The Wheels of 1917: Agriculture and the Cork-Muskerry Tram
One hundred years this week, on 20 February 1917, the Cork Muskerry Light Railway Company published their report for their annual general meeting in the Cork Examiner. The meeting was held at their offices on Western Road under the chairmanship of Mr George Colthurst (of Blarney Castle estate). The report gives insights into agriculture and the connections from the city into mid County Cork. The line was primarily built in the 1880s for tourists to link Cork to the tourist town of Blarney and its historic castle. Supporters of the railway line also aimed to provide improved transport for locals with livestock and farm produce between the farming area north-west of Cork and the city and for coal and minerals in the reverse direction.
Beginning on Bishop’s Marsh (now the River Lee Hotel), the Cork terminus was a single-storey building covered by a corrugated iron roof with a long platform. The iron engine and carriage shed spanned three tracks. the first four miles of the line going west were very like that of a tramway. From the terminus, the line crossed the south channel of the River Lee via a small bridge leading to Western Road. The iron supports for the bridge can still be seen. The initial stops were at Victoria Cross, Carrigrohane and then northwards to Leemount, Healy’s Bridge and Coachford Junction. there There were two branch lines, one to Coachford and the other from St Ann’s Hydro, near Blarney, which followed the Shournagh valley to Donoughmore.
In 1917 the physical railway line was deemed in a good condition but due to the war it was impossible to get timber sleepers. Two years previously, the railway company had placed an order for an engine but owing to war requirements they were unable to obtain the delivery of it. This, according to Mr Colthurst, placed them in a difficulty with regard to the repairing of their rolling stock. The company had been compelled to restrict somewhat their service of trains and were forced to take off the line two of their trains.
Financially the company was holding its own. The gross receipts for the company for the year end from all sources amounted to £12,072, as against £11,467 the previous year, which showed an increase of £605, compared with the corresponding period of 1915. Colthurst’s report highlighted that there were great increases in the numbers of boxes of eggs, fowl and butter carried over the line. The chairman noted that “it showed that the people of the country were returning to their old industrial pursuits and producing such commodities in abundance”.
Last year the Central Statistics Office published an account of agriculture based on contemporary statistics one hundred years. It denoted that farming was a significant industry for 1915-17 – there were 359,700 farms over one acre in Ireland whilst in 2010 the total number of farms had declined to 139,860 farms, a reduction of over 60%. In 1917 egg production made an important contribution to the rural economy, representing 11% of total agricultural exports from Ireland. Eggs were a consistent source of income and could be exchanged with local shopkeepers for crucial items such as tea and sugar which could not be produced on farms. The care of poultry and the income from eggs was normally a role taken on by the farmer’s spouse. It may have been her only source of independent income. The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction introduced initiatives for the improvement of egg production, including the establishment of egg production co-ops. Schemes to improve the breed of hen used and improvements in the packaging of eggs for exports were also introduced.
Colthurst at the Cork Muskerry Light Railway meeting highlighted increases in cattle and sheep carried over the Cork Muskerry line – cattle, 696, and sheep, 805 – but in pigs there had been a reduction of 66. The statistics from one hundred years ago reveal that most farms and small holdings kept a cow for milk for the house and liquid milk was not transported over long distances. In 1916, Dairy Shorthorn cattle were the predominant breed of cow used for milk production. Kerry cattle were utilised for milk production in Munster, especially in mountainous areas of Kerry and the Berehaven district of county Cork where larger breeds could not be kept. Kerry cattle were also kept on smaller holdings in Limerick, Cork & Tipperary. In 1916 beef production was primarily to produce live cattle for export. The main beef breeds in 1916 were Beef Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus, Ayreshire, Hereford and the native Irish Dexter breed.
Colthurst in his report attributed the fault of the decrease in pig transport to the bacon curers who only paid low prices “for pork that would not enable the producer to produce pork”. From statistics, he highlighted that the number of pigs slaughtered in Ireland during 1916-17 was a little more than half of the number slaughtered three years previously. However the export of pigs was twice as much as it was three years previously. Many pig buyers took the pigs to England, where they were given a higher price for them than in Ireland. In general, almost 100% of Ireland’s exports in 1917 were to Britain, with Ireland mainly exporting primary products (i.e. products that required little or no processing such as live cattle, raw wool, eggs, etc). Today, the UK takes 41% of Ireland’s agri-export.
