Monuments commemorating County Cork's proud history
átha Co Sculpture Bóthairín River At Known An As Road The Memorating Innishannon, Ancient Cork, The (little Crossing To The Locally Ford)
The diverse history of County Cork is a rich multilayered complex of remarkable people, culture and history all intertwined in the geographical landscape which has shaped this wonderful county.
This county has experienced freedom, invasion, wars, famine, agrarian agitation, and the war of independence followed by unfortunately, the consequences of civil war. The microcosm of its townland, cities, towns, and parochial villages are often brought into focus by the many monuments erected through this county revealing a rich tapestry of its influence upon the wider history and culture of Ireland.
Through the physical presence of these memorials within their communities we are effectively placed in the unique position of understanding history in a rich and visual context. Previous social and political aspirations encompassing the history of the various struggles are commemorated.
Monuments also play an important role in shaping our collective memory. They serve as tangible reminders of historical events and figures, helping to preserve our cultural heritage for future generations. Monuments also have the power to inspire us, to remind us of our shared humanity and the values that bind us together as a society.
Not only do they represent a particular version of history, but they also represent the power of that history and the fact that it is given prominence and authority. The location of the physical monuments of our turbulent past are located in the most unexpected places and they are often discovered by digital means. It is now possible to identify the commemorations and landscapes that played a role in the events, recreating an impression of what the period was like in any given area. This has been made even easier in recent years with a growth in the number of freely available online resources that can help us uncover our revolutionary past.
The County of Cork is often referred to as the Rebel County this is particularly due to the prominent part played by County Cork in the Irish War of Independence when it was the most militant county in Ireland. The county was a hotbed of guerrilla activity as three Cork Brigades of the Irish Republican Army operated in the county. Rebel Cork County was an anti-treaty stronghold during the Irish Civil War during the 1922-1923 period.
The history of this name certainly goes back much further to the time of Henry VIII during the War of the Roses. A pretender to the English throne Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury one of the princes in the tower. Warbeck landed in Cork in an attempt to gather support to overthrow the king. Cork city and county were enthusiastic in their support of Warbeck due to their abhorrence of Henry VIII.
The support of the Mayor of Cork and several influential citizens gained momentum as the rebellion gathered pace. And they went to England to continue the fight. Unfortunately, the Mayor and the most prominent rebels were captured and executed.
During the nine-year war of 1593 to 1603 when the combined might of Hugh O'Neill of Tyrone, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tyrconnell and the Spanish forces met the English army. On 21 September 1601 a Spanish fleet of 28 vessels occupied the Irish port at Kinsale with about 3,300 men, whether these commemorate the end of the Gaelic world culminating in the battle of Kinsale, the small-ruined remains of the 15th century Dunboy Castle (Caisleán Dhún Baoi) on the Beara Peninsula near the town of Castletownbere is one such testimonial to these events.
The combination of small plaques erected on the ruins of the former stronghold of the mighty O’Sullivan Beare clan invoke far more than mere historical data due to their architectural significance and geographical location, remnants of a previous time Even with its small garrison of 143 men, the 58 survivors of the two-week siege were executed in the nearby market square.
A plaque on the castle wall in old Irish makes it more poignant and translates as 'In memory of the heroes who fell in Dunboy on behalf of country and faith in June 1602. May their souls rest in peace”. During the siege and battle of Kinsale, O’Sullivan Beare wrote that the English had about 15,000 men at the beginning of the siege but that 8,000 perished by sword, hunger, cold and disease and in the final battle O’Sullivan claimed that O’Neill lost only 200 foot.
English accounts claim 1,200 Irish dead and about 800 wounded which appears remarkably small. Shortly after the battle of Kinsale, County Cork was officially created by a division of the older County Desmond in 1606.
West Cork is particularly rich in Republican monuments, the most important one commemorating the battle of the Big Cross also named Shannonvale or Ballinscarthy during the largest uprising in County Cork in 1798.
The battle took place between a group of the United Irishmen and a detachment of the Westmeath Militia and the Caithness Legion. on the road between Clonakilty and Bandon on June 19th, 1798.
In the engagement that followed one man in particular stood out Tadhg an Astna. Tadhg grabbed the bridle of Lieut. Col. Sir Hugh O'Reilly the commander’s horse but unfortunately, he was shot. It is estimated that a further 100 United Irishmen died fighting the trained militia.
