish appreciation of the idea of place matters especially those which are marginalised and geographically disconnected from the heart of macro decision making. Indeed, there is much Scotland and Ireland have in common in cultural but also in believing in the power of place.
Being on the COR I am also a member of the Europe 2020 Strategic Monitoring Committee and Territorial Cohesion and EU Budget committee, both of which look at European Spatial planning frameworks and challenges within them. So, I get to regularly read, explore and critique policy and macro pictures and case studies of the importance of second tier cities such as Cork – and how to survive they need to tweak, brand and reposition themselves strategically in a very competitive European and global market of commerce. One gets to see that it is not a time for second tier cities to stay still or be diluted but an exciting time to explore their assets and to scale-up. I make this statement not only being involved in the European Capital of Innovation alumni project but also in the light of Cork City and the need not be diluted or scale down but the need to scale up. We need to reposition and capture its energy and expertise not only as a strategic gateway in the south of Ireland but also as a key hub in maritime north-west Europe.
Small Cities and Opportunities:
Cities, large and small, in the European Union are now more than ever before focussed on the idea they are becoming the representatives of member states.
Cities are the powerhouses of economic growth, innovation and employment opportunities.
Cities are the living environment for 72% of all Europeans. This percentage is expected to rise to 80% by 2050. The developments in the cities are increasingly indicative for the quality of human life.
Cities are facing ever greater social challenges in respect of the environment, transport and social cohesion. The Urban Agenda for the EU aims to address those challenges.
Cities ever before are seen as the glue that keep the EU together – regions alone cannot function without a central ambitious heart driving them.
Vast sums of structural funds are now being invested in cities and the public interest – to address poverty, housing, innovation, waste management, climate change measures and urban mobility.
Much of Cork City’s key infrastructure the last twenty years has been, for a large part, been funded by the EU – our new streetscapes, waste management, transport mobility, mechanisms and our larger public parks and amenities. We secure funds because we are an ambitious and strategic city with a vision for its future within a bigger picture – the city’s DNA is rooted in vision in its historical development in its past.
In the macro picture, cities are seen as stronger mechanisms that have population capacity, which can create better funding models. With cross-sectoral financial instruments, they can simplify use of funds, and combine funds to more possibilities – the larger the city the more funding it attracts.
Indeed, in the bigger picture towns in surrounding regions are seen as satellite hubs for developments of cities.
More and more collaboration is happening.
City-smart EU policies are sensitive to the needs of our urban areas, will enable and empower cities to deliver results that benefit all.
Well-performing cities benefit their surrounding areas, driving growth & innovation in our regions as well as Europe’s overall competitiveness.
This is apparent in projects such as Eurocities.
The eminent Eurocites project of 130 European cities marks that 3 out of 4 people in Europe live in urban areas.
Cities are drivers of Europe’s economy, frontline managers of social inclusion and key players in climate action – check out Cork City’s work on lifelong learning and the promotion of social inclusion. Cities are the key to Europe’s objectives for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth – that if we don’t get it right in our cities, we won’t get it right at all.
Last November, Cork was able to host an international entrepreneurial network and win kudos at international level for it.
At this moment in time, a city must have a population of 250,000 to be a member and to become a key player within urban strategy – so Cork City is behind.
A Time to Scale Up:
Cork City has the opportunity to scale up and become an Atlantic Maritime Hub of strategic planning in areas such as enterprise innovation and education and skill building; that is the crossroads that Cork has the potential not only to scale up from Ireland’s southern capital – the opportunities for Cork City is to capitalise on historic good will and enhance its reputation as Europe’s oldest and leading port city, which has ideas and can compete with the best of them.