My book Inheritance, Heritage and Memory in the Lee Valley, Co. Cork (2010) is still available from www.historypress.ie (limited copies). It was based on a series of Our City Our Town columns on the histories and memories of Inniscarra and Dripsey.
Captions:
882a. Cork Muskerry Tram locomotive on Western Road, Cork City, c.1910 (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Daniel Breen)
882b. Cork Muskerry Tram locomotive on Western Road, Cork City, c.1910 (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Daniel Breen)
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 Cllr Kieran McCarthy has warmly welcomed the initiative by the City Council’s tourism unit (TEAM) that it is in the process of establishing a Cruise Ambassador Programme on a pilot basis and will be working with external stakeholders i.e Port of Cork, Cork City Council City Centre Co-ordinator, CBA, Iarnród Éireann, Cork, and Visit Cork. It is anticipated that the cruise ambassadors will service more than 65 cruise liners, which are due to visit Cork during the 2017 season. The cruise Ambassadors will embark the ship on its arrival into port and interact with the passengers on board who are not already booked on the ship’s organised tours. Each Ambassador will provide a warm welcome to Cork and distribute necessary information such as maps, tourism information leaflets, and advise on all that Cork City has to offer the cruise visitor to enhance their visit.
Cllr McCarthy noted; “it is important that the city showcases its positive and scenic assets. Through giving tours of the city, tourists always enjoy exploring Cork’s ancient port city history; we have a great story to tell to visitors; the fact that over 60 per cent of people will arrive on one of the 65 cruise liners this summer with no pre-booked plan, there is a huge opportunity for stake-holders to come together to create a sustainable package to bring a large percentage of undecided cruise liner visitors from the harbour to the city”.
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has welcomed the addition of new interpretative signage at tourist strategic sites in Cork City. Fáilte Ireland have commenced with the installation of orientation signage as part of Ireland’s Ancient East at five locations in Cork City – Cork City Gaol, Blackrock, Butter Museum/ Shandon, Cork Public Museum/ Fitzgerald’s Park, St Finbarre’s Cathedral. The signs are strategically located at popular stopping points and inform visitors of nearby tourist attractions and points of interest that are part of Ireland’s Ancient East Story and within up to 60 minutes-drive away from the sign location and encourage visitors to extend their stay. The installation of further signs at other sites like the Lifetime Lab will happen shortly.
Whilst welcoming the signs, Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy re-iterated his recurring point to the City Council’s tourism committee that it is important that Cork gets its share of publicity from Ireland’s Ancient East; “Additional interpretative signage telling Cork’s story is always great; But I am worried though from looking at the national picture – at the marketing campaign of Ireland’s Ancient East that there is a strong marketing focus on counties such as Meath, Carlow, and Kilkenny. This is also shown very clear on the marketing boards in Cork Airport and online. Cork City (and parts of the county to the north and east) as a southern terminus for the trail must get its fair share of publicity. The City was told 2-3 years ago that because we are not on the Wild Atlantic Way we would feature strongly on Ireland’s Ancient East. I acknowledge Fáilte Ireland has funded new heritage projects at the Lifetime Lab and Blackrock Castle but the publicity so far for Cork, I feel, has generally been underwhelming. I have called that we construct a stronger relationship with those in Fáilte Ireland driving Ireland’s Ancient East that we invite them into the committee to see what further work can be pursued.
The Wheels of 1917: Insights at the South Infirmary
One hundred years ago, 9 February 1917, the annual meeting of the Joint Committee of Management of the South Charitable Infirmary and County Hospital was held in the Boardroom of the institution. The Bishop of Cloyne Dr. Browne, chairman, presided with the report being published in the Cork Examiner. The report given on the hospital was extensive and gives another insight into everyday life in Cork a century ago and on the nature of the pressures on the health service for the ordinary citizen. The South Infirmary was opened in 1762 and was established by Act of Parliament. By 1917, the Victoria Hospital was in existence next door. Formerly known as the Women and Children’s Hospital, the latter institution was first located on Union Quay and then on Pope’s Quay. The move to be a neighbour of the South Infirmary occurred in 1885 and shortly afterwards an efficient training system for nurses was established. The name change to Victoria Hospital occurred in 1901.
