This year coincides with the fourteenth year of the Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project. Again launched for the new school term, the Project is open to schools in Cork; at primary level to the pupils of fourth, fifth and sixth class and at post-primary from first to sixth years. There are two sub categories within the post primary section, Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate. A student may enter as an individual or as part of a group or a part of a class entry.
Co-ordinated by myself, one of the key aims of the project is to encourage students to explore, investigate and debate their local heritage (built, archaeological, cultural and natural) in a constructive, active and fun way. Projects on any aspect of Cork’s rich heritage can be submitted to an adjudication panel. Prizes are awarded for best projects and certificates are given to each participant. A cross-section of projects submitted from the last school season can be gleamed from this link on my website, www.corkheritage.ie where there are other resources, former titles and winners and entry information as well.
Students produce a project on their local area using primary and secondary sources. Projects must also meet five elements. Projects must be colourful, creative, have personal opinion, imagination and gain publicity before submission. These elements form the basis of a student friendly narrative analysis approach where the student explores their project topic in an interactive and task oriented way. In particular students are encouraged to attain material through visiting local libraries, engaging with fieldwork, interviews with local people, making models, photographing, cartoon creating, making DVDs of their area. Re-enacting can also be a feature of several projects. For over thirteen years, the project has evolved in how students actually pursue local history. The project attempts to provide the student with a hands-on and interactive activity that is all about learning not only about heritage in your local area (in all its forms) but also about the process of learning by participating students.
This school term there is a focus on the Ford Motor Company with projects on the old factory being encouraged. One hundred years ago, engineering was important in Cork Harbour quay wall works, Cork’s electric lighting and power supply, and Railway facilities. There was a considerable amount of citizens who worked in foundries, mill-wrighting, jobbing and in general repair work. The possibilities for engineering on a scale appropriate to the extensive waterfront and river transport were to be increased by the arrival to Cork in 1917 of the firm, Messrs. Henry Ford & Son, Inc. of Dearborn, Michigan.
Henry Ford’s grandfather John in his early years was a native of Wolfe Tone Street in Cork City. In later life, he moved with his family to become tenants on an estate at Ballinascarty, near Bandon. John had three brothers, Samuel, Henry and George who emigrated to America in search of fortune in the 1830s. The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in June 1903 with Henry Ford (III) as vice-president and chief engineer. Henry realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. From 1908 until 1927, the company would sell more than 15 million Model T cars and trucks in the US and Europe. The company began construction of the world’s largest industrial complex along the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan, during the late 1910s and early 1920s.
In November 1916, Fords made an offer to purchase the freehold of the Cork Park race grounds and considerable land adjoining the river near the Marina. Fords, Cork Corporation and the Harbour Commissioners entered into formal negotiations. The Ford Company acquired approximately 130 acres of land, having a river frontage of approximately 1,700 feet, the company agreeing to erect the buildings to cost at least £200,000 to give employment to at least 2,000 adult males, and to pay a minimum wage of one shilling per hour to them when employed in the factory after completion. The plant being laid down by the company was specially designed for the manufacture of an Agricultural Motor Tractor, well known as the “fordson”, a 22 horse power, four cylinder tractor, working with kerosene or paraffin, adaptable either for ploughing or as a portable engine arranged for driving machinery by belt drive. There is a great project for a student to pursue on some of the stories of Fords.
The Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project is about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage such as Fords. The project is open to many directions of delivery. Students are encouraged to engage with their topic -in order to make sense of it, understand and work with it. Students continue to experiment with the overall design and plan of their work. This project in the City is kindly funded by Cork City Council (viz the help of Niamh Twomey), the Heritage Council and Cork Civic Trust (viz the help of John X. Miller). Prizes are also provided by the Lifetime Lab, Lee Road and Sean Kelly of Lucky Meadows Equestrian Centre, Watergrasshill (www.seankellyhorse.com). There is also a County Cork edition.
Captions:
862a. Advertisement for Fordson, 1919 (source: Cork City Library).
862b. Ford Works, c.1930 (source: Cork City Museum)
Another Cork heritage open day is looming. The 2016 event will take place on Saturday 20 August. For one day only, over 40 buildings open their doors free of charge for this special event. Members of the public are allowed a glimpse of some of Cork’s most fascinating buildings ranging from the medieval to the military, the civic to the commercial and the educational to the ecclesiastical. This event was greeted with great enthusiasm by building owners and members of the public alike in 2015 with an estimated 25,000 people participating in the day.
