Monthly Archives: September 2016

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 30 September 2016

September 30, 2016Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, Uncategorizedadmin

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, Cork Independent

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article, 30 September 2016

Remembering 1916: Back to the Future

One hundred years ago this week, Ireland underwent a kind of time travel excursion. It decided to catch up the 25 minutes with Greenwich Mean Time. When the Summer Time Act was adopted throughout Great Britain and Ireland early in the summer of 1916 its effect was significant. Watches and clocks were advanced one hour and the country enjoyed for the first time long hours of daylight in the evening. The Summer passed and the end of September meant that Great Britain had to revert to her normal time – putting back the clock one hour and thus getting back the hour’s sleep lost by the introduction of the Summer Time Act. Ireland decided, however, not to revert to the “old time”, but to try another change – that of adopting Greenwich Mean Time. London, 21 August 1916 – a new Act of Parliament has changed time in Ireland for the second time in the year.

The legislation to affect Greenwich Mean Time was brought about principally by the Irish port authorities and Chambers of Commerce and Shipping. The new rules were also regarded as being of benefit to travellers and as a way to simplify matters for Post Office workers in applying times to telegrams. However, the Act was strongly opposed by Irish farmers who argued that the change in time would “be the ruin of agriculture in Ireland” and render it impossible for parents in rural Ireland to send their children in time to school. Farmers and farm labourers would have to begin work earlier in the morning. The bill had previously been strongly opposed by the Irish Parliamentary Party, but on its introduction to the House of Commons it passed without opposition. The reason for this was due to Irish nationalists who had threatened to resist the change. They withdrew their opposition in order to save the Dublin Reconstruction Bill – the compensation money to rebuild a damaged Dublin city centre after the rising.

The Time Act received Royal Assent and the Greenwich Time Act was enacted in Ireland. Ireland’s new time was to take effect from 8am on 1 October 1916, a Sunday morning. The practical meaning of the Act was that sunlight would extend a further 25/30 minutes in Ireland on any given day. Ireland made up the 25 minutes in time she was behind England by simply putting back the public clocks, and the citizens their watches, not by 60 minutes by 35 minutes on the night, 30 September 1916. No sooner was the act passed than some persons grew anxious as to its effect on railway services and the consequent alterations it would make essential to the running of trains. Trade and commerce circles in the South were worried and the idea grew that sweeping changes in railway time tables would be made, which would be altogether against every interest of the community. The 28 September 1916 arrived and final preparations were made. The Westminster government took out advertisements in newspapers to highlight the change.

Two of the most famous public clocks in the city were changed, both made by Mangan Jewellers. The firm were established in 1817 and in 1847, craftsmen at Mangan’s built the four-faced clock on the steeple of St Anne’s Church, Shandon. This was reputed to be the largest four-faced clock in the world until the construction of Big Ben in London. The clock on St Anne’s Church was one of the first public clocks in Cork City. The idea for the clock was proposed by Councillor Delay at a meeting of Cork Corporation in 1843. He spoke of the hardship imposed on many working-class people who were unable to tell the time, as many of them did not own watches or clocks. He was supported by some of the medical profession in the city as they argued that many poor people were in danger of poisoning themselves by not knowing the times when prescribed medicines should be taken. At a meeting of Cork Corporation on 23 May 1843 it was agreed that a grant of £250 be provided for the design and construction of a clock. James Mangan, a Cork architect and clockmaker, won the public competition to design the clock. Cork Corporation were determined that the clock should stay in public ownership rather than be the property of the Church of Ireland. To this end they appointed four men, at an annual cost of £13, to maintain the clock. A local craftsman, Daniel Thresher, built the clock. In 1847, at the height of the Irish Famine, the clock was installed in the church.

Another Mangan Clock has been a landmark on St Patrick’s Street since the early 1900s. It was adjacent to Mangan’s shop. The shop itself narrowly escaped destruction in December 1920 when a British auxiliary threw a grenade into the shop, intending to ignite a can of petrol which he had placed there. The petrol did not catch fire although the grenade blew out all the windows of the shop. Mangan’s shop ceased trading in the late 1980s, before the premises were demolished, along with many others, to allow for the construction of Merchant’s Quay Shopping Centre.

