Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 10 April 2025

Making an Irish Free State City – A Great War Memorial Council Deliberation

A week can be long time in politics. By the time the motion on allowing the First World memorial on the South Mall reached the full suite of Councillors of Cork Corporation – six weeks later following on from the Public Works Committee debate, public vote and public debate – the elected members were ready with their perspectives.

The Lord Mayor Cllr Seán French presided and he put the question to the full Council on the question of giving permission to erect a monument in Cork to the Irish soldiers who fell in the Great War. A similar debate to the Public Works Committee occurred with perspectives for and against the proposal.

Cllr Seán Nolan moved that permission for the erection of the monument be not granted. He did so not out of disrespect for the memory of the men it was intended to honour, but he believed that the time was not opportune for the erection of such a memorial. He argued that they had seen great heros belonging to the Corporation such as Lord Mayors’ MacCurtain and MacSwiney and Alderman Tadgh Barry, and many others who had fallen in Cork City and County, and “so far the nation had not seen fit to erect a memorial to those men”.

Cllr Nolan continued that he knew that the country would pay them a tribute when the time came. He also believed that the time and money associated with a Great War memorial would be better devoted in looking after the widows of those fallen soldiers and their dependents and the wounded.

Cllr Seán O’Leary seconded the rejection of the monument and said it was not to commemorate the men who fell that the proposed monument would be erected, but for the cause for which these men fell; “The monument would commemorate England’s war, with which they in Ireland had nothing to do with. Those men went out to fight, unconsciously, and so enabled to send troops here, which she could not otherwise have done”.

Cllr T O’Neil denoted himself for the motion and said the ex-service men of Cork and the other parts of Ireland went out to France in 1914 at the call of the Irish leaders at the time; “That call was given by the recognised leaders of the Irish nation at that time and they answered the call in Cork and all over Ireland. A great majority of the Cork men who went out fell in the fight and their comrades desired by erecting a suitable monument to honour their memory”.

Alderman E Coughlan said it was not the intention of any member opposing the erection of the monument to show any disrespect to the men who died. He regretted his opposition vote as he wished to keep the streets “pure and clean of symbols of Britain”. He noted; “I suggest that it be erected in one of the cemeteries, which was a more suitable place for a monument of the kind. It would not be suitable in the streets of Cork after what occurred in those streets in those streets during the last three or four years…I want to keep the streets of Cork free from any taint of Imperialism”.

Cllr G Byrne supported the proposal. He spoke regarding the fact that no monument had been erected to the martyred Lord Mayor’s memory. He desired to say that if any such project were started in the city that the ex-servicemen in Cork would be the first to come forward and support it; “The ex-servicemen and their friends believed that the time had arrived when they should erect a memorial in honour of their fallen comrades…their fallen dead deserved such an honour”.

Cllr J Allen supported the proposal noting that his own brother was killed in the streets of Cork by Irishmen and his mother put a monument over his grave to honour his memory, as did every other member of his family, and also his friends. He noted; “Why should the ex-servicemen of Cork be prevented from paying similar respect to their fallen comrades. They fought and died side by side and it would be unjust if men who had come back were not allowed to erect a memorial to their fallen comrades”. He further felt that any opposition to such a monument would only widen the gap between fellow-Irishmen and such a thing should be avoided.

Cllr John Horgan said that he asked those who offered opposition to the erection of the monument to waive that opposition. He noted that the monument was one merely for the purpose of reminding the relatives and others what the sacrifices of those fallen soldiers should not be forgotten.

Councillor Sir John Scott denoted that he yielded to no man in his respect for Lord Mayor MacCurtain nor were the citizens of Cork forgetful of his sacrifice and services. They had raised a valuable testimonial to his memory and over £12,000 or subscribed to his family. He continued to say that people of all the nominations joined in paying attribute to MacCurtain and a similar tribute was started in connection with Lord Mayor MacSwiney; “The man who fought for the freedom, not only of their own country, but of the world at large, were entitled to respect, and he would vote for giving a site for this monument as a matter of duty, another tribute to the bravery of fellow citizens”.

Cllr J Good argued that he had respect for the men to whom the monument was to be erected and he certainly said when “England did what was right by Ireland” he would be quite prepared to shake hands with England and be “friendly and neighbourly with her in every way”.  He continued to note; “But until that time comes, I will hold my own principles that I have always stuck by, am proud of”.

