Saturday 14 May 2022, The Northern Ridge – St Patrick’s Hill to MacCurtain Street; Historical walking tour with Kieran of the area around St Patrick’s Hill – Old Youghal Road to McCurtain Street; meet on the Green at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 2pm (free, duration: two hours, no booking required).

Sunday 22 May 2022, Views from a Park – Tramore Valley Park, historical walking tour with Kieran in association with the KinShip Project; discover the site’s local history and about the historical sites surrounding the Park; meet at Halfmoon Lane gate, 2pm (free, duration: 90 minutes no booking required).

Saturday 28 May 2022, The Friar’s Walk; historical walking tour with Kieran; Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack Street, Callanan’s Tower & Greenmount area; Meet at Red Abbey tower, off Douglas Street, 2pm (free, duration: two hours, no booking required).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 28 April 2022

Journeys to a Free State: The Potential of the Port

In the spring of 1922, the Cork Harbour Commissioners commissioned Mr George F Nicholson, chief engineer of the Port of Seattle, to come to Cork in order to research and write up a paper on the challenges in the development of the port of Cork in the short term. George gave a public lecture in Cobh on his work in March 1922. His work was also discussed at length in the meetings of the Cork Harbour Commissioners across the Spring of that year.  He pitched a need to invest two million sterling (€145 million today) to modernise port facilities.

In the public lecture, George emphasised the fact that, he was an outside engineer and had no local connections. The Port Commissioners of Seattle granted George a leave of absence, without pay, for from four to six months. The Cork side were interested in the story of the Port of Seattle. The concept of that port had just come into existence on 5 September 1911, by a vote of the people of the Port District. It was created with a view to recovering public control over the waterfront of Seattle. Port construction commenced in 1913 with the establishment of a home port for the local fishermen.  From the beginning, the importance of recognising the waterfront with railroads, warehouses, and industrial sites was crucial.

The Seattle terminal was finished in 1914 and became the Northern Pacific Fishing Fleet’s home of operations. By 1916 Seattle had six separate deep-draft terminals, comprising one for grain and one for refrigerated goods, and a storage facility that held nearly one million gallons of vegetable oil. Seattle swiftly became the leading port on the West Coast in terms of the dollar value of its imports and exports, and it reigned unchallenged in Washington for decades.

George was employed to see if any learnings could be brought from Seattle to Cork Harbour. He opened his talk in Cobh saying that his opinion was unbiased, and his recommendations were made from a purely engineering and traffic standpoint. At the outset, he thought that Cork Harbour should be made a national port, if not the national port of Ireland, by the new Provisional Government. Mr Nicholson stated that the Lower Harbour should be given preference in the future development work, especially developing the rail connections and deep water shipping.

George advocated very strongly in his lecture that the City of Cork and town of Cobh consolidate as one city under one corporate limit. This, he argued, was necessary for the “successful development of Cork Harbour as a whole”. Cork Harbour, he detailed, had a fine opportunity in its new development work, to install more efficient facilities than the surrounding European Ports. But harmonious co-operation between the two communities, acting as one city, with the Harbour Board was vitally essential.

George called for Cork and Cobh to learn from the serious mistakes made by other ports in this regard. He referenced the Atlantic Coast Ports of North America who profited by the mistakes made by the older European ports. In the previous fifteen years the Pacific Ports of North America had learned by the mistakes made by the Atlantic ports.

George pointed out that the upper river harbour in Cork city was not capable of accommodating the evolving size of ships that large steamship companies were standardising upon. There was also a great need at Cork for – (1) transit sheds, where goods could be stored in transit and protected from the weather; (2) shipside tracks, so that freight could be loaded direct between ship and railway wagons without man handling; and (3) mechanical freight handling equipment lor the economical handling of grain, coal, and all miscellaneous cargo.

George highlighted the importance of the entrance channel to the lower harbour was of first and prime importance. He noted that was no use in erecting modern facilities inside the harbour if steamers could not reach them in any kind of weather and at all stages of the tide.

George deemed that the deep water quay at Cobh was impossible for a number of reasons: (1) There was no room for future expansion, there were only 46 acres available, including a large portion of White Point, while at Cuskinny Bay there were several hundred acres. There were also issues in turning large vessels around rocks and at points in the main channel.

The place of Cuskinny Bay as a terminal site for the lower harbour was detailed in the lecture. George proposed that a modern terminal should erected there, and that any boat, large or small, could then berth there in the worst gale. He noted: “The Cuskinny pier would be the means of getting back the mail business going to Northern England and Scotland, as many hours would be saved. Also it would result, in the attracting of new commerce. When you have the passenger traffic, you will also obtain considerable freight traffic”.

George concluded by showing very interesting stereo views of the modern port of Seattle. It was clearly shown in these views the excellent terminals constructed in that port in the previous years at a cost of £3m; as well as the great assortment of mechanical freight handling equipment for which Seattle was noted. It had the reputation of owning and operating more labour-saving devices, in comparison with its number of terminal facilities, than any other port in the United States and Canada. 