This ambition is clear as well in the smaller Atlantic Area European projects, we are currently pursuing under the guidance of our EU funding co-ordinator:
Atlantic Social Hub- Atlantic cooperation for the promotion of social innovation (S.O. 1.1. Enhancing innovation capacity through corporation to foster Competitiveness), Ayuntamiento de Aviles
Atlantic Food Export-Business Cooperation to Increase Atlantic Food Products Exports Innovation (S.O.1.2 Strengthening the transfer of innovation results to facilitate the emergence of new products, services and processes), Chamber of Agriculture of Dordogne
A4RES – Atlantic Area for renewable energies and energy storage systems, Fostering resource efficiency (S.O. 2.1: Fostering Renewable Energies & Energy Efficiency)
AREAM – Agência Regional da Energia e Ambiente da Região Autónoma da Madeira
MMIAH – Recovery and valorization of maritime, military and industrial heritage of the aa coast, Biodiversity, Natural & Cultural Assets, (S.O. 4.2 Enhancing natural and cultural assets to stimulate economic development), Ayuntamiento de Ferrol
ODYSSEA ECO MOVEA – Ecomobility and Green Growth model based on eco-innovation triple helix, Resource Efficiency (S.O. 2.2 Fostering green growth, eco-innovation and environmental efficiency), Public Ports Agency of Andalucia
Energy Bank – Energy bank: an efficient tool of alleviating energy poverty Resource Efficiency (S.O. 2.1: Fostering Renewable Energies & Energy Efficiency), Andalucian Institute of Technology
ADSA – Atlantic Digital Start Up Academy Innovation, (Specific Objective 1.1 Enhancing innovation capacity through corporation to foster competitiveness), Technopôle Brest-Iroise
The potential for this city is enormous. It has the potential to be a really important player in the development of this country but also a trusted player in the Atlantic Region of the European Union. Such ambition should not be thrown onto the fire of efficiency but should be allowed grow with the proper and most effective framework in place.
When President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America addressed a joint session of Congress on 26 February 1917, it was only days before the inauguration of his second term as President. At the Congress Session, he asked for special powers over the army and navy for upholding the rights of the United States and to establish a state of armed neutrality.
In his address to Congress President Wilson alluded to the sinking of the wheat-laden American sailing vessel, the William P Frye, which was first American merchant vessel lost to a German submarine during the war on 28 January 1915 off Brasil. He also displayed his outrage with the sinking of the United States ships, the Housatonic, which was sunk off the Scilly Isles at the southwest tip of Britain (3 February 1917) and the ship Lyman M Law, which was torpedoed (12 February 1917) in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Cagliari. Wilson noted the dangers attached to American shipping and that the situation was rapidly growing more serious with each passing day. As it only being a few hours after the torpedoing of the Cunard Liner Laconia (see last week’s article) by a German submarine (25 February 1917) Wilson was not aware of its full list of casualties and that three American citizens – two of whom, were women – had lost their lives.
The President’s remarks regarding German submarine warfare were largely historical, but suggested that the holding up of American shipping “might presently accomplish what the new German submarine orders were meant to accomplish as far as America was concerned”. The President added that the “overt act” of killing American citizens, which he had hoped the German commanders would avoid had not occurred. He asked Congress for special powers, so that American commerce and American lives may be defended should the occasion arise, as it has proved impossible to safeguard neutral rights by diplomatic means. He spoke of a possibility of armed neutrality, but declared that no course of his action would lead to war. His speech was remarkable for its restraint and showed President’s determination to avoid war if such a course of mediation could by any “honourable means be pursued”.
As a result of President Wilson’s address, it was decided that a Bill should be immediately introduced granting the President legislative power to arm ships. On hearing upon the torpedoing of the Laconia it had the effect of speeding up matters, and subsequently another special session of Congress was called. The Senate and Foreign Relations Committee had already agreed to a Bill authorising the arming of American merchantmen for defence, and the appropriating of two hundred million dollars—and judging by the comments of the American Press, American opinion has been seriously perturbed by the Laconia outrage. In a historic speech, he reiterated the severance of diplomatic relations with Germany. Mr Wilson stated that he could not bring himself to believe that the German Government “would destroy American ships and take the lives of American citizens in wilful prosecution of the ruthless naval programme they had announced their intention to adopt”.
Throughout the United States the question was asked in their press how far further was the German submarine campaign to be allowed progress before America would have to intervene to protect the lives of her citizens. The eyes of the world were turned towards the United States, and developments were awaited with the most intense interest. In his inauguration address on 5 March 1917, Wilson alluded to the fact that the American nation might have to take stronger action, and he was clearly worried that some event would push the nation into war.
