Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 7 May 2020

Remembering 1920: A Cork to New York Shipping Lane

    Established in 1913 by Albert V Moore and Emmet J McCormack – the Moore McCormack Company – began with one ship, which ran between the United States and Brazil. Such was that success they acquired more steamships. After the First World War, the American company bought several surplus ships and began further trading links with South America and further afield to the eastern Mediterranean, India and Western Europe.

    In the autumn of 1919 the Moore McCormack Company, based on Broadway New York, was visited by Corkman Diarmuid Fawsitt. Diarmuid had been sent to New York by Dáil Éireann in particular by Acting President Arthur Griffith. In Éamon de Valera’s Papers in UCD Archives, Diarmuid was to become a reference point or a follow-up business contact for Éamon and Harry Boland on their American ‘rallying support campaign’ for Ireland’s Independence across 1919 and 1920. Diarmuid Fawsitt’s title was the “Consul and Trade Commissioner of the Irish Republic”. Diarmuid based himself in New York but was often in Boston and Washington for meetings. He regularly corresponded and collaborated with Dáil Éireann. Both could see the potential of the country to work with emerging liner companies to transport goods to and from and America. In essence, this was quite a practical strand of developing Ireland’s physical international connections. Such activity also contrasts sharply with the violence of the Irish War of Independence, which appeared more and more across Ireland in late 1919 and early 1920.

    In September 1919, the Moore-McCormack Company began shipping from Philadelphia to Cork, Dublin, and Belfast. In February 1920 to honour the business agreement, Diarmuid Fawsitt commenced arrangements for the visit to Ireland of Mr Emmet J McCormack, who had Irish American ancestry. In early May 1920 Emmet McCormack travelled from New York on board one of the largest of the Cunard liners, the Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, to Liverpool via Queenstown (Cobh).

   On 3 May 1920, the Cork Examiner records that Mr McCormack alighted on the quays in Cork on a transfer boat from the lower harbour. He was met by the Chairman and members of the Cork Harbour Board who escorted him to the Custom House quay where at 12.30pm he was put on tender boat named Ireland. He was officially brought back down the harbour to view its scenic and industrial points. On the outward journey a short stop look place at Victoria Deepwater Quay in order to give the party an opportunity of inspecting the site for a proposed new transit shed accommodation. As the Ireland steamed past one of the Moore McCormack Company’s ships SS Tashmoo, discharging at Ford’s wharf, greetings were exchanged. Exchanges of courtesy took place when the party steamed past Blackrock Castle, from which Irish flags were waved, and the Passage and Rushbrooke Docks. Having concluded the itinerary, the Ireland anchored at East Ferry, where a luncheon was served. Opportunity was availed of on the return journey to make a short stop in Queenstown (Cobh), where the beautiful St Colman’s Cathedral was visited and much admired by Emmet McCormack and the other guests.

    In the evening Emmet J McCormack and party were entertained, to dinner in the Imperial Hotel by the Harbour Commissioners to meet leading representatives of the mercantile, industrial, and shipping community. Mr D J Lucy, Chairman, presided. Amongst those present, was Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney. Dinner over, the Chairman rose to propose a toast to the health of Mr McCormack, which the chairman noted “had come there that day, not only as an American citizen, but as an Irishman”. The toast he added was a “symbol of the unification of the two countries of America and Ireland”. He highlighted that Mr McCormack’s Irish ancestry. He thanked him for “stepping into the breach with his line of 24 ships because his sympathy was with Ireland”. Mr Lucey outlined that with “patriotic generosity Mr McCormack was prepared, if necessary, to run a direct service to America for twelve months at a loss in order to make the venture a success”. The Chairman believed that the Moore McCormack service had come to stay, and he thanked Mr McCormack for it.

    Emmet McCormack replied with deep gratitude and outlined that there were eight steamers engaged in direct service between New York and Irish ports, involving an expenditure of eight million dollars. He was proud of his Irish ancestry who he believed had always relied on their own energy, strength and accomplishments. He deemed himself glad to represent the Irish race in America, and he had no apologies to make for his pride. Their efforts in connection with the direct service between Ireland and America were not finished and were ambitious.

    According to Mr McCormack, the Moore McCormack Company intended to couple up their New York-Scandinavian service, stopping at Irish ports – i.e. that accommodation would be provided for any Irish freight that might be going to Scandinavian or Baltic ports. They would endeavour to connect Ireland with New York direct, and also with Swedish and Baltic ports. While they were putting all their efforts and capital into the enterprise, they wished to develop, if possible, a returning business from Ireland.

    Emmet McCormack highlighted that Ireland had resources, labour, and capital, and that must be developed. He expressed the view that in the United States they would “buy anything from Ireland”, as the people of America, were sympathetic with Ireland and its aims and ambitions, and they would pay good prices for such goods. He hoped the Irish people would co-operate with them in that direction and would make their enterprise a complete success.

   The Moore McCormack Company shipped to Cork until late 1925 by which point the Irish Free State utilised less and less the shipping company on the west bound route.

