2024 Articles, Making an Irish Free State City

4 January 2024, Past Projections into the Future

In recent months one interesting project in the guise of Island City Sculpture Trail, has harnessed Cork’s urban environment and its heritage and history to bring art to the streets of Cork. The temporary artworks are located on Carey’s Lane, the Exchange Building on Princes Street, Cook Street, Cornmarket Street and soon at Triskel Christchurch. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 4 January 2023 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

11 January 2024, The New Digital Atlas of Cork

The new Digital Atlas of Cork/ Corcaigh is very welcome. It is one of a series of digital atlases created by the Irish Historic Towns Atlas team (the others are Derry, Dungarvan and Galway). The Digital Atlas of Cork/Corcaigh is an initiative of the Digital Working Group of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas research programme. The project has been led by Sarah Gearty (Royal Irish Academy) and Rachel Murphy (University of Limerick), with Mani Morse (Dublin City University) as Digital Manager. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 11 January 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

18 January 2024, Kieran’s Audio Heritage Trails

January generally coincides with some fine and cold cold days where walking the city is lit up by wintry Atlantic light. As someone who enjoys photographing the city, it is a good time of year to capture some of the city’s nuanced layers of its past. I hope to launch my physical walking tours again in April but in the meantime, check out my audio heritage trails, which have been developed with Meitheal Mara – on the Bridges of Cork and The Marina respectively. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 18 January 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

25 January 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Gibson Bequest

There are many curios in the Crawford Art Gallery – its exquisite set of Antonio Canova sculptures and paintings within its collections make for great viewing and scholarly output. The gallery opened in 1885 and was built on the generous financial support of William Horatio Crawford.  The next generous sponsor has for the most part fallen out of Cork memory and that is the name of Joseph Stafford Gibson who provided finance through his will in creating the basis for a fund to buy paintings from 1919 onwards. The year 1924 – one hundred years ago – was a key year where the purchasing plan came into effect for the bequest. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town 25 January 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

1 February 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Lord Mayor Seán French is Elected

Late January 1924 coincided with two new starts for the Corporation of Cork – firstly the final compensation was to be announced for the burning of City Hall and the Carnegie Library arising from the Black and Tan arson attack in December 1920, and secondly the election of a new Lord Mayor in the guise of Seán French. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 1 February 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

8 February 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Wycherley Housing Scheme

Lying just off Cork’s College Road lies Wycherley Terrace, such housing was constructed spanning from the spring of 1920 to the spring of 1924. The project completion was a slow one bound up with the War of Independence, Civil War, changeover of governments, building delays, rising costs and several debates on who the houses should be allocated to. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 8 February 2023 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

15 February 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Bons Secours Legacy

On 2 February 1924, the centenary of the foundation of the Sisters of the Bon Secours was observed in their Cork Convent on College Road (bicentenary in 2024). The inside portion of the institution was decorated for the occasion. The attendance included a large number of clergy and friends of the convent. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 15 February 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

22 February 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Universal Motor Company

On 15 February 1924, a special meeting of the Law and Finance Committee of Cork Corporation was held to consider the requests from a deputation from Messrs M Healy and Sons solicitors, on behalf of the Universal Motor Company, Ltd and its director John Patrick O’Mahony. The company was applying for a thirty-one year lease of the premises, known as the Shell Factory (now the Bodega), Cornmarket Street, and was agreeing to surrender the extent lease. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 22 February 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

29 February 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – End of the Line

On 25 February 1924 the annual general meeting of the shareholders of the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway Company was held. Sir Stanley Harrington, Chairman, presided and read out a detailed report on the challenges facing the company. Annual AGM reports one hundred years ago and published by newspapers such as the Cork Examiner provide rich material to chart the rise and fall of the railway company. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 29 February 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

7 March 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Cork Child Welfare League

Set up in February 1918 through the brain child of Lord Mayor Thomas C Butterfield, the Cork Child Welfare League was an impressive voluntary charity group comprising prominent male and female Cork citizens ranging from the Lord Mayor to councillors to prominent businessmen to clergy to legal support to representatives of at least sixteen charitable organisations. Several philanthropic women and female doctors were also key players in maternity and child welfare in Cork. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 7 March 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

14 March 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Progress at the Victoria Hospital

On 18 March 1924, the 46th annual general meeting report was read at the Victoria Hospital and published in the Cork Examiner. It summarises a period of difficulty in operation during the First World War, War of Independence and Irish Civil War and looks towards the future. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article, 14 March 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