However, the German campaign did not cease as the German submarines in March sank more merchant ships. The typical German U-boat was a formidable enemy, 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes, and could travel underwater for two hours at a time. On 6 March 1917, the British vessel and Sunderland based SS Westwick struck a German mine off Cork Harbour. The crew abandoned ship, but it did not sink, and drifted ashore at Fish Point near Ringabella. There were no casualties but the wreck was scrapped on the spot. Four U.S. ships were sunk in March. One of those was the American passenger steamer SS City of Memphis, a large cargo ship, which was on a voyage from Cardiff to New York in ballast. On 17 March 1917, it was sunk by the German submarine UC-66, 33 miles south of Fastnet Rock. There were no casualties. Fastnet Rock was the first landfall for many ships crossing the Atlantic (second structure, established 1904).
On 2 April, 1917, President Woodrow asked Congress for a declaration of war. Before a joint session of the two houses he read the words, “The present German submarine warfare against commerce is a warfare against mankind. It is a war against all nations…We are accepting this challenge…The world must be made safe for democracy”. On 6 April, Congress declared war. In the ensuing eighteen months, the United States built an army of four million men by conscription, sent two million men overseas to France, and united an American population behind the war effort.
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:
884a. President Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, c.1917 (source: West Cork Through Time by Kieran McCarthy and Dan Breen)
884b. Fastnet Rock. c.1910 (source: Cork City Library)
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has called for Cork City to rebrand itself as Ireland’s Southern Capital and lose such words as Ireland’s Second City- noting such terms as outdated and downgrading the city’s ambition. In this week’s debate with the City-County Expansion/ Merger advisory group under Jim MacKinnon, Cllr McCarthy cited his experience as a member of the EU Committee of the Regions to note that second tier cities within the EU, more than ever, are making their mark in the macro picture. He noted that Cork City should not be relegated to just a municipal district but should be scaled up to be an Atlantic Maritime City of Innovation. Commenting Cllr McCarthy; “This city has an obsession with looking towards Dublin but misses the opportunity to reconnect with cities in the Atlantic Maritime Region, where historically it traded with and had vast partnerships with. Cork punches way above its weight and is known by many European Commission officials who have visited Cork and the region on business and in a personal capacity as a holiday visitor. Small cities across Europe are tweaking, rebranding and repositioning themselves strategically in a very competitive European and global market of commerce. One gets to see that it is not a time for second tier cities to stay still or be diluted but an exciting time to explore their assets and to scale-up. There is a need to create a stronger narrative for Cork City and to scale up and reposition and capture its energy and expertise – not only as a strategic gateway in the south of Ireland but also in north west Europe”.
Continuing Cllr McCarthy commented; “Cities, large and small, in the European Union are now more than ever before, the powerhouses of economic growth, innovation and employment opportunities. Cities are facing ever greater social challenges in respect of the environment, transport and social cohesion. The Urban Agenda for the EU aims to address those challenges”.
“Vast sums of European structural funds are now being invested in cities and the public interest– to address poverty, housing, innovation, waste management, climate change measures; urban mobility. Much of Cork City’s key infrastructure, the last twenty years, has been for a large part funded by the EU – our new streetscapes, waste management, transport mobility, mechanisms and our larger public parks and amenities. We secure funds because we are an ambitious and strategic city with a vision for its future within a bigger picture – however whilst saying this we cannot secure large scale funding to provide ambitious housing and transport networks without enlarging the city’s boundaries and population. We cannot become part of eminent European urban projects such as Eurocities without have a population capacity of c.250,000”.
Cllr McCarthy stressed that in the macro picture, bigger cities are seen as stronger mechanisms that have population capacity, which can create better funding models: cross-sectoral financial instruments; they can simplify use of funds, and combine funds to more possibilities– the larger the city the more funding its attracts. “The potential for the future of Cork city is enormous. It has the potential to be a really important player in the development of this country but also a trusted player in the Atlantic Region of the European Union. Such ambition should not be thrown onto the fire of efficiency but should be allowed grow with the proper and most effective framework in place”.