Captions:

863a. Postcard of St Anne’s Church, Shandon & graveyard c.1910 (source: Cork City Museum)

863b. Postcard of St Patrick’s Street with Mangan’s Clock, c.1910 (source: Cork City Museum)

Cllr McCarthy, Local Property Tax Debate, 27 September 2016

September 27, 2016Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorizedadmin

Press Release, LPT, Cllr Kieran McCarthy

“The stern advice from government to raise Cork City Council’s LPT isn’t helping the upcoming debate and decision on it. The references recently to ‘populist’ rhetoric opposing the taxation doesn’t help to get all Councillors around the table to get the best for the citizens and the City. We all need to get on with it but rattling the decision makers to go along easily with the government message of more taxation on the citizen has to be balanced up and properly debated. Whereas there has been positive investment into the city in some sectors by government, Cork City Council is financially on its knees and now stripped of its capital accounts to paper over vast gaps in funding from central government in recent years.

The other ‘elephant’ in the room is that even if Cork City Council raised its LPT by the full 15 per cent, it still wouldn’t be enough to run the full services of the city. LPT is not the silver bullet to bring the services of Cork City Council forward. The amount of constituents who come to me saying they pay the LPT, and ‘where are the services’ is neverending. Turning around to them and saying the city cannot afford the basics of local government provision such as traffic calming measures and this despite the fact you are paying taxes for them is an insult to our citizens, whose wages now seem to pay for an LPT that is reminiscent of an oxygen tank just there to keep the city alive. Such has been the cutbacks to the accounts of Cork City Council that even if we raise the LPT, people will still be paying for services they expect but ultimately won’t get. Ireland’s second largest local authority needs to send a delegation before an Oireachtas Committee to really speak about the limits of the LPT system and find a resolution or we will be stuck on this LPT roundabout again next year.”

New Book, Cork 1916, A Year Examined by Kieran McCarthy & Suzanne Kirwan

September 25, 2016Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorizedadmin

Cllr Kieran McCarthy’s new book, the eighteenth in his series of publications, is entitled Cork 1916, A Year Examined. It is co-written with solicitor Suzanne Kirwan. This book takes the year 1916 from the point of view that there were multiple conversations to be heard during the year – a kaleidoscope of ideas, which provided the context and framework for revolution – everyday life being one – some led Cork citizens to connect with the Republican mantra at the time and others to just maintain existence, survive and struggle with the bleakness of a national and local economy. Entering the Cork Examiner on 1 January and progressing page by page one discovers key nuggets about the nature of Cork society, the soul of Ireland’s southern capital, the ongoing conversations about maintaining a contemporary status of being one of Ireland‘s distinguished port cities, and all the advantages and problems that run with that.

Cllr McCarthy noted; “In this book we publish a cross-section of the more important themes, which emerged during the year. The Cork Examiner in August 1916 celebrated its 75^th anniversary and a proud tradition of “influencing public opinion” and offering “fairness” as they noted in their editorials. As a newspaper it was an active driver in the control of media, place and even time. For all the voices within this book about ideas about Cork and its role in the seminal year of 1916, there are also many voices on the role of this ambitious city in Ireland and further afield to questions of poverty that have never been completely solved or overly discussed. Many of the topics on housing, fair wage, political partnerships and similar ambitions still rage across our newspapers. There is much to learn from this time – not just on the political side but that life itself in any city keeps moving and that society needs to grow and evolve with it – and that even from a dark time in Ireland’s past, there is much to learn about the diverse framework of historical events and how they shape ourselves and our future”. Cork 1916, A Year Examined is published by Irish History Press and available in Waterstones and Easons.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 22 September 2016

September 22, 2016Arts, Cork City Events, Cork History, Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorized, Ward Eventsadmin

**Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,**

Cork Independent, 22 September 2016

Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project 2016-17

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)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 16 September 2016

September 15, 2016Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, Uncategorizedadmin

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article

Cork Independent, 15 September 2016

Wages and the Cost of Living 1916

A general cry for more pay to meet the increased cost of living echoed across the local newspapers in September and autumn 1916. The Cork District Trades Council and Cork Labour and Trades Council were vocal in their calls for a wage, which could deal with living costs. Their archives highlighting these calls survive in the City and County Archives in Blackpool. The problems of importation due to war led to the shortage of food stuffs, which escalated the cost of food. Early in the month of September 1916, the National Union of Clerks arranged a series of conferences to be held throughout the country to voice the protest of clerical workers in salaried positions against the increasing cost of food. The Union pointed out that the average weekly wage-earner could, by organisation, secure a wages increase or a war bonus. However, the average salaried clerk was left with stationary wages and with little prospect of being able to properly survive, in view of the high cost of living.

