Last Thursday evening (2 December 2010), I had the priviledge of launching the short documentary, “A Brief History of Mahon” in Blackrock Castle. Below is an extract from my speech. Sincere well done to everyone who made this film happen.

Extract from Kieran’s speech:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, many thanks for this opportunity to launch this Dvd this evening. It’s great to be in a building that a one time protected the walled town of Cork from attacks from Pirate ships but is now looking further field to the universe. Can I say at the outset, this is an amazing community based project driven by our retired citizens, many of which put in trojan work to make sure older people are not marginalised and that they is ample opportunity to get stuck in and involved in community based projects, from parties to bowls to art and computer lessons.

The project is also driven by Eddie Noonan and his team at Frameworks Film who also does amazing work in recording the various histories across the city.I know many people in Mahon were interviewed for their perspective on how the area has developed and many of you are here this evening. One of the major aspects I feel that comes across is the strong sense of pride people have in their own place in this part of Cork City, young and old. It’s interesting to see the needs of young people voiced as well as the needs of the older generation. This Dvd is dedicated to the memory of Paddy O’Driscoll, who I met only once in my own travels but whose name goes before him even in death when one talks about the development of community in the Mahon area.

I think Paddy would be proud to see that in the overall sense the sense of pride, the sense of place and identity is very much present but also evolving in the Mahon community. My own experience of Mahon people is one of a strong common sense people which I feel this city and country needs more of in today’s world. This Dvd opens up an interesting box of memories that perhaps have not been open before, certainly not through the medium of film. Mahon has a rich history, an inheritance, physical in its buildings, cultural in terms of the outlook and memories of its residents. The researcher can also talk about community and settlement across 2,500 years in this area, whether it be Bronze Age times or the age of the O’Mahony ringfort, the age of the big house and estate or the age of one of the largest social housing projects in the country.

In the last number of years, I have been beavering away at researching different parts of this part of the City and in the last year have outed two walking trails of the wider area – one on the old Cork Blackrock and Passage Rail Line and the other on Ballinlough. Inspired by this film, there is much need to not only gather historical information about areas such as Mahon and Blackrock but also explore their sense of place. Both I feel are suffering from a case of amnesia – where much of its past is not that talked about in the present – or perhaps it is -but through the role of personal and childhood memories which feature alot in this short film. Apart from the historical, the role of personal memory is enormous in gauging the sense of place of an area.

This dvd at its heart is a celebration of the different parts of the Mahon’s identity. The dvd that we are launching tonight seems to have a great thread running through it as if old friends/ former topics, written about before are being revisited but this time -time has been taken to mull over the memories more.  This dvd at its core seems to be about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage- our landmarks, our oral histories, our scenery in our modern world for upcoming citizens.”

This week is the 75^th anniversary this week of the laying of the foundation stone of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballinlough. The Church since its inception has provided a central focus for the Ballinlough community and is part of the roots, amongst other cultural assets, of the strong sense of confidence, identity and place that prevails in Ballinlough.

For the record, the solemn blessing of the site and laying of the foundation stone was led by Bishop Daniel Cohalan, Bishop of Cork on Sunday 6 October 1935. On the Cork Examiner the following Monday morning a number of pages were allocated with pictures and a full write-up of the event (available in local studies section, Central Cork City Library). In his address to the congregation, Bishop Cohalan noted that in his younger days, he remembered the district around Ballnlough Road and Boreenmanna Road as largely devoted to market gardening but it had grown into a popular residential area and the necessity for a church was “heavily” felt he noted “not only for the convenience of the people of the area but also to relieve the strain on the limited accommodation of the Parish Church”. Initially Our Lady of Lourdes Church was to serve as a chapel of ease to St. Michael’s Parish Church, Blackrock but Ballinlough became its own parish in time.

The original plan for Our Lady of Lourdes Church in 1935 was to provide seating accommodation for 700 people. The church was to have a mortuary chapel and two sacristies attached. By the laying of the foundation stone, already over £1,000 had been expended on the construction work and fundraising had been driven by Canon William P. Murphy, the parish priest of Blackrock. Canon Murphy had amassed a large amount of fundraising experience in his church career serving in Douglas, Courceys, Dunmanway, Ballydehob, the Fever Hospital in Cork City, Mayfield and at St. Raphael’s Asylum for the Blind, Cork City.

The foundation stone of the new Ballinlough Church was blessed and marked on each side with the sign of the cross by Bishop Cohalan. The litany of saints was recited and Fr.  J.O’Brien, Dean of Residence of University College Cork, was the chanter. The stone was placed in position by the Bishop using a silver trowel presented to him by the builders. The Bishop, preceded by the clergy and acolytes, then walked in procession around the Church foundation, blessing it with holy water as he proceeded. The ceremony concluded with the singing of “Veni Creator” by the choir. After the Bishop’s address, the ceremonies ended with the singing of “Hail Queen of Heaven” by those present, accompanied by the band of Greenmount School, under the Mr. A.P. O’Toole.

The foundation stone, which is on view to the public outside the church has the following inscription, “A.M.D.G., in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. The foundation stone of this church was laid on 6^th October, 1935 by Most Rev. Dr. Cohalan, Bishop of Cork; Very Rev. William Canon Murphy, P.P., Messrs. Ryan and Fitzgibbon, architects; Messrs Coveney Bros. Builders.”