It is always a great opportunity to explore behind some of Cork’s grandest buildings. With the past of a port city, Cork architecture has a personality that varied and much is hidden amongst the city’s narrow streets and laneways. It is a photogenic city, which lights up with sunshine as it hits the limestone buildings. Much of its architecture is also inspired by international styles – the British style of artwork and nineteenth century brick pervading in most cases– but it’s always pays to look up in Cork and marvel at the Amsterdamesque-style of our eighteenth century structures on streets such as Oliver Plunkett Street or at the gorgeous tall spires of the city’s nineteenth-century churches.
Cork Heritage Open Day is twelve years in the making and with 40 buildings it is almost impossible to visit them all in one day. It takes a few goes to get to them all and spend time appreciating their physical presence in our city but also the often hidden context of why such buildings and their communities came together and their contribution to the modern day picture of the city. The team behind the Open Day, Cork City Council, do group the buildings into general themes, Steps and Steeples, Customs and Commerce, Medieval to Modern, Saints and Scholars and Life and Learning – one can walk the five trails to discover a number of buildings within these general themes. These themes remind the participant to remember how our city spreads from the marsh to the undulating hills surrounding it, how layered and storied the city’s past is, how the city has been blessed to have many scholars contributing to its development in a variety of ways and how the way of life in Cork is intertwined with a strong sense of place and ambition. For a small city, it packs a punch in its approaches to national and international interests.
The trail Medieval to Modern is a very apt way to describe the layers of our city. The trail walk encompasses some of the amazing buildings in the city centre, but also some where you come away going, “why haven’t I seen this hidden gem before”. Admire the historic frontage of the Princes Street Unitarian Church, examine the coat of arms and symbols within the Masonic Hall, explore the “Modest Man” in Christ Church, re-imagine the past court cases in the Cork Circuit Court House, revel in life in an eighteenth century merchant’s house in Fenn’s Quay, discover Cork one hundred years ago through exhibitions in St Peter’s Cork on North Main Street, get lost in the street and harbour views of Cork in the Crawford Art Gallery, stand under the proscenium arch in Cork Opera House, and walk the winding staircase of Civic Trust House. All of these buildings celebrate life in Cork, an active populace constructing the senses of place in Cork, and all relate the multitude of memories, which ignite the ambitious streak in the city’s development DNA.
Meanwhile down by the river, the Customs and Commerce trail follows the Lee and showcases some of the old and new commercial buildings in the city. These buildings track the commercial history of Cork City and highlight its many industries over time. For the more energetic walker this route can be combined with the Medieval to Modern walking route. Re-imagine the turning of the wheels of the trams at the National Sculpture Factory, learn about local government in the City Hall, think highly of the multiple stories of the city’s masons and carpenters at the Carpenter’s Hall, feel the energy of the steam ships in the maritime paintings in the city’s Custom House, and look at the fine details on the pillars within AIB Bank on the South Mall.
The Custom House was designed by William Hargrave in 1881 and built at Custom House Street between the north and south channels of the River Lee. At the time its main work dealt with inland revenue. In 1904 the Cork Harbour Commissioners took over the building on a 999 year lease. In 1906 a magnificently ornate boardroom, designed by William Price, the then Harbour Engineer, was added to the building. Equally impressive is the Committee Room, a dark wood panelled room, with pale cream and gold wallpaper and a delicately patterned ceiling. The Boardroom and Committee Room house a fine collection of maritime artwork owned by the Port of Cork Company.
See www.corkheritageopenday.ie for more information on the city’s great heritage open day and then followed by Heritage Week (information at www.heritage week.ie). My tours are posted at www.kieranmccarthy.ie under the walking tours section or follow my facebook page, Cork Our City, Our Town.
Captions:
857a. Custom House and Cork Docks, view from the top of Elysian Tower (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
857b. City Hall Complex and the city centre island beyond, view from the top of the Elysian Tower, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
National Heritage Week is upon us again at the end of next week (20th – 28th August). It’s going to be a busy week. For my part I have organised six tours. These are all free and I welcome any public support for the activities outlined below. There are also brochures detailing other events that can be picked up from Cork City Hall and City libraries. If you are up the country on holidays, check out www.heritageweek.ie for the listings of national events. It is always a great week to get out and explore your local area and avail of talks, trails and a wide range of family events.