In the first week of September, a mass meeting of railwaymen was held in the Mechanics’ Hall on Grattan Street for the purpose of considering the action of the Executive Committee of National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) in their demand for an increase of 10s per week for all railwaymen. The meeting, representative of all grades employed on the railways in Cork, directed the attention of all concerned to the high prices of food. The rank and file on the railways claimed it was impossible to provide from their earnings the bare necessities of life. They deemed that all reasonable and legitimate means had been exhausted to secure relief in the way of an increased weekly war bonus or additional wages, but without success. The railway companies declared it to be impossible to meet demands out of the then rates of ratepayers and revenues. In addition, they argued that they still suffered inequality of treatment compared with the men employed on the railways in Great Britain. They detailed that the Government had taken no effective steps to control or prevent the prevailing tendency of a still further rise in food prices. They wished to support the decision of the NUR in the demand for a 10s per week increase in wages.

On 16 September 1916 a special meeting of the Council of the Corporation of Cork was held to consider a report to the proposed grant of a war bonus to the labourers in the employment of the Corporation. The Town Clerk read a resolution sent by the Cork Consumers’ League asking the Corporation to grant a war bonus to its labourers. Members of the Council stated that the granting of the application would mean a further levying of 3.97d in the pound on the rates. Subsequent to the Council debate a 3s bonus per week for the duration of the war to corporation workers was agreed upon.

An editorial in the Cork Examiner on 20 September 1916 articulated the key concerns of businesses in the city and region. They claimed that the Westminster government could easily procure the necessary information as to how much tonnage was needed for the carriage of all food required in both import and export by the commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, or for the “carriage of certain necessaries of life”. Coal for instance was a commodity, which they believed could be considerably cheapened if the “Government dealt with it in a business-like manner”; the article continued; “The approach of the season when coal is used most extensively, owing to the long night and cold days, is looked forward to by the poor with feelings of dread, as the present prohibitive prices make coal a commodity. which is beyond the means of many”.

A good example of thinking ahead was the local flax growing industry. When Belgium was invaded by the German Army one of the best and most prolific flax markets in connection with the Irish Linen industry was cut off. This was a serious blow to one of Ireland’s greatest and most flourishing trades. However, the enterprising men at the head of these business were determined to do all in their power to minimise, as far as possible, the stoppage of the looms in the numerous factories. At once a scheme was devised to deal with difficulties. Part of this scheme was the revival of flax growing in the South of Ireland, and for this purpose a number of business linen leaders or what was deemed a “Fibrine Corporation” was established to assure the co-operation of a number of farmers in Munster.

Cork Corporation for their part supplied the seed and guaranteed to take the crop at £15 per acre with a 30s bonus if the crop was good. Under these conditions, about 250 acres were cultivated in the province. The Desmonds, who had a business on Pembroke Street, had a farm at Ballycurreen, not very far from the city. They not only planted 3 ½ acres but also undertook all the work in connection with distributing of the seed to other farmers free of cost. In the gathering in of the crop, they employed sixteen bands – men, women and boys.

Captions:

861a. Postcard of locomotive at Kent Station, early twentieth century (source: Cork City Museum)

861b. Cork City Hall and Anglesea swing Bridge, c.1910 (source: Cork City Library)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 9 September 2016

September 9, 2016Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorizedadmin

**Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,**

Cork Independent, 9 September 2016

Cork’s New Bishop 1916

In continuing to explore Cork in 1916, this week one hundred years ago, the local newspapers were filled with the news the Assistant Bishop of Cork Daniel Cohalan (1858–1952) was to become the new Bishop of Cork following the death of Bishop Thomas Alphonsus O’Callaghan. Cohalan served as Bishop from 29 August 1916 to 24 August 1952 and he defined the sense of religion in the city during his time. Bishop Cohalan was born at Kilmichael, County Cork, in 1858, and his early school days were spent at St Vincent’s Seminary in the city, a school which gave many eminent scholars to the church. Subsequently Dr Cohalan went to Maynooth, and in 1883 was a curate at Kilbritain. In the following year he was professor at St Finbarr’s Seminary and chaplain to the Military Prison, Cork, after which he went to Tracton as curate.