Cllr Sir Edward Fitzgerald noted that the men who went out to fight in the Great War did so out of the corner of their conscience, and they gave the greatest proof of their consistency when they died for their conviction. He noted; “Their memories deserve to be honoured and I would be a traitor to all belonging to me if I did not honour them to the best of my ability”.

After several more speakers of for and against the memorial a vote was taken of the full Council – the majority of which was in favour. Sixteen members were for with twelve members against the proposal for the monument.

To be continued…

Caption:

1299a. Close-up of the fallen soldier on the First World War memorial on the South Mall, Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 3 April 2025

Making an Irish Free State City – Ms MacSwiney’s Letter to the Editor

The decision in mid-October 1924 by Cork Corporation’s Public Works committee to give permission to advance a Great War Memorial on the South Mall brought debate outside into the public realm. Much historical material survives on the opinions of those individuals for the memorial and on those individuals completely against the memorial, with all opinions made against the varied meanings of such a memorial in an evolving political landscape in Cork.

In particular on the against side and highlighting the evolving political context of the time is Eitne or Annie MacSwiney, sister of Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney. She sent a letter to the Cork Examiner outlining her views. The letter was published on 21 October 1924 and signed “Eitne McSuibne, Ig Corcaighe, 20 October 1924”.

Opening her perspectives, Eitne alludes to the discussions where her brother’s name was brought into the debate on the war memorial. She notes that she had no desire to enter into discussion with people who wish to “erect memorials to England’s victories”, but neither had she any desire to see her brother’s name “dragged into the discussion”.

The first aspect, to which her attention was drawn to, was an argument by a member of Cork Corporation, who mentioned he had a right to speak and vote for such a memorial as he had walked in Terence MacSwiney’s funeral.

Eitne writes that the less said about those who walked in her brother’s Terence’s funeral the better. She points to the people of Cork and their memory of a “most impressive display” at the funeral – especially from the dignitaries of the Church – from archbishops to priests, who walked in all the mourning robes of the Church. In addition she writes that on the first anniversary of his death when the public bodies and citizens filled the Cathedral at a Solemn Requiem Mass, where the Bishop of Cork presided. However, Eitne contrasts all of that with his second anniversary after the passing of the Treaty when some priests refused to pray for Terence in Cork churches. She writes; “What had changed in the two years? Surely not the dead Terence MacSwiney, nor the ideals for which he lived and died. So I repeat, the less said about those who walked in his funeral, the better”.

The second aspect Eitne draws attention to is the question of what there was no statue to Terence erected in the city. She notes that a memorial was projected, but that the project was stopped by his family after the Treaty was signed and voted on. She noted: “They felt, as felt all those who stood true to the principles for which the dead died that, until Emmet’s epitaph can be written, no monument should be raised to any of his successors; and assuredly not in a land whoso false sons took the oppressor’s guns to fight, at his dictation, against the freedom of their own land, and against those who were defending it. The best memorial to any of them, from Wolfe Tone to Denny Barry, is earnestness in the completion of the work they left us to do”.

The third aspect Eitne addresses in her letter is on the proposal of a British war memorial for Cork. She stresses the fact that Cork people all know many people who served England in the European war. However she argues in her opinion that those who went out to fight were “misled by false propaganda and by the cry of Freedom for small nations including many too who were driven into the ranks by the unemployment created for the express purpose of forcing them to enlist in England’s service”. She further notes: “No one casts any aspersion on them for the mistake they made, but it was a mistake which cost them and Ireland dear, and certainly their mistake cannot be a reason for erecting a British War Memorial in Cork…They left their own country, unprotected, at the mercy of England’s soldiers, whom their going set free to carry on oppression and suppression of every kind here. If that half-million had remained at home, England’s soldiers would have had to leave his country to take their places in the trenches”.

Eitne in her letter reiterates her opinion that some soldiers undoubtedly believed they were going to the frontline for Ireland’s future and its place as a small nation. However, she argues that “their going left the wives and children of Ireland at the mercy of the English garrisons that Irishmen saved from the trenches”. She noted: “Armistice Day was the 11^th November, 1918. Let us ask what English soldiers were doing there from 1916-1918 while he was ‘fighting for Ireland’ in France. The victory for small nations was won in 1918. Let him ask himself what the English soldiers were doing from 1918 to 1921. What particular brand of Freedom burns your cities to the ground, drags your citizens out of bed and murders them in the dead of night, shoots prisoners, and executes men who dare to stand for freedom”.

