My new book for 2018 is entitled Cork in 50 Buildings (Amberley Publishing). It explores the history of this venerable old city through a selection of its greatest architectural treasures, from the St Anne’s Church, Shandon, regarded as a symbol of the city, to more recent additions such as the tower of the County Hall, once the tallest building in Ireland. This book offers a glimpse to explore behind fifty of Cork’s historic buildings. Below I outline some of my favourite buildings in order to plug the book!
Building #6 The Bishop’s Church
Protestant Bishop of Cork Peter Browne occupied the See of Cork and Ross, 1710-1735, and lived in a house he personally financed in the south west countryside of Cork City. Bishop Browne was buried in a chapel adjacent his mansion on his estate. The little chapel still exists in the heart of Bishopstown. There was a belfry on its eastern side, now gone. The western side also had a small porch ascended by a semi-circular flight of five steps of cut limestone. In the centre of the Court-yard was the Crown and Mitre set in the pavement with a yellow-coloured stone.
Building #8 The Butter Market
In 1849, an elaborate Roman temple style portico was added to the front of the butter market and this was designed by Sir John Benson. In the late 1800s, there was a distinct decline in the economic fortunes of the city. The profits of the export provision trade of agricultural products such as butter and beef declined. In 1858, 428,000 firkins of butter were been exported per annum and by 1891, this was reduced to 170,000 firkins.
Building #18 The Distillery
The house at the junction of the North Mall and Wise’s Hill was the residence of the distiller Francis Wise, after whose family the hill is named. The detached five-bay three-storey former house, built c. 1800, is now in use as a university building. The building retains interesting features and materials, such as the timber sliding sash windows, wrought-iron lamp bracket arch, and interior fittings. In the 1870s Francis Wise of Cork owned 9,912 acres in county Cork and 9,636 acres in county Kerry.
Building #33 The Pepperpot Tower
St Anne’s Church Shandon was built in 1722 with a distinctive tall tower. It was only in 1752 that its famous bells were installed. Indeed, their fame is worldwide especially with the immortal words of Fr Prout’s poem “The Bells of Shandon” echoing behind their history. Fr Prout was the pen name for Fr Francis Mahony who spent many years of his childhood living nearby, listening to the bells in the early half of the nineteenth century.
Building #34 The Philanthropic Spirit
The Cork Improved Dwellings Company also built housing in the city. This was a group, which favoured the idea of British philanthropic industrialists building workers’ housing. Established in 1860 through a shareholding idiom, one could speculate and invest, and get a return whilst at the same time providing an escape for many impoverished families from slum ridden areas of the city. The company eventually built almost 420 houses – Prosperity Square & surrounds, Rathmore Terrace on St Patrick’s Hill and Hibernian Buildings on Albert Road became their flagship projects.
Building #39 The Roman Catholic Cathedral
The present Cathedral of St Mary’s and St Anne’s is the fifth church on the site since the early 1600s (1624, 1700, 1730, and 1808). The story of the present-day structure is as follows. In 1820, an immense fire greatly damaged the fourth cathedral so much so that it was really the skeleton structure of the burned cathedral that survived. However, all was not lost and shortly after, the bishop of that time, John Murphy delegated to architect, George Pain, the rebuilding of the then 12-year-old cathedral, inside and outside. George Pain was also responsible for the design of buildings such as Holy Trinity Church, St. Patrick’s Church and Blackrock Castle.
Building #42 The Shopping Arcade
The beautiful Winthrop Arcade opened in March 1926. It connects Winthrop Street and Oliver Plunkett Street by a glass covered way and consists of twelve shops. It was the first Arcade constructed in the Irish Free State.
Building #45 The Toll Booth
The old St Luke’s Toll Booth is a beautiful freestanding octagonal-plan structure, built c.1880 and is the last reference to an ancient system of paying tolls in the city. The toll booths were owned by the Corporation of Cork and leased out to the highest bidder. In the late twentieth century, the highest bidder for the St Luke’s Booth was Mr Michael Hennessy. His father ran a newspaper business from the tiny building with the family having a nearby news agents shop there for several years.
Building #47 The Viewing Tower
The idea for Callanan’s Tower was inspired by the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London, which Michael Callanan visited in 1851. A high limestone tower would be the central point of Callanan’s proposal. The estimated cost of the scheme was £50,000. Ornamental gardens were designed, and the tall tower was constructed approximately, 25 to 30 metres in height, which assumed the shape of a medieval tall castle.