From 1886 to 1914 Dr Cohalan was Professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theology at Maynooth, which led to his appointment as Assistant Bishop of Cork, subsequently becoming Vicar Capitular, and then Bishop of the Diocese. Dr Cohalan was recognised as a profound scholar, whose contributions to Catholic magazines and journals such as the Irish Ecclesiastical Record were respected and set the framework for Roman Catholic theology thinking in the country.

For many of his early years Cohalan found himself commenting on the nationalist independence struggles of the day. He attempted to take the middle ground in a struggle that was rapidly deteriorating into chaos and atrocity. His anti-violence attitude was the guiding principle in his episcopacy. He had a crucial role in condemning the 1916 rising and pressed that the Volunteers including Cork leaders Tomás MacCurtain and Terence McSwiney stand down in the face of superior Crown forces. Cohalan was eager to avoid bloodshed. In 1918 Bishop Cohalan campaigned against conscription into the British army. Whilst attending a public meeting in Cork, he made it clear that conscripting Irishmen to fight Britain’s wars was unacceptable.

The 1920 burning of Cork City by the Black and Tans (following the Dillon’s Cross and other local and regional ambushes) resulted in a city and region dominated by the gun and violence. It prompted Bishop Cohalan to issue a decree of excommunication against those who perpetrated violence in any form. It was issued in SS Mary’s and Anne’s North Cathedral on 12 December 1920. This did not calm the situation. The IRA was unhappy with the decision and the position of the local Catholic Church especially as a number of the clergy were active in the IRA. Cohalan remained steadfast on the controversy isolating himself from republican parishioners and clergy, even to the point of refusing a Catholic burial to any hunger striker after 1922. To underline his support for law and order, Cohalan welcomed the 1922 Treaty, which established the Free State, agreeing that it was not perfect but was a great “measure of freedom”. This support was preached publicly in the North Cathedral on 10 December 1922.

By the mid 1920′s the South Parish had grown in both population and area to a point where it could no longer function with a single church. In an effort to address the situation, Bishop Cohalan designated Turners Cross as the location for a second parish church to serve the ever-growing congregation. Commissioned in 1927, the church’s modern concrete architectural look initiated an enormous debate amongst those involved in the brick masons’ trade, which saw the use of concrete as cutting jobs for masons in the region. The architect was Chicago-born Barry Byrne (1883-1967) who was a former student of Frank Lloyd Wright. By the late 1920s Byrne had, designed three Catholic Churches in the US to acclaim and criticism. The model for Turners Cross was based on the Church of Christ the King, Tulsa, Oklahoma (1926).

Work on the Turners Cross site began in March 1929. Its heavy foundations went down 15 feet into a marshy stream-like area. A total of 1,200 tons of Condor brand of Portland cement were used in its construction. Its marble terrazzo floor is overlooked by the largest suspended ceiling in a European church and it also possesses the impressive John Storr-designed Christ the King sculpture at its entrance. The church was officially dedicated on 25 October 1931 and set a marker for the future development of large churches in Cork’s suburbs. The notable exception was Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Ballinlough, planning for which started possibly 2-3 years after Christ the King. As Ballinlough church was a chapel of ease to St Michael’s Blackrock, there was a return to a traditional-looking and simple structure (opened in 1938).

In 1937 Cohalan turned his attention to the role of the Protestant churches in Ireland. He encouraged the Protestant community of Cork to unite with its Catholic brethren to achieve Christian unity. He even went so far as to suggest to the Protestant Bishop of Cork that they merge the dioceses between them with St Finbarr’s Cathedral presiding over southside districts and the North Cathedral presiding over northside districts. All the Protestant Bishop had to do was to convert to Catholicism (!).