Eitne continues to argue in her letter that any memorial raised to British soldiers is a memorial to England and in her view the citizens of Cork want no monument to England here. She highlights that she did not have thought it possible that even the Free State members of the Corporation could produce six men in favour of such a proposal. She is angered that the proposal is to place the memorial next to the National Monument on the Grand Parade.

Eitne concludes her letter by commenting on the funding of the memorial denoting that friends of the men who fell in France have collected some thousands of pounds for this memorial. She calls for the collected funds to be put to a better use by giving it to the families of the Corkmen whom they wish to commemorate, to be spent on the education of their children.

Eitne notes in her letter; “The fallen men must have sons and daughters who would be glad to study for some profession, or be trained in some business. It ought to be possible to start many of them in good careers in life out of the money raised for a British war memorial, and such careers would be a nobler memorial to their dead than a monument which, if it were ever allowed to go up, would only commemorate the fact that their fathers fell fighting England’s battles in France when England was carrying on here all the atrocities of which she accused the Huns”.

To be continued…

Caption:

1298a. Muriel MacSwiney, Mary MacSwiney & Eitne /Annie MacSwiney, late 1920 (source: Cork City Library).

April 2025 Historical Walking Tours with Kieran, All tours free, 2 hours, no booking required

Saturday 5 April, The Friar’s Walk Tour; Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack Street, Callanan’s Tower & Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 1pm in association with the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival.

Sunday 6 April, Shandon Tour; explore Cork’s most historic quarter; meet at North Main Street/ Adelaide Street Square, opp. Cork Volunteer Centre, 1pm, in association with the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival.

Saturday 26 April, The Cork City Workhouse Tour; learn about Cork City’s workhouse created for 2,000 impoverished people in 1841; meet just inside the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 1pm.

Sunday 27 April, Fitzgerald’s Park: The People’s Park Tour, from stories on the Mardyke to the Cork International Exhibition, meet at the band stand, 1pm.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 27 March 2025

Making an Irish Free State City – Questions on the Cork Great War Memorial Proposal

Over two months after the initial discussion whether to support a Great War memorial, the Public Works Committee of Cork Corporation met again in mid-October 1924 to discuss the findings of the City Engineer official Mr Hare. Cllr J Kelleher, Vice-Chairman of the committee, presided. 

An application was read into the minutes from the Great War Memorial Committee of the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen Club, asking for permission to erect a monument on Parnell Place (facing Parnell Bridge) or in the Park at the Grand Parade end of the South Mall.

The Cork Examiner relates that Mr Hare  of the Corporation’s City Engineer’s department reported to the councillors present. With reference to the two alternative sites suggested for the erection of proposed monument to Cork soldiers killed in the Great War, Mr Hare visited both sites in company of the Secretary of the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen Club, Marlboro Street.

The first proposed position was on Parnell Place. Here Mr Hare found the existence of a large eighteenth century archway or culvert throughout the length of the roadway at Parnell Place. He deemed that the erection of the monument would not be desirable, as its weight would in all probability seriously damage if not cause the collapse of the archway. With regard to the position suggested in the Park on the South Mall, Mr Hare was more in favour of it as it was back off the main road and back from the river front and in a prominent position.

Councillor Byrne spoke up in support of the application of the Memorial Committee and wished for the matter to be dealt with, as the 11 November 1924 had been fixed for the unveiling of the memorial. Councillor Horgan then proposed and Councillor S Mahony seconded that the Council be recommended to grant permission for the erection of such a monument.

As like the situation at the previous Public Works meeting, objections were heard, but voices against the proposal had grown since the last time. As an amendment and further to the previous debate, the Lord Mayor Cllr Sean French moved the rejection of the proposal. He noted that he did so for one reason only. He sincerely regretted that an issue of the kind should be put up to them at the present moment. He was sure he would be forgiven by all the members if he went a little bit back into the past in connection with such a matter. He noted the need to honour the fallen of the War of Independence first; “Ireland’s struggle in the past was a struggle for recognition of the complete independence of their country. During their struggle for such independence men died in the service of Ireland who still remained unhonoured; some owing to personal wishes expressed in their lives, and others by wishes expressed by those who were still in the fight, that when Ireland was free Ireland would be worthy to honour her dead. There were friends of his own very dear friends, school pals, men whom he had known all his life, who went out and died in England’s war. He knew that most of them went out with the one idea and wish, and with one thing to serve, and that was their own country”.