Kieran’s new book, Cork in Fifty Buildings (2018, Amberley Publishing) is now available in Cork bookshops.
Kieran is also showcasing some of the older column series on the River Lee on his heritage facebook page at the moment, Cork Our City, Our Town.
Captions:
974a. Ruined Bishop’s Church, Bishopstown present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
974b. Callanan’s Tower, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
974c. Toll booth, St Luke’s Cross, Present Day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
974d. Front cover of Cork in 50 Buildings by Kieran McCarthy
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has called for the pedestrianisation of the Marina on Sundays from the Atlantic Pond to almost Blackrock Village.
“The four weeks in October whereby almost 60 per cent of the walkway was pedestrianised has shown that there is public support for the initiative. The play areas on the road added to the enjoyment of the space by families. Great credit is due to local volunteers who manned such areas and traffic barriers. The calm weather of October brought hundreds of people out to experience the Marina in a different light whereby people could enjoy the space without the cars passing through”.
Cllr McCarthy, who gave a historical walking tour along the Marina as part of the pedestrianisation project, highlights that the potential to create other activities such as history walks and nature walks is quite high; “It is an area with a rich cultural and natural heritage, elements of which could be further mined. Part of The Marina began its life as a dock for shops called the Navigation Wall in 1761. You also can view the enigmatic sixteenth century Dundanion Castle from the Marina and the gorgeous Blackrock Castle as well as reclamation projects such as the Atlantic Pond from the nineteenth century and railway projects such as the Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway Line. Add in elements such as the story of the rowing clubs and one gets a rich kaleidoscope of stories and memories”.
“In the last few weeks, I have had sustained correspondence by constituents in Ballintemple and Blackrock to move the project of pedestrianisation. There was a recent debate in the Council Chamber whereby the sentiment expressed by the Directorate of Recreation and Amenity is of support but to tie the pedestrianisation to the development of Marina Park. Knowing the timeline of Marina Park is one of a 5-10 year strategy, momentum could be lost with the Marina project. It is my intention to keep the pressure on officials to answer the calls in the short terms from constituents for part pedestrianisation on a Sunday, in line with the methodology developed during October’s Sunday closures”.
For more up to date news on Kieran’s ongoing work and lobbying, check out his new Facebook page, Cllr Kieran McCarthy.
To ask the CE about progress on Boole House on Batchelor’s Quay? (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Motions:
That Cork City Council enter the European Youth Capital initiative for 2022. It is a title awarded by the European Youth Forum. It is granted to a European city for a period of one year that puts young people at the core of the city’s social, economic, cultural and political life (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
That exploration be begun on parking voucher schemes in the Council City Centre carparks – that potentially a person who buys in a city centre shop gets a discount off their parking in a Council multi-storey carpark (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Stories from 1918: The Struggles of the Cork Lunatic Asylum
November and December 1918 notably coincided with a focus on the Cork Lunatic Asylum in Shanakiel as it struggled to look after its high number of patients whilst at the same time keep its staff happy in their work. Cork was one of the 24 District Lunatic Asylums in Ireland plus it had an auxiliary asylum at Youghal.
The Annual Reports of Inspector of Lunatics (Ireland) for 1917 and 1918 reveal circa 20,000 patients in the district asylums and auxiliary asylum. Circa 1,000 patients contributed wholly or partly to their support. Over 360 criminals were maintained by state funds whilst the remainder were maintained partly out of the Government Grant and partly out of local rates. Patients in private licenced houses and what were called mental hospitals were supported entirely out of private funds. In the reports, a marked increase in the death rate is noted at the asylums – on average a ten per cent increase, which was put down to cold winters, the advent fever, and/ or the adverse effect of war on the provision of food and the lack of other supplies to already feeble patients.
At a meeting of the Committee of the Cork Lunatic Asylum on 21 October 1918 the Acting RMS Dr Cashman reported that the total number of inmates in the Asylum was 1,694. The minutes of the meeting, as published in the Cork Examiner, noted that the gathering had under consideration a letter from the Asylum Workers’ Association demanding the limitation of the hours of duty of the staff of the institution to 56 hours per week and £1 weekly over the pre-war rate of wages. Dr Cashman denoted those proposals would need an increased expenditure of between £5,000 and £6,000 a year, which the Cork asylum did not have. In a letter he received from the staff they pointed out that after strikes of brief duration in the asylums of Ennis and Limerick, their wage demands were acceded to in full. Dr Cashman detailed that Ennis and Limerick Asylums were small institutions, where the increase was only a matter of £50, but Cork was a large populated asylum. The only other asylum that Cork could compare with it was Richmond in the North Inner City of Dublin where the latter institution gave the male staff an increase of 19s per week on pre-war rates and female attendants 12s 6d per week. Dr Cashman held the belief that the Cork Asylum had the best paid staff in Ireland.