The 1917 report highlighted what the South Infirmary deemed as “large numbers” applying for admission into the wards and attending at the extern departments. By arrangement with the military authorities over the previous two years the committee of the South Infirmary placed the entire male surgical ward at the disposal of the military authorities. The large number of 152 wounded and sick soldiers passed through the wards.
The medical and surgical report highlighted 484 medical cases passed through the wards. of whom 447 were discharged, cured or relieved and 37 died. The chief causes of death were acute lung and kidney diseases. The other deaths were largely due to the chronic affections found in a general hospital, and many of these were deemed “hopeless on admission”. In the surgical ward 598 cases were treated, and of these 561 were discharged or cured, whilst 34 died. Several deaths were due to cancerous cases on admission. The daily average number of beds occupied were 90.7%. The treatment of many cases, very many of a serious nature, and some requiring immediate operation, demanded much time and attention. There were 404 major operations performed during the year. A total of 3,109 new cases passed through the extern department, with a total attendance of 11,531.
Regarding staffing, the house surgeon Dr D P Lucy resigned in March 1916 having joined the Royal Army Military Corp (RAMC). Dr W P Lehane and Dr J C Saunders, former students of the hospital, were appointed house surgeon and house physician respectively. Dr G F Hegarty, after a year’s service with the RAMC, resumed charge of the X-ray department, which, during his absence was attended to by Mr H Lund. The concept of using X-rays in general hospitals was only about 15-20 years old. The hospital report regretted that owing to the high cost of building, they were not yet able to enlarge this department and complete its equipment. A special donation was received for it in 1913. The Lord Mayor, Thomas Butterfield, who was a dental surgeon by profession, found that the many calls on his time made it difficult to attend regularly at the South Infirmary’s dental department. He asked that a dentist be appointed to act with him during his term of office. Two were appointed. The onerous duties of the Matron were discharged by Sister M Albens Fogarty; her assistant was Sister M Cecilia. Miss A Henderson, who had been a member of the nursing staff for 7 ½ years, resigned in November 1916. She held the responsible position of staff nurse in the operation theatre.
In a finance sense, the hospital report highlighted that 1916 was an “extremely difficult and anxious year for the Joint Committee, and still more so for the House Committee”. The cost of everything connected with hospital maintenance continued to increase. There was often over 170 persons to be provided for in the Infirmary each day. The Matron lessened the distribution of food and coal but called for a warning to be given in the report; “it must be remembered that in the care of the sick there should not be any reduction in the amount of food or comfort required for their treatment. Apart altogether from the natural desire to do everything possible for the sick, it is false economy to reduce nourishment below what is necessary, as it means a longer stay in the hospital, and, consequently, more expense, besides, in many cases, depriving families of their breadwinners”.
Regarding funding and bequests, the hospital’s Joint Committee received during the previous year a bequest of £1,000 left by Dr A C Godfrey, of Broom Hill, Dripsey, for the endowment of “the Godfrey Bed’. A tablet was placed over a bed in the male surgical ward recording the name of the donor. A further £900, was made from the trustees of the will of Mr Joseph Bennett, of Warren’s Place, Cork, which became available on the death of his son, Mr Thomas F Bennett. The collections for the Hospital Saturday Fund and Hospital Aid Society amassed £53 and £40, respectively, to be allocated to the South Infirmary. The Joint Committee acknowledged the donations and the collection work of the Countess of Bandon, the Lady Mayoress, and the ladies of the city and county.
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:
881a. Postcard of former entrance to South Infirmary, c.1910; this main block has now been replaced by the modern hospital (source: Cork City Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)
881b. Map of the grounds of South Infirmary, c.1910 (source: Cork City Library)
For over twenty years Kieran McCarthy has promoted Cork’s history and heritage and promoted its various communities and people.