The Lord Mayor continued to detail that there was a “parrot cry” that Irishmen should go out and fight for England, and that “they would be fighting and dying for their own country, and they went out with that idea”. However, the Lord Mayor asserted that while they were dying on the battlefields of Flanders the same British came to Ireland and to Cork and burned down a portion of their city, robbed and plundered their homes, shot down their citizens, men and women, and murdered two of their Lord Mayors. He noted: “There was only one way of looking at the proposed monument, and that was that by having it erected in their city they would be putting up a monument to British ascendancy…If there was a monument to be put up in Cork it should first be put up to their two Lord Mayors who were murdered by British troops”.

Cllr S O’Leary seconded the amendment and said the motives for which the ex-servicemen went out to fight were pure, but they could not separate from their action the cause for which they died; He noted; “Any memorial that would be erected would commemorate such a cause, that of British ascendancy. Such a memorial would simply commemorate England’s cause, and as long as England held Ireland in thraldom they could not commemorate a cause that was not Ireland’s cause”.

Cllr J Hennessy supported the Lord Mayor’s amendment and said such a memorial would only consummate England’s part in the great war. He noted: “Ireland had no part in that war, though some of their countrymen were gulled into going out and taking part in it in the belief that they were fighting for their own country. If they consented to such a memorial it would create the impression that they approved of England’s action in going into the war. He was totally opposed to the erection of such a memorial”.

Cllr C Neenan supported the amendment and said he could never be a party to the erection of such a monument. He noted; “It would be just a monument to British rule, and in their country that had been tyranny, and England of the past was the same England at the present day”.

In support of the construction of the memorial Cllr Egan said he did not suppose England had any knowledge that such a monument was going up in Cork. It was a project by the men who went out to the war and came home and now wanted to pay a mark of respect to the memory of the comrades they left behind, and who died for Ireland. He noted: “Such a step showed the energy and spirit of those young men and their desire that their comrades who fell by their side should not be forgotten”.

Cllr J Allen did not see why there would be any objection to the memorial the man to whose honor the memorial was to reflect upon went to fight in a just cause.

Cllr D Horgan declared that he was surprised at the distorted views that had been put forward about men who gave service in defence of their own country and in defense of countries like Belgium; he noted: “I was surprised what’s the narrow political objection being connected to the monument… the position is acutely political stop the men to whom it was sought to pay a tribute of respect to went out to fight for the freedom of small nations and with their help they succeeded”.

A vote was taken with six councillors for the motion and five against the motion. The motion to recommend the council to grant permission for the erection of the monument at the park at the South Mall was then declared carried.

Caption:

1297a. Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Seán French (source: Cork City Library).

April 2025 Historical Walking Tours with Kieran, All tours free, 2 hours, no booking required

Saturday 5 April, The Friar’s Walk Tour; Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack Street, Callanan’s Tower & Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 1pm in association with the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival.

Sunday 6 April, Shandon Tour; explore Cork’s most historic quarter; meet at North Main Street/ Adelaide Street Square, opp. Cork Volunteer Centre, 1pm, in association with the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival.

Saturday 26 April, The Cork City Workhouse Tour; learn about Cork City’s workhouse created for 2,000 impoverished people in 1841; meet just inside the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 1pm.

Sunday 27 April, Fitzgerald’s Park: The People’s Park Tour, from stories on the Mardyke to the Cork International Exhibition, meet at the band stand, 1pm.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 20 March 2025

Making an Irish Free State City – A Great War Memorial Proposal for Cork

The construction of First World memorials in Europe inspired small voluntary organisations in cities such as Cork to think about commemorating deceased veterans. A proposed Great War memorial for Cork City was championed by The Cork Legion of Ex-Servicemen and the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen Club.

At a meeting of the committee of the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen Club held at their premises on Marlboro Street in late July 1924, the Cork Examiner records that Mr J Kelleher presided and that the following members were present – Messrs G Byrne, T O’Neill, D Fenton, W H Wynam, M O’Brien, M Burke, and P Byrne. On the proposal of Mr D Fenton, seconded by Mr M O’Brien. Messrs T O’Neill and V Byrne were appointed joint honorary secretaries.