By 29 October 1918, the threatened strike at the Cork Asylum had been amicable settled. Negotiations were conducted over a few hours by Fr Thomas Dowling of Holy Trinity Church (who was written about in this column in June of this year). After the meeting it was announced that the Committee of Management and members of the male and female staff had arrived at a settlement. This comprised an increase for the term of the war at 17s per week to all male attendants and 12s per week to all female attendants. All past bonuses were to be cancelled.
An advertisement seeking female attendants on 11 November 1918 sought female attendants on a salary of £15 per annum, rising to £35 5s per annum and a war bonus at 12s per week and emoluments consisting of board, lodging, uniform and laundry. Applicants had to be over 20 and under 30 years of age and had to be nominated by a member of the Asylum Committee. An applicant’s height had to be not less than 5ft 4ins. There was an examination at the Asylum where reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, and Elementary Irish. Successful candidates were to undergo probationary training for six months, when if unsuitable, their services could be dispensed with.
On 19 November 1918, Dr Cashman reported that the Asylum had been safeguarded from the prevailing epidemic of influenza. Not a single member of the resident staff was confined to bed. The only officials that had been attacked were those who lived out, and they had been isolated and treated in their own homes, where necessary, by outside medical men, and in these cases the attack had been of a mild type. He recommended that none of the precautions taken should be relaxed. The general health of the inmates he deemed “was excellent for the time of the year”. The typhoid fever that recently attacked the Asylum with such grave results had completely disappeared.
Rationing of food supplies was ever present. Subsequently, the food supply was of poor quality; the eggs received had been of such a poor quality that they had been refused by patients and staff. They discontinued their purchase and adopted substitutes. The butter supply was also unsatisfactory and rejected on many occasions. The sugar supply was also not being maintained by the contractors.
Financially the asylum was not living within its financial means. The manager of the Munster and Leinster Bank wrote to the committee with reference to an application for an overdraft of £12,000 to be paid off by April 1919. The manager sought information on what had occurred to prevent this arrangement being carried out and the request for an increase in the overdraft. The committee decided that a letter be written to thee bank acquainting them of the arrangements made to clear off the overdraft.
Kieran’s new book, Cork in Fifty Buildings (2018, Amberley Publishing) is now available in Cork bookshops.
Kieran is also showcasing some of the older column series on the River Lee on his heritage facebook page at the moment, Cork Our City, Our Town.
Captions:
973a. Former Cork Lunatic Asylum Our Lady’s Hospital, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
973b. Former Our Lady’s Hospital site from the top of Cork County Hall, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has called for a stronger online city centre shopping experience. At a debate at the recent City Council meeting Cllr McCarthy raised that 50 per cent of the Republic’s population shop online and spend on average e3000 per year; “eCommerce has had a significant impact on Cork City’s shopping experience. For many people with busy working lives it is easier to buy online. For the young generation, many of them shop online. It is heartening to hear of the Cork. Business Association’s online Cork City shopping portal plus to hear that Cork City’s Local Enterprise Office is helping 50 businesses in the city his year to go online, as well as the Council developing a Digital strategy. All of these strategies need to speed up”.
“There is still alot of work to do when it comes to promoting City Centre shopping online. Much debate has been had on the need for parking measures. But little debate has happened that more and more we are seeing research reports that to connect with younger consumers, retailers must develop engaging and relevant social media strategies, as 94 percent of 18 to 24 year olds find their inspiration to purchase on social media.
Almost two-thirds of those surveyed by Paypal this year used a mobile device for shopping in the last year, which represents a growth of 61 percent of mobile spending in Ireland in 2018 to €2.8 billion. This is a clear indicator that having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option, but rather a critical success factor for retailers”.
Can I thank the CE, the Finance Officer John Hallahan and Cllr Martin, the chair of the Finance Functional Committee for their work on this draft annual budget book.