His love of local history has inspired his many successful heritage initiatives and he has now received the January Cork Person of the Month award to mark his work.
Kieran organises local history walking tours, community talks, city and county school heritage programmes, newspaper history columns and has written nineteen local history books such as “The Little Book of Cork” and “Cork City History Tour – 2016”. Many of his articles can be seen on www.corkheritage.ie.
He is also an Independent Cork City councillor and a member of the EU Committee of the Regions. Recently as a mature student at UCC he gained a PhD in geography.
Over recent years he also started many youth projects such as the “Discover Cork: School’s Heritage Project”, McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition, and Cork City Musical Society.
“Cork has a great story to tell, one of ambition and determination, and it’s important we champion it and pass it on. I have always been passionate about Cork’s local history, both urban and rural, and especially in passing it on to the next generation” said Kieran at the award presentation.
This is the 25th year of the Cork Persons of Month award scheme and the Cork Person of the Year will be chosen from the monthly award winners in mid-January next (’18).
One hundred years ago, February 1917 coincided with a renewed focus on the value of engineering works for employment and industrial image in the region. The detail of the Ford project was progressing. In addition, in the first week of the local press, Passage West and its ship building industry came under scrutiny when its docks complex was purchased by the shipping magnate Messrs Furness, Withy & Co, Ltd. This was an enormous global firm, which provided the city and region an extra bargaining chip to the Westminster government on why the Ford complex should be sanctioned in Cork. Indeed, by the end of 1917, some 800 workers were employed at Passage West and Rushbrooke.
Passage West and Rushbrooke Docks were built by Henry Brown and William Craig, and were formally opened by Queen Victoria on her visit to Passage West in 1832, and the two dry Docks were named respectively the Royal Victoria Dock and Albert Twin Dock. The town of Passage West flourished and prospered because of the large amount of employment given in the consultation and repair of ships. Serving the town was the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway, which was opened from Cork to Passage in 1850, and extended to Crosshaven in 1904. It was 16 miles long and served the important shipbuilding centre at Passage West, the well-known residential district of Monkstown, the rich agricultural area around Carrigaline, and the famous seaside resort of Crosshaven.
The Rushbrooke Dock was built by the late Joseph Wheeler in 1860. He was an extensive shipbuilder in Cork, where he built many sailing ships for local and other owners. The rapid growth of other shipyards to cope with the advancing types of ships in England and elsewhere affected Passage, and for some years a period of depression ensued. The fate of the docks and the town was a matter of anxiety. The facilities offered a fine waterway but lack of investment capital.
In 1880 the Passage West and Rushbrooke Docks passed into the hands of entrepreneur Sir John Arnott, from whom they were again subsequently purchased by the Channel Dry Docks Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Ltd, in 1898. In 1900, there was talk of Harland and Wolfe coming to Monkstown and, although there was much enthusiasm for the project, it never materialised. In 1910, the Managing Director, Mr Oliver Piper, purchased the Docks himself. It was Oliver Piper who brought Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, on a guided tour of the Royal Victoria Dockyard when he came to view Cork Harbour in the summer of 1912. It was hoped that the visit would result in Admiralty work for the dockyard. When Furness & Withy purchased the site from Piper he continued to work them until March, 1917. He then went on to create the Queenstown Dry Docks firm, which pursued work for Furness & Withy.
Mr Piper on 5 February 1917 in the Cork Examiner noted on the takeover of his firm; “the Docks have been acquired by the very important firm of ship-owners, Messrs Furness, Withy and Co, Ltd, of London. Liverpool and Hartlepool, whose phenomenal rise in such a few years to the very highest position in shipping is an indication of the ability and energy of its directors. They have been satisfied by their personal investigations and reports that the South of Ireland is virgin soil, and has potentialities of very great importance to a shipping corporation possessed of the ability, energy and immense resources that the purchasing company enjoy”.
London’s National Maritime Museum denotes of the international reputation of Messrs Furness Withy & Co that it was was incorporated as a company in 1891 upon the amalgamation of Christopher Furness’ business in West Hartlepool and London with Edward Withy’s shipbuilding yard in Hartlepool. By 1914 the company had acquired interests all over the world in liner and tramp shipping and in shipbuilding, but from 1920 they concentrated on liner services.