21 March 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Grain Silos at South Docks

It is the end of an era as the iconic grain silos are currently being demolished on Cork’s South Docks. The site has a rich history and heritage dating back over 200 years. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 21 March 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

28 March 2024, Leo Murphy’s Shaving Kit 1921

Recently Cork Public Museum marked the return to Cork of a small shaving kit used by Commandant Leo Murphy who died at the hands of Crown Forces during the War of Independence in 1921. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 28 March 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

4 April 2024, Launch of the Ballycannon Boys Memorial Park

This article is another follow up of articles I have written in recent years on the Ballycannon Boys memorial. In recent weeks the Ballycannon Boys Memorial Park, created by local community group of Clogheen/ Kerry Pike Community Association, has been unveiled. The park complements the nearby memorial (1945) and honours the memory of six young IRA men that were killed by Black and Tans on 23 March 1921. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 4 April 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

11 April 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Calls for a City Administration

Set up in early June 1923, the Cork Progressive Association was formed by businessmen in Cork City. Their intention was to support proper schemes for the housing of the working classes, to lobby for the completion of land purchases, to improve and cheapen transport, and secure resilient administration in the public service. In particular they were dissatisfied with the politics at play at national and local level post the Irish Civil War, which limited progress in Cork Corporation. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 11 April 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

18 April 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Cork Corporation Inquiry

On 21 August 1924 in the Council Chamber of the Cork Corporation, Mr Nicholas O’Dwyer, Chief Engineering Inspector Local Government Department, opened a sworn inquiry into the performance of the duties of Cork Corporation. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 18 April 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

25 April 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Lord Mayor is Interviewed

On 21 August 1924 in the Council Chamber of the Cork Corporation, Mr Nicholas O’Dwyer, Chief Engineering Inspector Local Government Department, opened a sworn inquiry into the performance of the duties of Cork Corporation. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 25 April 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

2 May 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Cork Corporation is Dissolved

On 31 October 1924, a deliberation on the performance of the duties of Cork Corporation was delivered to Cork Corporation. Following on from the nine-day inquiry by Mr Nicholas O’Dwyer, Chief Engineering Inspector Local Government Department, the result was dissolution. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 2 May 2024 | Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

9 May 2024, Ballygiblin Memorial to Seán O’Donoghue

A new memorial has been unveiled in Ballygiblin, Mitchelstown to the memory of Seán O’Donoghue (1898-1922), Commandant of the Cork No.1 Brigade, 1st Battalion who was deeply involved in the Irish War of Independence in Cork City. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 9 May 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

16 May 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Daniel Corkery’s The Hidden Ireland

In recent weeks a conference on the life and work of Cork-born writer Daniel Corkery took place. His book, The Hidden Ireland, which was published one hundred years ago in 1924 at its heart was about rejuvenating a discussion on national identity and the place of the Irish language. Daniel was a frequent presenter giving public talks on aspect of the Irish language in Cork in the 1920s. He certainly added to the mix of debates on the culture of the emerging Irish Free State. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 16 May 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

23 May 2024, The Frederick Douglass Mural

A new wall mural has been painted on the walls of the courtyard of the Unitarian Church on Princes Street. A famed American abolitionist and civil rights leader, Frederick Douglass was a champion for human rights, equality and freedom. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 23 May 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

30 May 2024, Kieran’s New Book – Cork: A Potted History

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberly Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. Cork: A Potted History builds upon my other book from Amberley, Secret Cork, but this time it takes the viewer on a walking trail of over forty sites. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. Kieran’s Our City Our Town, 30 May 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

6 June 2024, Cork: A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberley Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. Kieran’s Our City Our Town 6 June 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

13 June 2024, Cork: A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberly Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 13 June 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

20 June 2024, Cork, A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberly Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 20 June 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

27 June 2024, Cork: A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberly Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 27 June 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

4 July 2024, Cork: A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberly Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 4 July 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

11 July 2024, Cork: A Potted History Selection

Cork: A Potted History is the title of my new local history book published by Amberley Press. The book is a walking trail, which can be physically pursued or you can simply follow it from your armchair. It takes a line from the city’s famous natural lake known just as The Lough across the former medieval core, ending in the historic north suburbs of Blackpool. This week is another section from the book. The book is available to buy from any good bookshop or online from the publisher. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 11 July 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

18 July 2024, Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2024

The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival, which celebrates the life and activities of Cork born Mary Harris, known throughout the world as Mother Jones is now in its 13th Year. It is organised by the Cork Mother Jones Committee, a voluntary community group in Shandon each year. The programme of events from between 25-27 July are on the festival website, www.motherjonescork.com, Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 18 July 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