Several designs for a memorial were submitted for approval and on the proposal of Mr O’Neill, seconded by Mr D Fenton, the one submitted by a local ex-service man was agreed to.

The Chairman, Mr Kelleher, congratulated those present on adopting one of the designs placed before them. He noted that every city, town, and village in England could proudly boast of a monument or other token of remembrance to the men who gave their lives in the cause of justice and the rights of small nationalities. He continued; “Now, it is our duty as comrades of those lads who gave their lives so freely in a just cause, and it is the duty of every person who mourns the loss of their departed ones to give every assistance to fulfil our obligations to our dead comrades by erecting a suitable monument to their memory”. The Executive members of the Club unanimously decided to place the sum of £50 to the credit of the memorial committee.

Mr Wyman noted that it would be advisable to have church door collections and to also invite female advocates who would be interested to give their support to such collections. Mr O’Brien proposed that arrangements be made to carry out those collections immediately as they were aiming to unveil the monument on Armistice Day in November 1924. Mr M Burke, in seconding Mr O’Brien’s motion, said he was very pleased with the work done by the Committee in placing the contract for the monument in the hands of an able city sculptor, and in so doing he noted they were advocating for “local skill and manufacture”.

It was further decided to submit the plan of the monument to the Public Works Committee of Cork Corporation for the purpose of getting a suitable site in one of the city’s most prominent city public thoroughfares. A small delegation was appointed.

A week later, the proposal was discussed at Cork Corporation’s Public Works Committee. The Cork Examiner noted on the 7 August 1924 that Mr M J O’Riordan, who led the Club deputation, said that he had no need to say many words to commend such a project and highlighted Ireland’s part in the Great War. He detailed: “At the beginning of the Great War, Ireland was called upon to play her part, and she took a noble and honourable part. Her old ally, France, was in danger – France, where Irishmen always found a refuge. They took their part in the fight for small nationalities. Some of the young men who fell in the war were his comrades and playmates. If this monument were erected in Cork, it would show all the world that Ireland had done her part when called upon, and not shirked it”. Before concluding he suggested as a site for the memorial at the corner of Winthrop Street as the most central position in the city.

Cllr D Horgan, the Chairman of the Corporations Public Works Committee, said he did not think there was any need to hear the other members of the deputation or to labour the matter further. He felt the members were in entire agreement with the deputation. It was proposed and seconded that the plans and other details be submitted to the engineering officials for a report.

The Lord Mayor, Cllr Seán French, who entered the debate at this stage, said the position was a very delicate one. He was one of those who thought that the men who died in the Great European War would, if they get the chance, have fought in Ireland for Ireland in 1921. He noted: “I am not going to take away from any tribute to the dead, but I want to see the way clearly. The European war was not theirs. A lot of their men gave their lives in what they thought was the defence of small nations, and the first test of the sincerity of the ideal was in Ireland. This was not certainly carried out with sufficient justice to the men who fought for that ideal. Their memory of England’s justice was the burning of half their city and the Municipal Buildings”.

The Lord Mayor argued that he would be very slow to make a monument to the memory of the English nation. He was prepared to admit that the majority of the men who fought in Flanders would have died in Ireland fighting against England. In conclusion, the Lord Mayor said he was not going to have his name associated with anything to perpetuate the memory of “England’s tyranny in Cork”.

Club committee delegation head M J O’Riordan asserted he was not there to uphold England’s banner. He was there in the cause of the men who gave their lives in the fight for humanity “against tyranny and infidelity”. He was one of the men outside their party honoured by the Republican Corporation to form a guard of honour over the body of Terence MacSwiney. He noted; “When bringing the body across to Cork the men who were most prominent and fearless in wearing the badge of the Republic in England were the Munster Fusiliers…I am a Republican, and I am not at the meeting to uphold the banner of England, but on behalf of the men who fought and died for freedom”. The majority of the Public Works Committee assented to the development of the memorial project.

In the days and weeks that followed a site for the memorial was chosen at the intersection of the South Mall and the Grand Parade.

To be continued…

Caption:

1296a. Commemorations at First World War Memorial, South Mall, 11 November 2018 (picture: Kieran McCarthy).