In 1911 Furness Withy acquired a large holding in Houlder Brothers and the company’s British & Argentine’s vessels were operated in association with those of the Houlder Line. In 1914 the Furness-Houlder Argentine Lines was incorporated for the purpose of building a fleet of large, fast twin-screw steamers for the conveyance of chilled and frozen meat from the River Plate to London in conjunction with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, Furness Withy and Houlder Brothers. There were other additions to the company. The Prince Line was purchased in 1916 and with this services were developed to the Mediterranean and from New York to the Far East and the River Plate. The River Syndicate was incorporated in 1920 to acquire a controlling interest in the Danube shipping which had formerly belonged to South German, Austrian and Hungarian companies. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the company sold of several of its non-profiting shipyards of which Passage West Docks was one.
In 1931, the site of the Royal Victoria Dockyard was purchased by a new company, Haulbowline Industries Ltd (HIL). The Harbour Board supported the HIL shipbreaking venture by decreasing tonnage dues on metal from scrapped ships. The company still focusses in the trade of scrap iron and today, some loading and unloading of cargo is also completed at the dockyard.
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:
880a. Passage West from Glenbrook, c.1910 (source: Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)
880b. Wall of former Royal Victoria Dockyard, Passage West, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
One hundred years ago on Sunday 14 January 1917 the annual general meeting of the Gaelic League in Cork was held in the “Grianan”, 3 Queen Street, now Fr Mathew Street. Mr Tadhg Ó Tuama, a member of the Executive, presided. The Gaelic League offers another lens into exploring social life in Cork a century ago. In July 1893, Douglas Hyde was joint founder, with Eoin MacNeill, of the Gaelic League, which in Irish is Conradh na Gaeilge. Hyde was President of the organisation until he resigned in 1915. The purpose of the Gaelic League was to keep the Irish language alive and to preserve the Gaelic elements of Ireland’s culture. Although the Gaelic League was non-political, increasingly it became identified with these political goals, due to its membership. The Gaelic League grew dramatically in the early years of the twentieth century. Many Sinn Féin activists joined it with over 550 branches nationwide. Of the 16 leaders executed post the 1916 Rising, the majority were Gaelic League members and Irish speakers.
The Honorary Secretary Liam De Róiste. of the Executive read the annual report on 14 January 1917. Fifteen boxes of the Liam De Róiste Papers survive in the City and County Archive. An Irish language speaker and enthusiast, he was founder member in 1899, and in turn Secretary and Chairman, of the Cork branch of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League). He was a founder member of Coláiste na Mumhan in Ballingeary and founder member of the Cork Celtic Literary Society alongside figures such as Terence MacSwiney and Tomás MacCurtain, Seán O’Hegarty and Daniel Corkery. He was secretary of the Cork Industrial Development Association. He was Chairman/Vice Chairman of the Cork branch of Sinn Féin and chaired its first meeting, attended by Eoin MacNeill and Douglas Hyde, in 1906. De Róiste was a prominent early member of the Irish Volunteers movement, taking part in the 1916 Rising. He marched to Macroom on Easter Sunday 1916 and later helping to smuggle arms for the old IRA.
At the January 1917 meeting, Mr De Róiste detailed that the Gaelic League was re-organising nationally and there was a revival in Cork level following a difficult year of surviving scrutiny of its activities from Westminster. He noted that “the sympathy of the people was with the language movement” and this was shown by the substantial sums received during Irish Week and the flag day held in November 1916. There were four active city branches with a base at 3 Great George Street or now Oliver Plunkett Street. Branches as well existed in the principal towns and village in County Cork. Children’s classes for Irish had been established in the city and there were about 60 children in constant attendance with the average age was seven or eight years. The League was short teachers and suitable accommodation. He deemed the “teaching of the children. was real, solid, fruitful work, the results of which were visible before their eyes”.
During 1916, the Cork Branch had also established, a scholarship scheme, the object of which was to encourage the speaking of Irish among school children in city schools. Three young people-were sent for a month’s course to the Munster Training College, Ballingeary (est.1904), one from St Vincent’s Convent Schools, one from St. Marie’s of the Isle, and one from the North Monastery. They aspired to send at least ten school pupils every year to Irish-speaking districts.