25 July 2024, Donoughmore in the Spotlight

Recently Gerard O’Rourke’s new book Land War to Civil War 1900-1924, Doqnoughmore to Cork and Beyond hit the shelves of Cork book shops. It is a story of conflict and perseverance leading to Irish Independence. It explores, examines, and explains how this was achieved. The book recounts numerous incidents and experiences begins in Donoughmore stopping at various locations through to Cork City and internationally through the stories of the executions of Mrs Lindsay and Compton Smith, Mary Healy and Éamon de Valera, the Wallace Sisters, Dripsey Ambush, Civil War, executions, prison, life, sport, culture, economic life, and daily life.  Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 25 July 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

1 August 2024, From Source to Sea at the Crawford Art Gallery

One of the last exhibitions before the revamp of the Crawford Art Gallery celebrates the River Lee. The exhibition is entitled From Source to Sea and is on from 22 June to 22 September in the Gibson Galleries at Crawford Art Gallery.  Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 1 August 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

 8 August 2024, Kieran’s National Heritage Week Tours, 17-25 August 2024

Another summer month to come and more opportunities to take a historical walking tour. The tours I have chosen for National Heritage Week this year are all important areas in the city’s development plus they all have a unique sense of place and identity. I will host eight tours, and all are free. There is no booking required bar the one for Cork City Hall for Cork Heritage Open Day. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 8 August 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

15 August 2024, Cork Heritage Open Day, 17 August 2024

Another Cork heritage open day is looming. The 2024 event will take place on Saturday 17 August. For one day only, over 40 buildings open their doors free of charge for this special event.  Members of the public are allowed a glimpse of some of Cork’s most fascinating buildings ranging from the medieval to the military, the civic to the commercial and the educational to the ecclesiastical. This event was greeted with great enthusiasm by building owners and members of the public alike in 2023 with an estimated 20,000 people participating on the day. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 15 August 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

22 August 2024, Kieran’s National Heritage Week Tours, 17-25 August 2024

My 2024 National Heritage Week historical walking tours continue. I am half way through my programme of tours. All are free and there is no booking required. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 22 August 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

29 August 2024, Ronnie Herlihy Pocket Park at Langford Row

In recent weeks, Douglas Street Business Association in conjunction with Cork City Council launched a new pocket park at Langford Row. The park is in memory of the late Ronnie Herlihy, Local Historian, who wrote and gave walking tours across the South Parish. The new pocket park contains some of his writings on information panels. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 29 August 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

5 September 2024, Launch of Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project, Year 23

It is great to reach year 23 of the Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project. It is just slightly younger than this column but both this column, the schools’ heritage project and the walking tours are all about making Cork and its multitude of local histories more accessible to interested citizens and to empower the next generation to be the next guardians of such a heritage. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 5 September 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

12 September 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Tailteann Games

August 1924 coincided with the inauguration of the Tailteann Games in Dublin. It was the brainchild of Corkman J J Walsh TD, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, who organised it with a strong committee. The Games were a nod to ancient funerary games in Ireland in Pre-historic Ireland, but were also pitched as a way to progress the narratives of the Irish Free State. The Games were a type of political healing mechanism event by bringing people together whilst also working on Ireland’s internationalisation programme and promoting culture, tourism, industries and pastimes. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 12 September 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

19 September 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Lectures of Dr Annie Patterson

Reading the Cork Examiner from 1920 to 1930 and mapping the cultural changes in Cork City, there are some people who have been recognised in Cork history and many others whose memory has faded. Dr Annie Patterson is one such character, who appears regularly in the Cork Examiner from 1924 to 1934. Her championing of Irish music through her curation of public talks and courses is very notable in the write-ups of her work in the newspaper. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 19 September 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

26 September 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Training for the Future

Life in 1920s Cork and the emergence of the Irish Free State coincided with the need for training and re-training for much of Cork’s working society especially in trades and professions. There was a quest to build more houses and so more labourers were needed. There was the advent of motor cars and hence more mechanics were needed. In addition, the textile industries such as in Douglas and Blackpool needed more trained labour. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 26 September 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

3 October 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – The Future of the School of Commerce

In the decade of the 1920s and against the backdrop of the emerging Irish Free State, the Cork Municipal School of Commerce was another institution, which pursued its programme for the future with dynamism. Since the School’s establishment in November 1908 in a former residential house on the South Mall, there had been steady improvements in aspects such as the intake of students, the average attendance, the School’s teaching programmes, the examination success of its students and also improvements in the post School opportunities of its students. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 3 October 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