Kieran’s new book Witness to Murder, The Inquest of Tomás MacCurtain is now available to purchase online (co-authored with John O’Mahony 2020, Irish Examiner/ www.examiner.ie).

Captions:

1047a. Emmet McCormack & Albert Moore of Moore McCormack Company, c.1920 (source: Cork Library).

1047b. The Quays Cork, c.1910 (source: Cork Public Museum).

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent, 30 April 2020

Remembering 1920: MacCurtain Street is Born

     On 23 April 1920 – this week one hundred years ago – one of Cork’s principal streets was to get a name change to provide another outlet for the public outpouring of grief arising from the murder of Tomás MacCurtain. Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney, under Lord Mayor’s items, at the Cork Corporation meeting proposed in a short motion: “That the name of King Street be changed to MacCurtain Street”. He did not wish to add anything to the motion except to say that it was their duty “to do honour to their immortal dead” but did propose that the plaque for the thoroughfare be solely in the Irish language.

    There were 36 of the 56 Council members present with the majority on the night being Sinn Féin members. Commercial public representative Sir John Scott moved as an amendment that the renaming proposal matter be deferred to the next meeting in order that the people who had vested interests in the street in question could come before the Council or any public objection could be taken to the proposed change. There was no seconder to Sir John Scott’s amendment and without any more debate the Lord Mayor’s motion was carried.

    Sir John Scott did give a historic reference within his speech, pointing out that King Street had been called after an old family whose members had been prominently identified with the commerce and politics of Cork. Robert King (1796-1867) was of the Kingston family of Mitchelstown Castle. He was a member of the British army, who stayed in France after Napoleon’s fall. He was returned to Parliament for County Cork – a Whig politician – from 1826 to 1832. In 1836 he was High Sheriff of County Cork.

    The renaming of King Street to MacCurtain Street was one of three acts of remembrance to be put into place to consolidate the public solidarity against the murder of Tomás MacCurtain in the  weeks that followed but also they were to make sure his future memory was secured in Cork. The other acts – the inquest and a public memorial fund – also caught the public imagination.

   On 30 March 1920 a public meeting was held in the City Hall to inaugurate a memorial fund for the widow und family of the Lord Mayor Alderman Tomás MacCurtain. Bishop Cohalan chaired the meeting. He very much regretted the sad and tragic event that brought them together. His first duty and the duty of the whole body of citizens was to express and convey to Mrs MacCurtain, the Lady Mayoress, their sincere sympathy on the great bereavement that had befallen her. He knew the Lord Mayor since 1916, and in his death he deemed that the citizens of Cork had lost an “intelligent, man, an upright man, and a very unselfish man”.

   The Bishop denoted that the object of their meeting was to erect a financial monument or fund to the Lord Mayor, to support for a time the widow and the children. He appealed to the citizens, irrespective of creed or class, to support the fund; he noted; “it is not an appeal for a private individual; it is an appeal for a man who was the civic head of the municipality, the first citizen of Cork”.

   The speeches from those present – politicians and commercial figures – contained many accolades given to Tomás and in their own way laid the foundations of how he would be remembered and described by historians in years to come. Alderman Liam de Róiste’s intervention is noteworthy in his description of Tomás. He rose and in Irish proposed the MacCurtain Memorial Fund. He appealed to the citizens of Cork and to the people of Ireland in general to make this fund a success. He said that never before in the history of Cork City had he seen such an occasion to arise; “Tomás MacCurtain was struck down by the hand of an assassin. Had he been spared those associated with his work he felt confident that his energy, his initiative, his love of country, and his desire for the city’s welfare would have been valuable assets to the whole community, and would have been meant much for the progress and welfare of all of all sections and classes in the city”.

   Cllr Barry Egan proposed that Messrs D. O’Connell, Coroner William Murphy, solicitor, the Town Clerk, the City Solicitor, City Engineer and Mr Hegarty (Lord Mayor’s Secretary) be appointed secretaries of the Fund. Alderman Denis Lucey seconded and it was carried unanimously.

   As the days and weeks passed between April and October 1920, donations were listed regularly as subscription lists – over 25 listings at least – on the Cork Examiner. By early October 1920, the public had subscribed over £14,600 in donations and over £2,300 has been given to the family. For the most part donations came in small monetary numbers – a pound and few shillings. On 26 April 1920, a letter (catalogued in Cork City and County Archives) to Lord Mayor Terence MacSwiney from Michael Collins enclosed his contribution to the Lord Mayor’s Memorial Fund. The letter noted the national significance and great importance of the fund.

   However, one of the largest donations was from Terence MacSwiney himself who gave two donations from his Lord Mayor’s salary – two £125 donations – one at the start of the memorial fund and the other in early October 1920 during his hunger strike Brixton Prison where he gave £125 of his Lord Mayor’s salary. The memorial fund process finished just before December 1920.

   Kieran’s new book Witness to Murder, The Inquest of Tomás MacCurtain is now available to purchase online (co-authored with John O’Mahony 2020, Irish Examiner/ www.examiner.ie)

Captions:

1046a. King Street, c.1910 (picture: Cork Public Museum)

1046b. MacCurtain Street, March 2020 (picture: Kieran McCarthy)