Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article, 27 July 2017

The Wheels of 1917: Revolutionary Women of Cork’s Northside

   The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School will be held in the Shandon area of Cork City from Tuesday, 1 August to Saturday, 5 August 2017. The programme is now online at www.motherjonescork.com. The Cork Mother Jones Commemorative committee was established in 2012 to mark the 175th anniversary of the birth of Mary Harris / Mother Jones in Cork, Ireland. After a highly successful festival marking that anniversary it was decided to make the festival an annual event marking the life and legacy of Mother Jones.

   Although famous in other parts of the world, especially in the United States of America where she was once labelled “the most dangerous woman in America”, Cork born Mary Jones (née Harris) – or Mother Jones as she is perhaps more widely known – was virtually unknown and certainly not recognised as yet in her native city. The aim of the festivals and activities of this committee has been to get better recognition for Mother Jones in Cork and beyond.

  On Wednesday evening, 2 August at the Mother Jones Festival, Anne Twomey of the Shandon Area History Group will speak on the topic of Revolutionary Women of Cork’s Northside, 1916-1923. The Shandon Cumann Na mBan group after 1916 provides a touchstone   for many of the women. Below is an abstract from the notes the festival committee and Anne Twomey.

  At the centre of the Cumann Na mBan group was Lil Conlon and her sisters. Lil was an unrelenting worker who carried out varied tasks during the troubled period. She later wrote a book Cumann Na mBan and the Women of Ireland 1913-1925 in which she pitched the question “What did the women of Ireland do anyway?”

   Kate “Birdie” Conway, whose early career was as a professional operatic singer, later became a founder member in Cork of Cumann Na mBan and afterwards Shandon Branch president. She played a huge role from 1914 to 1922. Kate was born in Carrigaline and studied at the Cork School of Music under its principal A Teur, and took elocution lessons from J W Flynn. She developed a great soprano voice and gained the attention of the Cork Operatic Society with whom she performed. She embarked on a professional operatic career under the stage name Mlle Del Rita. One of her first professional leading roles was in Sir Charles V Stanford’s Shamus O’Brien (1896) in which she co-starred with Joseph O’Mara. She appeared at venues in Europe and North America before retiring prematurely from the professional circuit around 1900. Her last public appearance was in 1914 at the old Cork City Hall at a charity concert. She was involved in Conradh na Gaeilge in Cork from its foundation and was a pioneer of the Cumann na mBan movement, being president of the Shandon Branch at the time of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. She chose the pro-Treaty side in the civil war and dedicated much time to the well-being of the Free State army in the 1920s. She also devoted much of her time to the Magdalen Asylum, Sunday’s Well. Bridie died at Golden Grove, Douglas Road, Cork on 21 February 1936 and is buried in Carrigaline. Today she is remembered by a very colourful stain glass window in the entrance portal at the Ballinlough Church in Cork city. This was presented by her brother Maurice Conway in her memory. The window depicts the Little Flower to whom the deceased lady had a lifelong and enduring devotion.

   Across in Blackpool, Peg Duggan and her sisters Sarah and Annie, living at 49 Thomas Davis Street, operated an escape network for those on the run for years. Her flower shop on Parliament Street was a centre of Volunteer/IRA activity until closed by order of the British authorities. She was among the first on the scene of the murder of Lord Mayor Tomas MacCurtain in Blackpool on 20 March 1920. She rendered first aid and comfort for his widow, children and extended family.

  Emma Hourigan who lived nearby at 45 Maddens Buildings was very active, running intelligence, putting up posters, campaigning and organising.

   In the very heart of Cork City in St Augustine Street stood the innocent paper shop run by the Wallace sisters who were members of the Irish Citizen Army. This unassuming premises was effectively the intelligence post office for the volunteers and the IRA for 5/6 years. Nora and Sheila Wallace’s heroic and invisible contribution to the revolution is only now surfacing from the shadows.

  Other Cumann na mBan members included Margaret Lucey who typed drafts of Terence MacSwiney’s book Principles of Freedom. MacSwiney’s sisters Mary and Annie spent their entire lives working for the achievement of a Republic.

  Young Kitty Daly was very active; she took part in the burning of Macroom Railway Station and was involved in the ambush of a British officer near the present St John’s School.

  Geraldine Sullivan (Neeson), was Muriel Murphy’s bridesmaid at her marriage to Terence MacSwiney on 9 June 1917. She transported explosives on her person around the city.

  Nora O’Sullivan was actively involved and bravely hid and carried weapons for volunteers, who were subject to constant searches.

   To learn more, check out the details of Anne Twomey’s talk on Wednesday 2 August, 7.30pm, Maldron Hotel, Shandon.