The Battle is commemorated in a song in the Irish language, 'Cath Bheal an Mhui Shalaigh', by Padriag O'Scolai, Ardfield. As part of the 1798 centenary commemorations, a memorial was to be erected. This fine limestone statue was designed by J. F. Davis, and erected to commemorate the centenary of the 1798 Rebellion and specifically the men who died at the Battle of the Big Cross, near Clonakilty.
The statue functions as a reminder of the events of 1798 and the importance of its centenary in the evolving national consciousness of the late nineteenth century. It makes a valuable contribution to the small square which was named in honour of the leader of the insurgents, Tadhg O’Donovan Astna. The foundation stone was unveiled in 1899 and the prominence of the statue bears testimony to the largest military engagement in the county of Cork in 1798.
Another patriot, Thomas Davis, who was born on October 24, 1814, in Mallow has a sculpture erected in his honour. During the 1840s Davis was a member of the Repeal Association which hoped to restore, on a reformed basis, an Irish Parliament in Dublin. He founded the Nation newspaper with Charles Gavan Duffy and John Blake Dillon.
He was a major political influence following the foundation of the Young Irelanders. He died of scarlet fever in 1845 at the age of thirty-one. Just three years after his death the failed Young Irelander Rebellion led by the Young Ireland movement took place it was part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 that affected most of Europe. Davis is renowned for composing a number of Irish rebel songs, such as 'The West's Asleep', and 'A Nation Once Again', an Irish nationalist song in which the singer dreams of a time when Ireland will be independent. In 2002 it was voted the world's favourite song in a BBC poll of A World Service poll of 150,000 listeners.
It is estimated that over 100 monuments to the Irish famine have been erected worldwide commemorating not only the mass exodus from Ireland but the estimated one million deaths from starvation. One of the most important memorials to the famine is located in Abbeystrowry cemetery near Skibbereen which suffered the ravages of the famine enormously and where between 8,000 and 10,000 victims were buried in a mass pit or grave.
Canon John O’ Rourke in his 1874 publication on the subject recorded: “The churchyard of Abbeystrowry was the spot in which a generation of Skibbereen people were buried in a year and a half.”
The dead were thrown coffinless in hundreds without mourning or ceremony hurried away by stealth frequently at the dead of night to elude observation. Even though this plaque seems inconsequential it belies the importance of what lies beneath the earth of the graveyard.
A beautiful stainless steel sculpture located at Bailick Park in Midleton, Co Cork, entitled 'Kindred Spirits', commemorates the 1847 donation by the Native American Choctaw People to Irish famine relief. the Choctaw themselves living in hardship and poverty and having recently endured the Trail of Tears. The exact amount of the donation varies but it was indeed considerable in relation to the little resources that they had and it is estimated at $170 possibly as much as $18,000 in today’s terms.
The sculpture was created by Alex Pentex at the Sculpture factory Cork in conjunction with the Crawford Art Gallery. This poignant piece consists of nine 20-foot stainless steel eagle feathers arranged in a circle, no two feathers being identical, forming a bowl shape to represent a gift of a bowl of food. The memorial was commissioned by Midleton Town Council, and was officially unveiled and dedicated in June 2017 by Chief Gary Batton, Chief of the Choctaw Nation, Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr., and Councillor Seamus McGrath, County Mayor of Cork, accompanied by a 20-strong delegation from the Choctaw Nation.
Another famous ambush is recorded by the monument erected to commemorate Tom Barry’s volunteers escape from a British army military encirclement. The freestanding carved and inscribed limestone monument, erected in 1966, comprising central cross with interlace strapwork, flanked by inscribed panels in Irish and English and terminating in relief panels with flaming sword and crossed rifles motifs. Mounted on rendered and paved plinth with stepped approach from north-west and south-east.
Its imposing size detailed craftsmanship and location empathises its significance. One of the most significant engagements of the War of Independence, and the one often regarded as being pivotal against the might of the British forces in Ireland occurred at Crossbarry on 19 March 1921. There Tom Barry led over 100 Volunteers against a far superior number of British forces numbering approx. 1200 which was seeking to encircle and eliminate them.