History is being made this evening as this marks the last budget of over 60 years of the city in its current size. But within the word history are the words Hi Story. And the realities of our future story are mapped out in this document this evening.
At the 2020 budget meeting next November 2019 the members of the Council will budget for 210,000 people and a city five times more in size with more challenges and more calls for funding. This City is ready to take on the challenge of an expanded city. I firmly believe our directors of the various service directorates are ready for the transition and added work. I might clash with them at times and call for more from them on certain elements, but I always respect their frankness and honesty on what can and can’t be done whilst outlining their pride of their staff and their vision of the future.
Reading through the various sections you can see the strengths of our directorates and the ongoing work programmes – the 30 per cent of our income spent on Housing with several hundred social housing constructs coming on stream in the next two years – 17 per cent on roads with several construction and enhancement projects ongoing.
I have been vocal that our staff at the housing desk everyday at reception, community wardens and homeless outreach team are collecting the voices of citizens and acting upon them for those who need support in the accommodation sector. I do believe that once the city expands that much work needs to be done on where we can build mixed housing projects.
On roads, I believe firmly that the city has seen nothing yet in terms of traffic problems as the economic bounce continues to reach citizens on the ground. I am content that we are on the right track regarding our mobility measures but I am going to take this opportunity this evening to re-iterate strongly my call for more parking incentives and marketing measures. It has also become clear that there has been a break down in communication between the small trader and the Council, where much work needs to be done to resolve it.
When you read through service divisions such as water services – you can see the extent of the drainage operation and maintenance, you can see read about the economic development programmes and the depth of the EU programmes we are part of.
I have been vocal that this city needs to be more aware of its southern capital position and being a European Regional Hub. So I am proud that members of staff have got stuck into a range of Interreg projects from start-ups to social innovation plus from a budget perspective the added funding the city can garner from EU urban funding projects.
In environmental services, a glance through the draft budget you can find out about waste planning, recycling measures, the great work of the Lifetime Lab Education Programme and Fire Department. I think sometimes we don’t always state that this is a budget not only about services but a budget for those who carry out tasks and who want their wish list answered.
In recreation and amenity, you can read about our tourism projects in Elizabeth Fort and Shandon, the myriad of festivals, arts projects, libraries projects, capital park projects. I have been vocal to get Tramore Valley Park open plus have a strong Urban Forestry programme. I am happy that we are edging more and more towards them.
And you can also read about agriculture, health & welfare and aspects such as our ongoing work on the expansion of the boundary.
Indeed, from this budget document you can see the range of work that Cork City Council does to make a living city – it is clearly outlined in this document this evening. It is a very difficult task to respond to the myriad and myriad of asks of customers and citizens. Those in the County suburbs worried about inclusion in the city can from this document see clearly that Cork City Council has a vision. We have the ambition. We have the work ethic. Ultimately, using our own wordage, We Are Cork. However, with that accolade comes much work and responsibility especially with the new canvass of satellite county areas entering Cork City next year.
“The armistice with Germany was signed yesterday morning, and as the terms of the truce preclude the possibility of a resumption of hostilities, the world again enters on the paths of peace. After the appalling years of slaughter, of devastation on and, and of revolting massacre at sea, mankind cannot but find relief in the news that the greatest war in the world’s history is over. The tragedy that convulsed continents has taught many lessons” Editorial, Cork Examiner, 12 November 1918, p.4).
The cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of the First World War took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. The armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France. Relief abounded for the families of those soldiers who had made it to the end of the war alive – but vast grief over-shadowed the celebrations, which is played out across British and Irish newspapers of the day.
The figure of 49,435 war dead is the one adorned on the Irish National War Memorial, at Islandbridge in Dublin based on the Irish Memorial Rolls drawn up after the war. Unfortunately, the rolls are full of discrepancies. They detail all those who died in Irish regiments, but many of those soldiers were not Irish, and many Irish who died in non-Irish regiments are not recorded.
The Irish Memorial Roll lists 4,918 dead from Dublin, but First World War scholar Tom Burnell says the true figure is 8,479. Similarly, the official figure for Cork is 2,244, but he puts it at 4,338. Similarly, crucial work in the book A Great Sacrifice (2010, edited by Gerry White and Brendan O’Shea) reveals an under estimation of total figures. When the war ended in November 1918 the Royal Munster Fusiliers had suffered around 2,800 killed with thousands more wounded and the regiment had been reduced to its two regular battalions, a reserve battalion and two garrison battalions.
