Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 25 July 2013
Spirit of Mother Jones Festival, 30 July-1 August
The 2013 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival will run in historic Shandon from Tuesday 30 July to Thursday 1 August 2013. Cork City Council recently declared 1 August as Mother Jones Day. This international “Shandon Summer School” event will see speakers from Ireland joined by participants from the United Kingdom and the United States, who will attend to discuss issues associated with social justice, labour and union history. These were issues close to the heart of Cork born Mary Harris known throughout the world as Mother Jones.
In 2012 Shandon was the location for the inaugural Mother Jones Festival, which celebrated the 175th Anniversary of the birth of Mary Harris nearby. A beautiful plaque was unveiled at last year’s event and this will also be the focal point for the 2013 festival. The entire event was hugely successful, attracting large crowds, receiving media coverage throughout Ireland and America and placing the ancient Shandon quarter in international focus.
The Cork Mother Jones Committee felt Shandon should continue to celebrate and honour Mother Jones by providing a platform to highlight and discuss labour history, trade union issues and social justice in the setting of the very birthplace of Mary Harris. The Shandon festival/summer school will have a mixture of speakers, lectures discussions, films a parade of banners, music and songs associated with these struggles over three days.
On Tuesday evening, 30 July, the Chairperson of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, Margaret Aspinall, will speak on the traumatic events, which took place at the Hillsborough Stadium on 15 April 1989, when 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives. Margaret’s son James was among those who never came home from that game. The Festival committee are pleased to announce that the recipient of the Spirit of Mother Jones Award for 2013 is Ms Aspinall (google youtube video, Campaigning Mum of the Year 2013).
Wednesday afternoon, 31 July, will see Ken Fleming of SIPTU and an Inspector with the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) give a lecture on the exploitation of some seafarers on vessels in Irish ports. Later that evening Padraig Yeates, journalist, writer and author of the book “Lockout”, an account of the bitter workers strike in 1913, will give a lecture on the Dublin Lockout. The Lockout was a watershed in Irish political and labour history. Padraig Yeates is an expert on this period in Irish history. His centenary lecture will take place at 7pm on Wednesday 31 August at the Firkin Crane. The Dublin Lockout lecture will be introduced by Joe O’Flynn General Secretary of SIPTU formerly the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, which was founded by James Larkin. Luke Dineen will present his paper on the Cork Strike and Lockout of 1909 at the Firkin Crane to be held also on Wednesday afternoon. This very significant but largely forgotten strike had a major influence on the later Dublin Lockout.
On Thursday 1 August, Mother Jones Day, Professor Simon Cordery of Western Illinois University will deliver the annual Mother Jones lecture. Simon has written extensively on the activities of Mother Jones and recently completed a book entitled Mother Jones “Raising Cain and Consciousness”.
Jim Nolan, one of the organizer had commented: “All the speakers will present in their different ways a common thread through history of ordinary people and families fighting for basic rights whether in their work places or in their daily lives as epitomised by the spirit of Mother Jones who spent most of her life defending the rights of workers and their families in the United States of America”.
The festival will see Andy Irvine return to Cork to perform a special concert in honour of Mother Jones at the Firkin Crane on Thursday 1 August. Richard T Cooke will present a special Mother Jones Festival tribute concert also at the Firkin Crane on Wednesday evening 31 July. Actor Jer O’Leary will perform a Jim Larkin monologue while the famous Cork Singers Club will render a series of songs associated with Mother Jones at the Maldron Hotel. Jimmy Crowley, legendary Cork singer and songwriter will present a workshop entitled “Songs of a Beautiful City” at the Maldron Hotel. Also playing at the Maldron Hotel will be Hank Wedel and Two Time Polka. The event will culminate with the famous Butter Exchange Band performing a recital of music associated with Mother Jones at the plaque on John Redmond Street on 1 August.
All are welcome to attend this unique event, which forms part of the “Gathering” events in Cork City in 2013 and part of a wider series of festivals and events taking place in Shandon throughout this year. All events are free; walk in on a first come first served basis (with the exception of the Andy Irvine fundraising concert, see www.tickets.ie). For further detailed information, google www.motherjonescork.com
Don’t forget the historical walking tour of Blackrock village, Saturday 27 August, 2pm, leaving from Blackrock Castle (free, two hours). In addition, Cork Heritage open Day takes on Saturday 17 August followed by National Heritage Week; for details of my events, see heritage events under www.corkheritage.ie
Caption:
701a. Mother Jones plaque Shandon, unveiled in 2012 (source:www.motherjonescork.com)