Heritage Open Day:
Saturday 20 August 2016 – Historical Walking Tour of City Hall with Kieran, learn about the early history of Cork City Hall and Cork City Council, learn about the development of the building and visit the Lord Mayor’s Room, 11am, ticketed (free, duration: 75 minutes); contact The Everyman Palace, 0214501673.
The current structure, replaced the old City Hall, which was destroyed in the ‘burning of Cork’ in 1920. It was designed by Architects Jones and Kelly and built by the Cork Company Sisks. The foundation stone was laid by Eamonn de Valera, President of the Executive Council of the State on 9 July 1932 (www.corkheritageopenday.ie).
Kieran’s Heritage Week, 20-27 August 2016:
Sunday, 21 August 2016, Eighteenth Century Cork, Branding a City: Making a Venice of the North; historical walking tour with Kieran on how streets like Oliver Plunkett Street and French Church Street came into being; meet at the City Library, Grand Parade, 7pm (free, duration: two hours, www.corkheritage.ie)
Monday 22 August 2016, The Victorian Quarter; historical walking tour (new) with Kieran of the area around St Patrick’s Hill – Wellington Road and McCurtain Street; meet at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 7pm (free, duration: two hours, www.corkheritage.ie)
This is a new tour that hopes to bring the participant from the top of St Patrick’s Hill to the eastern end of McCurtain Street through Wellington Road. The tour will speak about the development of the Victorian Quarter and its hidden and beautiful architectural heritage. All are welcome and any old pictures and documents that people have of these areas, please bring along.
Tuesday 23 August 2016, Cork Docklands, historical walking tour with Cllr Kieran McCarthy; Discover the history of the city’s docks, from quayside stories to the City Park Race Course and Albert Road; meet at Kennedy Park, Victoria Road, 7pm (free, duration: two hours)
Thursday 25 August 2016, The City Workhouse, historical walking tour with Kieran; learn about the workhouse created for 2,000 impoverished people in 1841 (the year 2016 marks the 175th anniversary of the site’s creation), meet at the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 7pm (free, duration: two hours).
The Cork workhouse, which opened in December 1841, was an isolated place – built beyond the toll house and toll gates, which gave entry to the city and which stood just below the end of the wall of St. Finbarr’s Hospital in the vicinity of the junction of the Douglas and Ballinlough Roads. The Douglas Road workhouse was also one of the first of over 130 workhouses to be designed by the Poor Law Commissioners’ architect George Wilkinson.
Friday 26 August 2016, The Walk of the Friars; historical walking tour (new) with Kieran, explore the local history from Red Abbey through Barrack Street to Friars Walk; meet at Red Abbey tower, Mary Street, 7pm (free, duration: two hours)
This new walking tour begins on Red Abbey square and explores the area’s medieval origins and the impact on the area. In such a small corner of the city, post medieval Cork and the story of industrial housing can be told, as well as stories of St Stephen’s School, Callanan’s Tower, Elizabeth Fort and the Gallows at Greenmount.
Saturday 27 August 2016, Fitzgerald’s Park; historical walking tour with Kieran; learn about the story of the Mardyke to the great early twentieth century Cork International Exhibition, meet at band stand, 2pm, note the afternoon time (free, duration: two hours)
Looking at the physical landscape of the Park, there are clues to a forgotten and not so familiar past. The entrance pillars on the Mardyke, the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, the museum, the fountain in the middle of the central pond dedicated to Fr Mathew and timber posts eroding in the river were once parts of one of Cork’s greatest historical events, the Cork International Exhibitions of 1902 and 1903. Just like the magical spell of Fitzgerald’s Park, the Mardyke exhibitions were spaces of power. Revered, imagined and real spaces were created. They were marketing strategies where the past, present and future merged; aesthetics of architecture, colour, decoration and lighting were all added to the sense of spectacle and in a tone of moral and educational improvement. The entire event was the mastermind of Cork Lord Mayor Edward Fitzgerald, after which the park got it name.