Independent Cork City Councillor Kieran McCarthy welcomes the President of the EU Committee of the Regions, Mr Markku Markula, to Cork this Saturday 19 November to showcase the innovation hubs of Cork city and region and to host him at a Cork City debate on the role of small cities and towns within the EU. Mr Markula also accepted the invite of Cllr McCarthy and Cork Innovates to speak at the Global Start Up Nations event taking place at Cork County Hall this weekend. In a recent debate on the future of the EU in the EU Committee of the Regions Mr Markula’s noted of the importance of listening to EU citizens: “citizens should have an inclusive, smarter, and safer Europe. We should channel politically our citizens’ critical assessment on the EU and its added value on the ground, but also their ideas for its better functioning and delivering. One way we could listen more to our communities’ concerns about Europe, for instance is through citizens’ dialogues or town hall debates”. Cllr McCarthy on hearing his call for action has invited Mr Markula and his team to Cork to such a city debate to listen to the concerns of a small EU city and region. Cllr McCarthy, a member of the EU Committee of the Regions, noted: “Cork is pursuing much work in the realms of start-ups and innovation and wishes to scale up within the EU. I have concerns that small cities such as Cork – small cities are plentiful within the EU – could be forgotten about in future cohesion policy debates. Cities and regions such as Cork have huge heart, passion, and energy to contribute positively to the bigger EU tapestry of policy making especially in evolving business, enterprise, employment and social policy models. Mr Markula will debate with Mr Dara Murphy TD, Minister for European Affairs at 2pm (duration: 1 hour), Saturday 19 November at the Gateway Building, UCC. The event is free but for registration, please email sarah.holden@iro.ie.
This week, a delegation from the Cologne-Cork Sister City committee visited Cork and were guided around the city with Cllr Kieran McCarthy as part of twinning activities with Cork. The 45 strong delegation arrived here on the Roald Amundsen tall ship from Cherbourg. It docked on the city’s quays for a number of days with support from the Port of Cork and Cork City Council. The tall ship is no stranger to Cork and is a training ship for those who wish to train in aspects of sailing. The tall ship, originally, named Vilm, is a German steel-ship built at the Elbe River in 1952. Having worked in different area, she was refitted in 1992 to 1993 as a brig – two masted square-rigged sailing ship, and now serves as sail training ship. During summer she usually operates in the Baltic Sea, and usually embarks for journeys to farther destinations for winter, including several-Atlantic crossings.
Cllr McCarthy on his walking tour outlined the history of the port, the harbour and the development of the city upon a set of estuarine marshes. He highlighted the history of Cork City Hall, streets such as the South Mall and St Patrick’s Street, and bringing them on top of the ramparts of Elizabeth Fort. During the tour, member of Cologne City Council discussed their interest in developing a twinning project for the upcoming 30th anniversary of the twinning. In previous years, Cork and Cologne have has success in school exchange programmes, council swop officer schemes and environment, artist and enterprise programmes.
Cllr McCarthy noted; “the twinning with Cologne has brought not just the title of twinning but connected Cork into the EU Continent. I am very impressed by the energy put into the twinning arrangement on the Cologne side. Interestingly both cities have aspects in common – for example the colours of Cork and Cologne are red and white; St Finbarre’s Cathedral was inspired by the beautiful Cologne Cathedral. As we approach the 30th anniversary in two years time, I think there is really great scope to secure more opportunities between the two cities. Every year, Cork City Council has a twinning grant schemes and there is scope within these schemes and outside these schemes for entrepreneurs, cultural creatives and sporting groups to explore possibilities and connections with North West Germany. Any ideas can be emailed to myself or written to the chair of the International Relations Committee.
Roger Casement was executed in London on 3 August 1916. The following day 4 August, this day one hundred years ago, the newspapers of the day had ample coverage about the nature of his execution. He was the last of the executions of the leaders associated with the Easter Rising. It occurred amidst a backdrop of continuing martial law in Ireland and internments in British prisons. Casement remains a type of enigma in the study of the 1916 conflict. He is considered an outsider as such. He was involved in broader international politics (as outlined a few weeks back in another column), and if anything, his legacy provides a lens to view the influences on the Rising in a larger international narrative – the German interest in our revolution through the gun running and the Aud – that the storyline is broader than just what happened in Dublin in Easter 1916 – and again highlighting that the story of the Rising has many facets and angles to approach it from an examination sense.