10 October 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – New Uses for the Historic Butter Exchange

Welcome to the 25 year anniversary of this column beginning. Since October 1999, it has been a very interesting weekly pilgrimage of sorts to discover the story of Cork and its myriad of tangents. One story, which has popped up frequently is the story is that of the Cork Butter Market. This month, 100 years ago, in 1924, coincided with a rapid decline in the fortunes of the Market and in particular talk about the closure of the core building in the heart of Shandon began in earnest. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 10 October 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

17 October 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Arise the Sunbeam Knitwear Company

The opening of the Sunbeam Knitwear Company at the historic Butter Exchange Building in 1928 by William Dwyer (1887-1951) was the start of his enormous journey of industrial development in Cork. It also provided much needed employment opportunities for Cork in the fledging Irish Free State. William became one of the country’s foremost industrial figures. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 17 October 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

24 October 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Opening the Sunbeam Knitwear Company in Blackpool

            William Dwyer’s move from his factory in the historic Butter Exchange to Blackpool in the winter of 1932 was highly timely and strategic. More and more the Irish Free State Government, now  under the fledging Fianna Fail party, was pushing for the creation of local and regional industries. To enable this, tariffs were also imposed on the imports of UK goods and a campaign of Buy Irish Goods pursued. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 24 October 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

 31 October 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Sunbeam & the Future of Fashion

In the days surrounding the formal opening of Sunbeam Knitwear Company in Blackpool on 5 March 1933, there was much press coverage. William Dwyer had launched an important scheme to produce silk and artificial silk hosiery, most of which up to that point was imported from abroad. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 31 October 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

7 November 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Sunbeam & Wolsey Join Forces

The Cork Examiner on 3 March 1933 carried a paid and well-designed and impressive “catch the eye” advertisement stating “A New Home for a Mighty Irish Industry” for Sunbeam Knitwear Company in Blackpool. The machinery was the top of the range and comprised the latest models for interlock underwear hosiery. Such machines were manufactured by Messrs Wildt and Company at their Adelaide Works, Leicester and imported into Cork. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 7 November 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

14 November 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Further Growth for Sunbeam Wolsey

By the end of 1934 the Sunbeam Wolsey Partnership was doing well economically and striving into its future plans. The newly formed Company had been trading officially since the January 1934, with the benefit of the agreement with Wolsey Limited, Leicester, UK. The core Director, William Dwyer was concentrating on the development and manufacture of a complete range of hosiery and knitwear products. The Irish Press newspaper records on 7 December 1934 that new plant machinery from Germany had been installed for the manufacture of silk stockings and was capable of producing stockings of all types for the Irish market. The Company now employed a staff of nearly 600 as compared with 150 in December 1932. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 14 November 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

21 November 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Sunbeam Wolsey’s War Years

The Thirteenth Ordinary General Meeting of Sunbeam Wolsey Ltd was held on 12 September, 1941. It revealed methods of circumventing challenges posed by the Second World War. In particular, during the summer of 1941, a complete embargo was placed by the Westminster government on the export of Australian wool to Ireland. As a result it was initially feared that only half of the Combing Plant could be utilised. So Irish wool was used. A closer study  found that Irish wool was of infinitely better quality than had been anticipated and that it could be processed on the finest of the factory combs. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 21 November 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

28 November 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Sunbeam Wolsey and the Nylon Evolution

In an article in the Journal of the Association of Chambers of Ireland in July 1953, a write up on Sunbeam Wolsey Ltd reveals the company’s foray into the production of nylon stockings. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 28 November 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

5 December 2024, Kieran’s Cork Books for Christmas

It’s only a few weeks to Christmas. There are three publications of mine, which readers of the column might be interested in to buy as Christmas gifts. All were published in the past two years and are available in Waterstones, Vibes and Scribes, and Easons. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 5 December 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

 12 December 2024, Making an Irish Free State City – Thomas O’Gorman and the Shandon Brand

A few weeks ago, this column highlighted the initial growth of Sunbeam Knitwear Company at the historic Butter Exchange Building in 1928. After Sunbeam moved to Millfield in 1933, Thomas O’Gorman made the exchange building space into a factory manufacturing caps and accessories. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 12 December 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

2024 Articles, Making an Irish Free State City | Cork Heritage

19 December 2024, The Decanting of the Canova Casts

The Crawford Art Gallery’s iconic collection of Canova casts have departed the building for the first time in 140 years, with a delicate process of crating and removing the much-loved artworks concluding the last few weeks. The Crawford Art Gallery closed to the public in September of this year to undergo an enormously exciting capital redevelopment project: Transforming Crawford Art Gallery. Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 19 December 2024 | Cllr. Kieran McCarthy