Hope to see you on some of these tours…
Captions:
856a. Fitzgerald Park during recent sunny weather (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
856b. Map of St Patrick’s Hill area 1801 (source: Cork City Library)
Across the Digital Landscape: The Network of Networks
Kieran McCarthy,
Member, Committee of the Regions, EA/ IE
A River of Opportunities:
Bratislava, Slovakia, put quite simply, lingers in the mind.
The newest capital of the EU Presidency can truly and honestly refer to itself as an international crossroads of ideas and people. Located near the state borders of four countries – Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, this geography, as well as intensive trading considerably influenced the assembly of nationalities living in the town. Two traditional long-distance European merchant roads crossing this region had a decisive impact. Like two crossed wires they kick-started the engine for Bratislava’s development. The Danubian Road linking the cultures of the Mediterranean and the Orient (as an extension of the legendary Silk Road) with the inlands of continental Europe. The second, the Amber Road, linked countries by the Baltic Sea in the north with southern Europe. Both merchant roads crossed the Danube river by ford and both created the basic pattern of the main city thoroughfares of Bratislava in the Middle Ages. A thousand years later, the focus on themes of connection and transnational have been renewed on a European scale in Bratislava and within the surrounding country of Slovakia. The Danube, still an international waterway, provides the metaphor for a river of diverse opportunities, which flows through these regions.
In Bratislava’s rich eighteenth century architecture and cobbled streets you can see the influences from adjacent countries. The stamp of European funding can be seen in many aspects – the trams, which meanders through its centre and suburbs – on which is stamped Eurotram. The stamp of European Regional Development Fund on an older university wall show that the regional and local governments of this capital mean business in embracing transformation. It continues to transform into one of the EU’s notable capitals. Just like the EU, Bratislava is a work in progress – complete with EU branding, vision, a narrative, solidarity and a modern identity stamp.
The 7th EU Summit of Cities and Regions sought to harness Bratislava’s historic and modern edge, hosting the themes of connect and invest. Connect is perhaps a more positive paradigm to talk about and negotiate than invest. It is easier to connect and provide ideas than negotiate the whys and where-to-fores of financial investment. It was the moment though that Jeremy Rifkin walked out onto the Opera House Hall stage, which added to the game changing thought processes of the Summit. Rooting his two feet in the carpeted stage, the large stage did not deter his confident stage presence. Pausing before he began – in his hand a half a dozen pages complete with notes – he did not look at – he was ready – he drank his glass of water and began his tale centre stage – holding his audience as he bended and flowed, softly and enthusiastically through his narrative. From the beginning, he unfolded and wove a story of intrigue, questions, opportunity and what-ifs. He presented an overview of a global landscape infused by the opportunities of a third Industrial Revolution – a landscape of digital infrastructure – one, which laterally exists across human and computer networks – one where the winds of change will beckon in new business opportunities globally and one, which ushers in cultural transformations in how the world is viewed and life itself is lived.
Across Professor Rifkin’s hour long narrative he questioned the advancement of science and transportation in the twentieth century in the second industrial revolution – building on this he assembled new arguments – a new and modern landscape overview – an elaborate chessboard of sorts complete with moving complex and chaotic parts. He unfurled familiar global problems of climate change, rising energy costs, geo-politics, global migration patterns, unemployment and poverty – all infused with a global society struggling to move these issues on towards solution. His initial thoughts were familiar paradigms – the rising forcefulness of climatic storms, declines in traditional industries, and inflation and economic downturn. He presented all the ingredients to create a troubled second decade in this early twenty-first century. This troubled world searches for changes amidst the quickening pace of globalisation. It is true to say that our regions, town and cities have become globalised – glocalities – whereby survival on your own, is almost impossible. Technology has sped up the need for even further interconnection. One must reach out and interact in a network of networks – where ideas come fast and quick in the world of the internet, all leading to what Rifkin’s calls the “Third Industrial Revolution”.
Thinking Smart:
The Third Industrial Revolution, pitches a case about thinking smart – smart in the use of energy, smart in productivity, smart in the business sense, smart in the use of ICT and its accumulation of big data and smart in its approach to the citizen; the citizen is now the producer and consumer in a smart economy– a “prosumer” as Jeremy Rifkin notes. The smart economy champions the smart citizen agenda. It heralds a kind of restoring of democratic power to the individual – it spearheads a quest to help change the troubled world – a power to feel wanted – a power to embed citizens into lateral networks of communities – a power to test and create ideas with little cost and a power to create frameworks in collaboration in creating the sharing economy – to create a global and lateral sense of place and identity – whereby identity crosses virtual borders with ease and whereby time and space have compressed at rapid rates. We are all connected. Communication has become paramount through mobile phone devices. Failure to have one makes you feel disconnected. People are connected more than ever before in human history.