On 3 August 1916, a large crowd of people assembled in the neighbourhood of the front entrance to Pentonville Prison, in Caledonian Road, North London to try to witness Casement’s hanging. The crowd, comprising chiefly of women and children, stood outside the main gates on which there was posted a small sheet of white paper announcing when the execution would take place. Pentonville opened in 1842, part of a suite of prisons in the British capital. Prisoners under sentence of death were not housed at Pentonville Prison until the closure of Newgate Prison in 1902. Pentonville took over executions in North London. Condemned cells were added and an execution room constructed to accomodate Newgate’s gallows. At the same time Pentonville took over from Newgate the role of being the training location for future executioners.
Upon the white slip of paper on Pentonville’s gate the eyes of the spectators were riveted. The notice had the following words: “The sentence of the law passed upon Roger David Casement, found guilty of high treason, will be carried into execution at 9 a.m. tomorrow – Signed A S Ruston, Under-Sheriff of London, B. Kynaston Metcalfe, Under-Sheriff of Middlesex , O E M Davies, Governor”.
At eight minutes past nine the prison bell. tolled once, and immediately the members of the crowd exclaimed; “There is the bell; he has gone”. By this time the main road was crowded, and a large force of police was required to keep the populace back. John Ellis was the executioner. Eight years later, Elllis had given 23 years as an executioner and had been involved with 203 executions. He was noted to take his post very seriously and always hoped to dispatch the condemned person with as little issue as possible. In carrying out the execution, Mr Manler, senior medical officer, said death was instantaneous. Casement was six feet one and three-quarter inches in height, and the drop was six foot, three inches.
Rev James Caroll, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church at Eden Grove, was present at the execution, and afterwards told the Press Association representative that Casement went to his death “Strong and Erect, like the man he was”. Casement’s body was interred in No. 2 burial ground, Pentonville, inside the north boundary wall, opposite the officers’ quarters. Quicklime was not used in these grounds and the executed were buried in coffins. There Casement’s remains remained until 1965 when the labour government of Harold Wilson agreed to hand it over to the Republic of Ireland on condition he was not buried in the North. He was given a full state funeral and interred in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
President Eamon de Valera in his mid-eighties himself gave the graveside oration at Glasnevin. He joined an approximate other 30,000 Irish people at the funeral. His oration, which was televised, can be viewed on the archive section of RTE.ie. DeValera spoke about Glasnevin as a “place of pilgrimage”, Casement’s love of his father’s Antrim and Ulster. He called for north and south of Ireland to be “united in co-operation” and spoke about Casement’s “championship of oppressed and downtrodden people”.
In 2015, the National Library of Ireland released a cache of previously unseen documents penned by Casement whilst he was awaiting his execution. This includes on prison-regulated paper a letter from Casement to his cousins about his imprisonment and impending death in which he thanks them for their “brave, faithful, loving hearts to me in these last horrible days”. There is an envelope with the inscription: “This little book was used by Roger Casement at the hour of his death and was brought by me that morning by the priest who attended him on the scaffold”. One can also read the Notice of Final Appeal, dated 20 July 1916 with Roger Casements handwritten observations on his trial and the judgement handed down, typed copies of official papers and the Royal Ordinance stripping Casement of his knighthood and other honours. A significant set of Casement papers (transcripts or trials and personal diaries) also can be viewed in Clare County Archives and also in Kew Archives, London. In addition, the recent work of the Casement Project (.ie) by choreographer Fearghus Ó Conchúir focusses on Casement’s diaries and his world view on personal and bodily identity.
Captions:
855a. Roger Casement, c.1916 (source: Cork City Library)
855b. Roger Casement being led to the gallows at Pentonville Prison, 3 August 1916 (source: Cork City Library)