In the months that followed, George’s report was sidelined due to the Irish Civil War, but the creation of extra terminal space was kept on the Harbour Commissioner’s agenda but only became a physical reality in the mid to late twentieth century. One could argue that the Ringaskiddy port development in today’s context was inspired by a multitude of reports such as the Nichols report commissioned through the past century.

Caption:

1148a. Postcard of Cork Harbour from Queenstown, now Cobh c.1910 from Cork Harbour Through Time by Kieran McCarthy & Dan Breen.

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 21 April 2022

Journeys to a Free State: Disbanding the Royal Irish Constabulary

The establishment of the Irish Constabulary was begun by the Irish Constabulary (Ireland) Act 1836. Previous to this, the Irish police force at the time of the Act of Union of 1800 was still comprised only of small units of sub-constables. Originally, the prime role of the Royal Irish Constabulary was upholding the peace, which involved the suppression of armed rebellion, religious riots or agrarian disturbances. Their position was extended when it took on the functions of the Revenue Police, which involved “inquiries on behalf of departments of state, collected agricultural statistics, enforced the fishery laws and performed a variety of duties under the laws relating to food and drugs, weights and measures, explosives and petroleum”.

In 1867, the Irish Constabulary was renamed the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). After 1916 it faced the effect of the violence from the Irish War of Independence. 

Following the formation of the Irish Free State in early 1922, on 31 March 1922, the disbandment of the Royal Irish Constabulary began in southern Ireland. They were to be replaced by the creation of the Irish Free State’s Civic Guard. Approximately 7,000 RIC men, excluding officers, awaited disbandment in Ireland with many waiting to evacuate barracks in various parts of the country. Of these, between 4,000 and 5,000 were focussed in the Dublin and Kildare area.

 Britain’s National Archives in Kew, London records that pensions were paid by the Paymaster General in London, and the service records of members of the force passed to the Home Office which were subsequently transferred to The National Archives. An annual sum of £1,500,000 was put aside for their pensions. This sum was guaranteed by the British parliament and, under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, all or part of it was to be provided by the Irish government.

In Cork, in early April 1922, there was ongoing fallout from the murder of a former member of the RIC who was shot dead on a crowded Cork City street on 25 March. Retired William Gloster, a former sergeant, returning to his home at Elizabeth Fort was passing through the southern end of South Main Street at 1.30 pm when a group of young men shot him at least six times.

On 12 April 1922, the handing over of the city’s RIC Barracks began. There was considerable activity in the vicinity of the Bridewell and Tuckey Street when both those barracks, as well as the annexe on the latter, on the Grand Parade, were handed over by the RIC to an officer of the IRA from Dublin. At 11am, District Inspector Riordan, Union Quay attended at the Bridewell, where he was met an IRA officer from Dublin, and some local IRA officers. There, with the assistance of Head Constable Nestor and Sergeant McCoy, the station sergeant, an inventory of the property being left was made. By 11am the RIC walked out, leaving an IRA guard in charge.

The party then proceeded to Tuckey Street, where District Inspector Riordan again handed over the barracks to the IRA officer. Then the annexe on the outer side of Tuckey Street, and overlooking the Grand Parade was visited, and a like process was gone through. Large crowds remained outside both barracks during the process of evacuation, but there were no disturbances. The police from both barracks then went to Union Quay.

The other three barracks were evacuated the following day on 13 April – the barracks an Empress Place on Summerhill North, Elizabeth Fort and Union Quay, with its annexe at Moore’s Hotel at Morrison’s Island. These were handed over to the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Donal Óg O’Callaghan.

Union Quay took more than two hours to complete the checking of the inventory before it was officially handed over by Captain Moran to the Lord Mayor. It was a large spacious building of modern brick, built and capable of affording accommodation to upwards of 150 men. Before they were completely departed at Union Quay. Constable Lowry, the men’s representative, approached the pressmen present, and said he had desired on behalf of the old city force to express their gratitude to the people of Cork. Some of them has been in the force for over 30 years.

From early morning, the RIC were busily engaged in removing luggage to the City’s Custom House Quay, where the steamer, SS Lady Wicklow, was berthed. The vessel was specially chartered for the conveyance of RIC members to Dublin. The steamer hosted 20 officers, 400 police, with all their luggage and equipment on board.

At the quayside, City Councillor and Home Rule supporter Sir John Scott was present and noted that he had been present when the barracks were handed over to the Lord Mayor for Cork Corporation. He noted that he had experienced a feeling of pleasure and also of regret – pleasure of meeting once more members of the RIC, and regret when he came to think that they were leaving the city. Continuing he paid a fine tribute to the officers and members of the force, and wished then “every good luck, long life and prosperity in the future”. At the close of Sir John Scott’s address, a policeman who said he was of the oldest members of the force, expressed thanks, and called for three cheers for Scott. 

In mid-May 1922 disbandment commenced at Cork’s Victoria Barracks.

Caption:

1147a. Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Donal Óg O’Callaghan receiving the keys of the Union Quay barracks, Cork, 13 April 1922 (W D Hogan Collection, National Library of Ireland).