'Appropriate' State commemoration for Cork 1920 events
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An "appropriate State commemoration" is still being planned for Cork to mark the historic events of 1920, despite rising Covid-19 figures.
The news came as it was confirmed that Covid-19 has forced the cancellation of the century-old tradition of the Lord Mayor of Cork's school visits. The visits will be replaced with virtual messages from Lord Mayor Joe Kavanagh.
The Department of the Taoiseach is liaising with city officials on the form of the commemoration, scheduled for November 1, which is being developed in accordance with the evolving public health advice.
Catherine Martin, the tourism and culture minister, announced €900,000 to help local authorities develop community-led commemorative initiatives in remembrance of the events that occurred throughout the country in 1920. Some €350,000 has been approved for Cork City Council and €200,000 for Cork County Council.
Cork played a pivotal role in the country's fight for freedom, with two of the city's lords mayor martyred in 1920 and the burning of Cork, by British forces, taking place in December.
The pandemic has decimated dozens of planned public commemorative events since March.
Ms Martin praised local authorities for commemorating the events of 1920 despite the pressures of Covid-19 and said they have played a leading role in supporting the national conversation about this difficult period in our history.
Meanwhile, Mr Kavanagh said he was "gutted" to have to pull the plug on the school visits.
Begun in 1920 by Terence MacSwiney, during his mayoralty, the much-loved mayoral tradition has now been reimagined.
Mr Kavanagh said instead of physical visits to the city's 119 schools, he will perform 'virtual' visits by broadcasting live into all of the schools at 11am next Friday, October 23. He will also send a pre-recorded video message to each school and its students over the coming weeks.
He has offered each of the schools a tree for planting on their school grounds. "The planting of a tree is an act of faith that I believe speaks to our city's past, present, and future. The Cork 2020 trees will symbolise the resilience, sustainability, and hope that I believe will guide our future," Mr Kavanagh said.