For years, ICT has been hosting a kind of ‘taking back’ programme in democracy and equality – a move from top-down to lateral government – one of a shared future – a future where courage to change leads as well as ideas – where cultural transformation is at its heart. The digitisation agenda connects to buzz words such as watershed, internationalisation, scaling up, transnational, cohesion, the innovation agenda, a world of networks, synergies, ecosystems, pathways of progression, clean energy, sustainability, the living lab, the discovery process. With such words alone the emerging nodes of how we perceive place-making will release new journeys of discovery into our lives, families, communities, regions, towns and cities.
Our way of viewing of the world has been changing but is to now change further. Those who are connected to the digitised landscape have access to billions of bytes of data, harvested to be used. Just like those who sat in the train carriages during the nineteenth century, those travellers got access to new ways of looking at their enterprise models, stories, local landscapes and regions. They got access to landscapes – physical and mindscapes – they normally would not be allowed to travel across. Physically travellers could look into the backyards of others and see how others lived and survived. They experienced new speeds and began their interest in being connected between town, city and region. Indeed, the tramway system in Bratislava belongs to the oldest systems in Europe. It was in operation two years earlier than the similar ones in Vienna and Budapest. The contribution of Bratislava to developments in aeronautics is also significant. The first attempt at flying a balloon took place here in 1784. Ján BahúR introduced his invention of a helicopter before a military committee, and that was arguably earlier than the Wright brothers. In front of the Bratislava airport building, there is a statue of Stefan Banic, the inventor of the early parachute. Petrovia brothers sold their airship concept to the Duke of Zeppelin. From a height, the scientist could see the bigger picture of urban and rural divides, capturing agricultural practices en mass and recognising potential for crops and regional development. The first electric bulb in Bratislava was switched on in 1884, five years after its invention by Thomas Edison transforming the dark into a form of semi daylight, giving people more choice in staying in or out and engaging longer with their city and communities. The first telephone connection was put through in 1877 bringing people together and further compressing space and time. This part of the world is all about connecting people and places.
Fast forward to modern times and during the Summit delegates heard about the the Hyperloop company. Hyperloop is a futuristic transportation project allowing passengers to travel with the speed of sound – around 1200 km/h. The initial concept has been introduced in 2013 by Tesla’s founder Elon Musk. The first ever cities to be connected by hyperloop are Vienna – Bratislava – Budapest. While it currently takes 1 hour to get from Bratislava to Vienna by bus or train. They aim to cover this distance in 8 minutes by year 2020 According to the Hyperloop company, the travel ticket should not be more expensive than e.20. The system is designed to be earthquake and weather resistant, with each pylon capable of supporting seven passenger Hyperloop tubes and one for security purposes – transporting an estimated 3,400 passengers per hour, and 24 million people each year. Bratislava is a city which envelops and develops opportunities.
Back to the Future:
Being Smart has lit an enterprising fire in Bratislava. However, this ancient city is not alone. The advent of the third industrial revolution brings the principles of smart specialisation to many of the EU’s regions. It brings thought processes rooted in vision and openness, in values of exchange and citizen interaction. It aims to break the silo mentality and putting faith in co-operation and cohesion. Regions become collaborators, enablers of strategies, leaders, recognisers of change, champions of fresh narratives, corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability, and utilisers of sources of energy such as solar and wind.
Regions face re-alignment of their outlook and strategies, from vertical – national to local political agendas towards a lateral movement – an inter-regional agenda. International diplomacy becomes a must. Regions learn from each other. The network of networks puts a value on communication as a must. Concepts such as e-government, e-business and discovery-led programmes make regions livings labs. The alignment of the quadruple helix of government, business, academic and civil society creates a fifth addition or a glue to the helix, that of social inclusion. Young and old can drive the shared economy, and maybe the foundations of global growth will not be just based on economic arguments but will partner with the social as a key to unlocking the EU’s future.