Traditional singing class at the Cork School of Music under Fr Seamus (Christy) Ó Floinn. Ordained in 1909, Fr O’Flynn (1881-1962) had served as a priest at St Finbarr’s Seminary, Farranferris (1909 – 1913 and again in 1917) and was Chaplain to the Cork Lunatic Asylum. At thirty years of age in 1917, Fr O’Flynn was a strong voice of the Gaelic League in Cork appearing to give speeches across the City and County encouraging enrolment before 1917 and beyond. Before World War I he discovered his love of Irish in Balllingeary and was connected with the Gaelic League for many years. He worked with Fr Peadar Ó Laoghaire in the pioneering days of the language revival while he was still a student at the seminary at Maynooth. He had prevailed upon Fr Ó Laoghaire to write his famous small prayer book in Irish, which became one of the main textbooks for Irish learners in those days.
Fr O’Flynn’s personal contributions to local concerts and such functions always ensured their success. In various obituaries in 1962, Fr O’Flynn was detailed as a natural musician; he was one of the first to encourage Gregorian chant. Through his personal influence Irish composer and arranger of traditional music Dr Karl Hardebeck was brought to Cork in 1919 and made headmaster of the Cork School of Music as well as Professor of Irish music in UCC in 1922 (returning to Belfast after the Irish Civil War). Fr O’Flynn himself also gave regular assistance at UCC as a teacher at the Irish summer schools in the early days of the Gaelic revival. In a few short years (1924), he would establish a school of drama in a loft above Linehan’s Sweet Factory in the Shandon area of Cork City. He would also work with pupils with speech and language impairments.
If anyone has information on the former cultural centre An Grianán on Fr Mathew Street and its fate, give me a call, 087655389, thanks.
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:
879a. Fr O’Flynn in his twenties/ thirties (source: North Cathedral Archive)
879b. Site of An Grianán, the South Parish Branch of the Gaelic League, 3 Fr Mathew Street – also the former site of the Fr Mathew Abstinence Hall in Cork (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
To ask the CE for a progress report on archaeology monitoring at the event centre site? (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Motions:
Marian Park, Resurfacing:
That the Council review the deteriorating conditions of the parking area/footpaths fronting House No’s 11 to 20 at Marian Park. They have completely disintegrated over the Winter, pockmarked with potholes, and are giving rise to the risk of damage to vehicles and a trip hazard for residents in particular young children. The surface levels of the whole parking area needs to be reduced and resurfaced. Also the footpaths fronting these houses need to be replaced as they are now very uneven and at the same level as the parking area (Council Reference No. 21947 and 19198).
With reference to the works carried out by the City Council on the triangular piece of green area to the front of No’s 9 and 11 Marian Park where two strips of tarmac were laid, the Committee would request the City Council to also tarmac/pave the remaining piece of the green area as it is now a patch of mud which is a trip hazard and quite unsightly (Council Reference No. 19199).
There is also the issue of road/footpath subsidence outside Number 59 and 60 on Church Road. This may have been connected to the recent repair of a water main break, which was repaired very effectively and expeditiously by Council Staff. However, the road over the main has subsided due to the works leading to a series of ponds forming anytime it rains causing an inconvenience to pedestrians. We request the Council to raise the surface level and resurface the area (Council Reference No. 21950) (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
Marina Trees:
For each of the trees that have been cut down on the Marina for different reasons, that they be replaced by younger trees (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
This week’s article is inspired by a summary report, 100 years ago today, in the Cork Examiner on 19 January 1917. The article addressed the activity levels of technical instruction in County Cork and the educational, arts and crafts activities associated with it for the season 1915-16. The article is also inspired by the current and great exhibition in the Crawford Art Gallery called Made in Cork, it celebrates the unique history of the arts and crafts movement in the County and city of Cork from the early twentieth century. The collection of 70 beautiful examples of the finest crafts Cork has to offer is curated by art historian Vera Ryan. The exhibition runs till 25 February 25 and commemorates both the centenary of the Honan Chapel, which was opened in 1916 and the centenary of the 1917 Arts and Crafts Society exhibition in Cork, which took place in the Crawford Art Gallery, then Cork School of Art.