Captions:

860a. Portrait of Bishop of Cork, Daniel Cohalan (source: Farranferris Campus, Cork)

860b. Christ the King Church & the newly constructed Capwell Road, c.1931 (source: Christ the King Church, Cork)

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 1 September 2016

September 1, 2016Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorizedadmin

**Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,**

Cork Independent, 1 September 2016

Cork Nursing at the Somme

In returning to describing life in Cork in 1916, one of the stories making the newspapers one hundred years ago this week was that of a Cork lady who had a long and eventful experience of hospital work at the front line of World War 1. Soon after the outbreak of the war Rose Georgina Murphy (nee Davis) or Mrs Albert St John Murphy of Tivoli House, Glanmire left Cork for France. With the assistance of another lady they established a hospital near the ever-extending firing lines. Her husband was a Doctor of Medicine and a Director of James J Murphy & Company. Rose was married to Albert since 1888. Originally she was from Kingston Upon Thames in Surrey and had four daughters.

During 1916, Rose made every possible effort to raise funds locally, which were to be applied solely to the purchase of ambulance outfits for the 16^th Irish Division. The Division was a voluntary service raised in Ireland in September 1914 after the outbreak of the Great War. In December 1915, the Division moved to France joining the British Expeditionary Force under the command of Irish Major General William Hickie and spent the duration of World War I in action on the Western Front. In late July 1916, they were moved to the Somme valley where they intensively engaged in the battle. They played an important part in capturing the towns of Guillemont and Ginchy. However, they suffered enormous losses at the Somme, Passchendale and Ypres. For example between January and the end of May 1916, out of a total of 10,845 men, it lost 3,491 on the Loos sector arising from bombardment and a gas attack. Overall over 3,500 Irish soldiers lost their lives at the Battle of the Somme.

It was on the front line of the war that Rose Murphy met the 16^th Irish Division. Her story is told in the Cork Examiner on 24 August 1916. It is here in an interview with her that a journalist highlights her work. Her story describes that the money allocated by Westminster for the War effort needed to be supplemented. Considerable sums were spent in the maintenance of medical sections, which were under financed. Through Rose taking an active part in a matronship role she noticed many aspects were required that private persons could potentially contribute to purchasing. For example large quantities of particular drugs were needed. The large centres or distribution depots were almost empty. Rose highlighted that these demands had not reached her home town of Cork. Here the drugs required could be purchased with private money and transported to the front. The newspaper records that “in her hospital was a most polyglot collection, ranging from Spahis to Munster Fusiliers, all getting equal care and still of a most competent surgical staff”. The running of the nursing staff was superintended by Rose and a co-worker.

The nursing staff was near to the battle area and at many times the sounds of the war were not far distant. Rose denoted the real need for more ambulances. The organisation for the removal of the wounded was great, but still more help was warranted. The nature of the removal work was difficult – the need for speed over the rough ground accounted for the short life of many vehicles. In very many instances only hand borne stretchers were possible to be used. There was a need to invent an appliance which would accelerate the removal of the fallen men and at the same time diminishing discomfort for those heavily injured. A Captain Furber at the Front saw the shortcomings of the types of ambulances and he invented a new type of one. It was manufactured in London and was called the Furber ambulance. It was a general purpose carriage – a push ambulance – it was a framework of light steel tubing mounted on wire wheels and pneumatic tyres. It had transverse springs for carrying the standard army hand stretcher, and a stretched waterproof sheet beneath, on which a second patient can be carried. Bearers could push it at a good speed, thus enabling them to do double the work, and hence conserving their strength and energy for further efforts in the fields of injuries and death. The Cork Examiner records the efficiency of the new ambulance in a letter from a Sergeant. He stated that he was able to bring in forty men in the same time as that which could convey twenty men. The newspaper records the high casualty lists of the 16^th Irish Division.

Rose Murphy set about raising as much money to support the buying of medical supplies and the manufacture of Furber ambulances. Each ambulance cost at the works £17 10s 0d and plus packing carriage, and insurance, brought the costs to a total of about £19 0s 0d. This week, one hundred years ago, Rose Murphy is noted as planning and constructing delightful little Japanese gardens, all of which could be sold for charity. The larger ones were to be raffled separately, but smaller sized ones were to be sold in sets of four.

Captions:

859a. Furber Ambulance Stretcher, c.1916 (source: Official History Medical Services, vol 4, p.586)

859b. Part of the 16^th Irish Division arriving at the Somme, early 1916 (source: Imperial War Museum, London)