By the time Jeremy Rifkin offered his conclusions to the summit, the audience had been led on a journey through time and space along the paradigms of a new industrial revolution, which will change all aspects of our lives and our place in the world.
Cllr Kieran McCarthy invites all Cork young people to participate in the seventh year of McCarthy’s ‘Make a Model Boat Project’. All interested must make a model boat at home from recycled materials and bring it along for judging to Cork’s Atlantic Pond on Sunday 12 June 2016, 2pm. The event is being run in association with Meitheal Mara and the Cork Harbour Festival. There are three categories, two for primary and one for secondary students. The theme is ‘Cork Harbour Boats’, which is open to interpretation. There are prizes for best models and the event is free to enter. Cllr McCarthy, who is heading up the event, noted “I am encouraging creation, innovation and imagination amongst our young people, which are important traits for all of us to develop”. In addition, Cllr McCarthy emphasises that places like the Atlantic Pond are an important part of Cork’s natural and amenity heritage. For further information and to take part, please sign up at www.corkharbourfestival.com.
The Cork Harbour Festival will bring together the City, County and Harbour agencies and authorities. It connects our city and coastal communities. Combining the Ocean to City Race and Cork Harbour Open Day, there are over 50 different events in the festival for people to enjoy – both on land and on water. The festival begins the June Bank Holiday Saturday, 4th June, with the 28km flagship race Ocean to City – An Rás Mór. Join thousands of other visitors and watch the hundreds of participants race from Crosshaven to Douglas to Cork City in a spectacular flotilla. Cllr McCarthy noted: “During the festival week embark on a journey to discover the beautiful Cork Harbour and enjoy free harbour tours, sailing tasters, open days at Spike Island and Fort Camden, and lots more; we need to link the city and the harbour more through branding and tourism. The geography and history of the second largest natural harbour in the world creates an enormous treasure trove, which we need to harness, celebrate and mind”.
Cllr McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition 2016 Cork’s young people are invited to participate in the eighth year of Cllr Kieran’s McCarthy’s ‘Community Talent Competition’. The auditions will take place on Sunday 8 May between 10am-5pm in the Lifetime Lab, Lee Road. There are no entry fees and all talents are valid for consideration. The final will be held two weeks later. There are two categories, one for primary school children and one for secondary school students. Winners will be awarded a perpetual trophy and prize money of €150 (two by €150). The project is being organised and funded by Cllr Kieran McCarthy in association with Red Sandstone Varied Productions (RSVP).
Cllr McCarthy noted: “In its eight year, the talent competition is a community initiative. We generally get to audition people who have very little experience of performing. Within the audition process there is friendly feedback from our judges and if the auditionee gets through there are workshops to offer advice and support. The talent competition is all about encouraging young people to develop their talents and creative skills, to push forward with their lives and to embrace their community positively. I am delighted with the nuggets of talent that we have found in Cork communities over the years and very proud of those who post audition and competition, have taken up music, drama, and other elements of the performing arts within Cork – they engage with their talent and develop and enjoy it more”. Further details can be got from the talent show producer (RSVP), Yvonne Coughlan, 086 8764685 or email rsvpireland@gmail.com.
The birthday of Percy French is being marked in words and song by the Douglas Writers in Cork to co-incide with the publication of a new book on the famous entertainer. The Douglas Writers have now produced a DVD on Percy French and his link to the West Clare railway, made famous by his song Are You Right There Michael? Local author Billy MacCarthy from Shamrock Lawn, a lifelong fan of Percy French and a founder member of the Douglas Writers swops words for notes when he performs the song on the DVD. “The comic songs of Percy French are still enjoyed by many people and I hope the events in Douglas will introduce him to a new generation,” he said.
Cork city councillor and historian Kieran McCarthy will introduce the DVD in Douglas Library in the Douglas Village Shopping Centre on Saturday 7th May beginning at 11.30 am when he talks on the legacy of Percy French. Later at 8.30 pm in the Douglas GAA Hall, Ronnie McGinn hosts a Percy French Evening with showband star Art Supple and Friends. Tickets at five euro are now available from the Douglas Community Centre and the Douglas GAA Hall. All proceeds in aid of Douglas Meals on Wheels.