The meeting of the County Cork Technical Committee was held on the third week of January 1917. It was a monthly meeting and was chaired by Canon Thomas Barrett, Parish Priest in Passage West. He had deeps interests in promoting community life and education and also had fundraised successfully monies for the construction of the Catholic Young Men’s Society Hall in Passage. The committee, Canon Barrett chaired, had been created some years previously, under the banner of the Agriculture and Technical Instruction (Ireland) Act in 1899. The act recognised the need for an Irish framework for technical education in an attempt to halt industrial and manufacturing decline and provide employment. Technical instruction was re-organised under local authorities and committees were funded to run local programmes. County Councils also had to rent schools, and in many instances had to also build them. A system of instruction outreach was planned in experimental science, drawing, and manual work, and domestic economy in day secondary schools.
At the January 1917 meeting a summary of Technical Instruction Inspector, Mr J J McCaffrey’s report was read out on the scheme of technical instruction in County Cork during the session 1915-16. He praised the work of the instructors but as per the national mantra in technical instruction he pressed to have them work longer hours. The committee was quick to note that it’s finances were at breaking point, was struggling to rent appropriate spaces for instruction and was finding it difficult to provide twenty hours of teaching for instructors in some of the outlier districts. The debate and results do offer an insight into the nature of arts and crafts in Cork and its geographic spread in 1917 and the underpinning of the importance of local industry to provide personal opportunity one hundred years ago.
During the winter session, the work of the eight manual instructors employed under the technical instruction scheme were organised in elements such as woodwork, domestic economy, embroidery, needlework, commercial work, and art classes. Classes were about to be arranged in farriery for blacksmiths and in rural science and school gardening for National school teachers. From late Spring the eight technical instructors were occupied five days weekly and taught on an average for eighteen hours a week. McCaffrey, the inspector, noted that the results from the classes in manual instruction work were excellent in the Charleville, Doneraile, Youghal and Passage West. Several tradesmen received instruction in carpentry and joinery in Kanturk, and there was a small day class for apprentices in Fermoy. A small first year building construction class was taught in Youghal. McCaffrey noted that instruction in Baltimore in manual instruction, practical geometry and several stages of boat-building drawing were taken concurrently with the students meeting in three different classrooms. Under such circumstances progress was not being made.
Syllabuses were followed in domestic economy, and in many of the centres the number of students enrolled was quite large. The classroom used at Killavullen was deemed by McCaffrey as satisfactorily lit, but stood in need of repairs, whilst that at Ballyhooly the room gave a very good floor space, but was also poorly lit. Courses in cookery were held in two permanent centres – Mallow and Youghal. The Mallow class suffered from oversubscription. The teaching of needlework was deemed satisfactory in many centres. At Macroom, instruction was given in various kinds of plain needlework. At Ballineen the accommodation was reported as quite unsuitable as seats were not provided. An instructress in crochet work conducted courses in temporary centres. McCaffrey highlights that the accommodation at Knockavilla was deemed satisfactory, but that at Crossbarry was unsuitable and that the work-room needed to be more comfortable.
The commercial courses were deemed well conducted at all centres from Bantry to Charleville. The accommodation provided though was deemed not suitable for commercial students. Art classes for teachers were satisfactorily conducted at Mallow and Bantry. Art classes for ordinary students were held in Fermoy. At Passage West, classes were held in three science subjects under part-time teachers. In each of these, parallel instruction was given in two or more syllabuses, much to the detriment of students who wished to attend all the classes. McCaffrey’s report offers an interesting light into arts and craft education in County Cork but check out Vera Ryan’s Exhibition, Made in Cork in the Crawford Art Galley to discover more on the production of some real treasured and local crafted work from circa 1917.
If you missed one of the columns in 2016 and before, check out the Our City, Our Town index at my website, 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:
878a. Main Street, Doneraile, c.1910 (source: North Cork Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)
878b. New Street, Bantry, c.1910 (source: West Cork Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen)