Captions:

905a. Mary Harris, aka Mother Jones (source: Cork City Library)

905b. Centre glass panel is Kate “Birdie” Conway Memorial Window, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 15 June 2017

The Wheels of 1917: The Complexities of the Cork Union House

   The history of the Cork Union workhouse on Douglas Road is well documented (now the site of St Finbarr’s Hospital). The archives of the Cork Board of Guardians in Cork City and County archives are extensive, and include a large numbers of minute books, that record the proceedings of the Board’s meetings, 1841 – 1924. Many subjects are recorded in the minute books, such as the ongoing struggle to both fund, staff and manage the workhouse and related services, attitudes to poverty, developments in public health provision, and the care of the infirm, the destitute, children, and the mentally ill. Such subjects are also fleshed out and debated in Cork newspapers of the day, such as the Cork Examiner, which published the minutes of meetings as far back as 1841.

    Continuing the thread of exploring life in Cork one hundred years ago, like many other institutions in the city, the year 1917 for the Cork Union House coincided with continued cuts to service provision due the ongoing war. The old workhouse site provided an array of public services from accommodation, food, schools and hospitals. By 1917 the term workhouse had been renamed Cork District Hospital. At a special meeting of the Board of Guardians on 15 January 1917 salaries and cutbacks were outlined. There were men in their employment who were working for less than labourer wages. Urgent repairs were only to be pursued. The price of food was at such a level that a further increase made securing such goods prohibitive for relief. In January 1917, the provision of tobacco or snuff was to be minimised. It was proposed that milk be substituted for eggs. The consumption of coal in the institution was deemed too high with the cost in the summer the same as in winter. The butter bill was an enormous one. Other public boards had substituted margarine. As to the scarcity of sugar, they proposed to utilise condensed milk to sweeten teas. Attention was brought to the question of the three distinct lines of telephones in the institution– and that one ought to be suffice.

   At the meeting of the Visiting Committee on 2 May 1917 officials spoke about being refused a war bonus because they were receiving rations. The meeting saw further cuts in rations. Unmarrried officials were to be cut but the difference made up in cash to them. Two shillings per week more were paid to dispensary porters. At 16 May meeting, the engineer’s report, which was read, highlighted that the cost of building materials had increased fifty per cent and timber was coming in 100 per cent dearer. It was impossible to fully carry out the ordinary repair work needed with a small staff contingent of seven painters and two masons.

   In mid-May, the figures in the media revealed a large operation programme and the debate at meetings gives insights into the scope of the Union House and its complex. There were 1,450 people in the House (102 less than the figure for 1916). In the hospital, there was 980 patients in the hospital (45 less than the figure for 1916). The deaths during the week ended 5 May amounted to ten. The numbers of persons in receipt of outdoor relief totalled 1925. The daily supply of milk required totalled 182 gallons. It was bought from two sources – Mrs Hannah Forrest of Clogheen and Mr F Bradley of Carrigrohane. The tender of James Murphy of Nicholas’ Well for ten pigs at £112 was accepted. The wages of the bakers in the house were increased to the standard operating in the city, as were those of the carpenters and the fireman of the house. At the mid May committee meeting, the Ladies Boarding Committee was proposed to be dissolved – it had been established 30 years ago for the specific purpose of looking after young women with regards to giving them access to the site and improving their health.

  At the Board of Guardians meeting on 29 June 1917, complaints were read from the Federation of Trade Unions of Cork and District Health Insurance Society as to two of its members and the treatment they received as patients. It was acknowledged that there was a prolonged delay at the porter’s lodge with formalities and restrictions. A custom existed that all patients had to undress at the lodge All no matter what they were suffering from were to seen by the medical officers. Deputy attendants was deemed not conducive to the sympathetic treatment of patients in the hospital. The shortcut solution for many years was to propose the appointment of paid attendants but the expenditure was high so probationer nurses were appointed.

   At a Board of Guardians meeting on 21 September 1917, further insights are revealed. The Clerk of the Cork Union was manager of the schools – the number of girls in the female school was 51 whilst the teachers numbered 5. In the boy’s school there were 41 pupils and 3 teachers. In the Fever Hospital, there were three nuns, two probationers by day and one night nurse, and one paid wardsmaid and one inmate. There was a six-month fever course in the Cork District Hospital. Dr D Horgan of 11 Sydney Place, Cork was appointed eye specialist.

Note: Forthcoming June Walking Tours with Kieran, all free, 2 hours

• Saturday 17 June, Turners Cross & Ballyphehane Historical Walking Tour, meet at Christ the King Church, Turners Cross, 12noon (finishes a Ballyphehane Park)
• Saturday 24 June, Old Workhouse Tour, meet at entrance to St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, in association with the Friends of St Finbarr’s, 12noon

Caption:

899a. Map of Cork Union complex with Cork District Hospital, c.1910 (source: Cork City Library)