My second foray with Cork City Musical Society brings Crazy for You the musical from 29 April to 1 May in the Firkin Crane Shandon, four performances (three evening shows and a matinee). The show for all the family is being directed by myself, has a cast of 30 and a 7-piece band, with musical direction by Michael Young and choreography by Aisling Byrne Gaughan.
We are delighted to present our musical to the public. Our cast of 30 have worked very hard on this production to bring a toe-tapping, sing-along and funny musical, which will leave a smile on the faces of the audience. Amateur musical societies are multiple in nature up and down the country. All bring their local communities together under a volunteer and charity umbrella – collaborating and bringing people together to create an outlet for people and to put drama, music and all ultimately form a key cultural vein within towns and villages. It is important that a city such as Cork has a musical society to promote the inherent love for musical theatre.
Crazy for You is a romantic love musical with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as “The New Gershwin Musical Comedy”, it is largely based on the song writing team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but incorporates songs from several other productions as well. George and Ira Gershwin will always be remembered as the songwriting team whose voice was synonymous with the sounds and style of the Jazz Age. By the time of their 1924 Broadway hit, Lady Be Good!, George had worked with lyricist Buddy DeSylva on a series of revues, George White’s Scandals, while Ira reveled in success with composer Vincent Youmans on Two Little Girls in Blue. But from 1924 until George’s death in 1937, the brothers wrote almost exclusively with each other, composing over two dozen scores for Broadway and Hollywood. Though they had many individual song hits, their greatest achievement may have been the elevation of musical comedy to an American art form.
The history of jazz has its roots firmly planted in the American cities of New Orleans, Chicago, and New York City. And the musical tradition within these cities still lives on today. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on different national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to many distinctive styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass-band marches, French quadrilles, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. In the 1930s, heavily arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz, a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisational style and Gypsy jazz (a style that emphasized musette waltzes) were the prominent styles. Ira Gershwin was a joyous listener to the sounds of the modern world. He had a sharp eye and ear for the minutiae of living. He noted in a diary: “Heard in a day: An elevator’s purr, telephone’s ring, telephone’s buzz, a baby’s moans, a shout of delight, a screech from a ‘flat wheel’, hoarse honks, a hoarse voice, a tinkle, a match scratch on sandpaper, a deep resounding boom of dynamiting in the impending subway, iron hooks on the gutter”.
In studying the history of jazz music on the other side of the Atlantic, it is very interesting to research the anti-jazz movement in Ireland in the 1930s. It is difficult to imagine the halting of such glorious toe-tapping music such as “I Got Rhythm”. In an article in the History Ireland magazine (1993) by Jim Smyth entitled Dancing, Depravity and all that Jazz, The Public Dance Halls Act of 1935 he notes the pressure for constraints on the dance halls was becoming forceful. The Gaelic League re-launched its anti-jazz campaign in 1934 with a statement very much in tune with the sentiments of the bishops: “It is this music and verse that the Gaelic League is determined to crush…its influence is denationalising in that its references are to things foreign to Irishmen: that it is the present day instrument of social degradations all too plain, even in Ireland. That was the reason for their-launching of the anti-jazz campaign, the reason it received the blessing of the church and the approval of the state. The League was quick to condemn politicians who were seen as behavin an ‘anti-national’ fashion”. The Secretary of the League, attacking the broadcasting of jazz on Radio Éireann, had this to say about the minister responsible: “Our Minister of Finance has a soul buried in jazz and is selling the musical soul of the nation for the dividends of sponsored jazz programmes. He is jazzing every night of the week”. A number of County Councils adopted resolutions condemning jazz and all-night dancing. In January 1934 a large demonstration took place in Mohill, County Leitrim. It was made up mostly of young people and the press estimated the attendance at 3,000, with five bands and banners inscribed with “Down with Jazz” and “Out with Paganism”. Support came from church and state.
But one can imagine that deep within some dance halls, the needs to release this soulful and spirit enhancing music. Come and enjoy Cork City’s musical production of Crazy for You, 29 April-1 May, see www.firkincrane.ie for tickets.
Captions:
840a. Some of the cast for the upcoming Cork City Musical Society production of Crazy for You, The New Musical; 29 April-1 May, www.firkincrane.ie for tickets (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
840b. George Gershwin at piano with Ira Gershwin and Fred Astaire (source: Getty Images)