The other element at play was how to bring the thousands and thousands of soldiers home. The House of Commons on 14 November issued a report detailing the vast swathes of soldiers trying to come home to Britain and Ireland. The report notes that it was impossible to say what was the number of prisoners of war who had found their way to Holland in just three days, but possibly it was in the thousands. Circa 30,000 full kits and 30,000 rations were sent to Holland and all Red Cross workers, voluntary aid detachments, and medical-personnel in Holland were to be retained there in case of emergency. Besides such ships as were available Westminister were sending ships capable of carrying 9,000 persons.
Similar arrangements were being made in the case of Denmark. As regards kits and rations. It was hoped to affect the repatriation of all prisoners from that country by neutral ships. Steps had also been taken to secure the return of prisoners from Switzerland. It was thought possible to secure the return of other prisoners directly across the lines in France and Belgium, and instructions had been given to facilitate their passage to the Channel ports, and to do everything possible for their comfort on the way. The whole question of interned prisoners in Germany would be dealt with under the armistice conditions by an International Conference.
As to the prisoners in Austria, the Italian authorities had been asked to make arrangements to secure their speedy return. In the case of prisoners in Turkish hands, Admiral Calthorpe of the Mediterranean Fleet had been asked to appoint a committee of three to attend to their requirements and secure their repatriation. The great bulk of these would be assembled in Smyrna and sent through Italy and France.
All combatant prisoners of war on arrival in England would be sent to reception camps where they would receive medical attention. Arrangements were made to give them leave as soon as possible. Other arrangements would be made for civilian prisoners. In the Cork context, many soldiers returned to Cork with no jobs to return to. Many enlisted in the Cork Branch (established December 1917) of the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers. The Federation’s principle aims were to secure pensions for wounded ex-servicemen from Government and to promote legislation for them.
On the western end of the South Mall is a memorial to those Irishmen who died in the First World War. The unveiling of the Cork Great War Memorial erected by the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen to the memory of their fallen comrades, took place on 17 March 1925. The ceremony was performed by General Harrison, the late commanding officer of the Royal Munster Fusiliers’ Depot, who took the salute from the foot of the Memorial. Many thousands of ex-servicemen, and widows and orphans of the men in whose honour the memorial was erected, were present at the ceremony. The day’s programme was an elaborate one and opened with parades of Ex-Servicemen at eleven o’clock. The two organisations in Cork—the Cork Independent Ex-Servicemen and the Cork branch of the British Legion participated. The memorial is carved in relief on a modest limestone obelisk, sitting on a plinth, is the profile of a Munster Fusiliers soldier in full military uniform, head down, gun at rest.
Kieran’s new book, Cork in Fifty Buildings (2018, Amberley Publishing) is now available in Cork bookshops.
Kieran is also showcasing some of the older column series on the River Lee on his heritage facebook page at the moment, Cork Our City, Our Town.
Captions:
972a. Commemorations at First World War One Memorial, South Mall, 11 November 2013 (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
972b. First World War Postcard from A Great Sacrifice (2010) edited by G White & Brendan O’Shea (source: Local Studies, Cork City Library)
To ask the CE what are the differences between the “Super 7” measures of the City Centre Mobility Plan launched in August 2018 & and the revised city Centre parking and marketing measures for November and December 2018? (Cllr Kieran McCarthy)
Motions:
In light of the ongoing difficulty in illegal parking in the vicinity of the old post office sorting office – now a residence – that bollards be placed on the road in Churchyard Lane opposite entrances to houses. This would create a chicane into the road and would achieve improved safety slowing vehicles down, improved safety for pedestrians as cars would no longer be able to park on top of footpaths thereby forcing pedestrians to walk on the road, guarantee residents easy access to their homes as cars could no longer park where the bollards are, stop illegal parking on the road, and ensure emergency services have ready access to all houses on and through the Lane (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
That Cork City Council locks in Earth Hour on its annual events calendar so it happens every year and is on par with other events. That Cork City Council participates in Earth Hour by switching off all of City Hall’s non-essential lights, particularly facade floodlights. That Cork City Council actively liaises with the relevant officials to broaden participation in Earth Hour to Cork City’s most-renowned buildings including: Saint Anne’s Church, North Cathedral, Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral and the Aula Maxima in UCC (Cllr Kieran McCarthy).