With his men in ambush position, here is how Barry described the commencement of the action at the Crossbarry Ambush Memorial unveiled in 1966: “At about 8am, a long line of lorries were between Crowley’s Section in the centre and O’Connell’s flankers, but many more stretched back along the road. Liam Deasy and I flattened against the ditch as the leading lorry came on, but suddenly it halted and the soldiers started shouting, for unfortunately, despite the strictest orders, a Volunteer had shown himself at a raised barn door and was seen by many of the British. The British started to scramble from their lorries but the order to fire was given and Crowley’s Section opened up at them.
"Immediately, John Lordan’s and Hales’ Sections also attacked the enemy nearest them and away on our flank Christy O’Connell’s men blazed at the enemy on the road below. Begley played martial airs on his warpipes as four of our Sections attacked. Volley after volley was fired mostly at ranges from five to ten yards at those British and they broke and scattered, leaving their dead, a fair amount of arms and their lorries behind them. The survivors had scrambled over the southern ditch of the road and were running panic stricken towards the south."
The hour-long battle resulted in the death of at least thirteen British casualties and six Irish volunteers but it enabled General Tom Barry to get his men to safety.
In the same year of the unveiling of the Crossbarry monument on November 13, 1966, another extremely important monument was unveiled. The national Built Heritage site describes the freestanding carved limestone memorial, erected 1966, comprising cross with carved interlacing strap work flanked by screen walls with inscribed plaques, flanked by inscribed panels with crossed rifles and flaming sword in relief.
Set on rectangular-plan plinth, approached by flight of steps. This sombre memorial is a landmark in the surrounding countryside and commemorates an ambush by the IRA against the Black and Tans at this site on November 28, 1920. It displays fine craftsmanship in the interlacing strapwork and sword and rifle motifs. It forms part of a significant group of Independence and Civil War memorials which were erected throughout this part of Cork county, which are reminders of the sacrifices and bravery of local people during this troubled period of Irish history. The Kilmichael ambush marked a turning point in the war of independence and is synonymous with the name of General Tom Barry.
The Kilmichael Ambush of 28 November 1920 was and remains one of the most famous, successful — and one of the most controversial — IRA attacks of the Irish War of Independence. This book is the first comprehensive account of both the ambush and the intense debates that followed.
The largest ambush of the War of Independence happened at Kilmichael between Dunmanway and Macroom on November 28th, 1920, a week to the day after Bloody Sunday, in which 12 British intelligence officers were shot dead and the British military retaliated by shooting dead 14 civilians at a match in Croke Park. At Kilmichael, 16 auxiliaries were killed by a flying column led by Tom Barry, a British army veteran of the first World War. Three IRA men, Pat Deasy, Michael McCarthy and Jim Sullivan, were also killed. The last two, who died at the scene, were allegedly killed following a "false surrender" by some of the auxiliaries, as alleged by Barry years later.
Deasy died at 10pm that night at the home of a woman in Gortrae. The bodies of the three were buried in a bog that night, as locals feared the auxiliaries would carry out reprisals. Temporary coffins were made. Charlie Hurley, the officer commanding the 3rd Cork Brigade (West Cork) of the IRA, ordered permanent coffins to be made by a local carpenter. They were brought to a disused house two days later.
Three Volunteers and seventeen Auxiliary cadets, members of an elite anti-IRA. force, were killed. The Kilmichael ambush delivered a big blow to the British system, showing that guerrillas could beat British officers in the field. On December 1, the Cabinet decided that martial law would be introduced wherever necessary. In Ireland, the Kilmichael ambush became the most celebrated victory of rebel arms. Tom Barry, the column commander, became a folk hero and a revolutionary celebrity. The song 'The Boys of Kilmichael' was composed in honour of the event, these are some of the lyrics.
“On the twenty-eight day of November, the day that the tans left Macroom. they were loaded in two Crossley tenders not knowing that they'd meet their doom But when they came to Kilmichael they suddenly came to a stop. For they met with the boys of the column Who made a clean sweep of the lot.”
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The most important event in the revolutionary period happened at the ambush at Béal na Bláth. The name Béal na Bláth translated as mouth of the flower blossoms has now become widely accepted. Another anglicised version could be mouth of the buttermilk. The convoy in which Michael Collins The Free State finance minister and IRA commander made his last journey left the Imperial Hotel in Cork at 6.15am on August 22, with a view to visiting Macroom, Bandon, Clonakilty, Rosscarbery and Skibbereen, was shot and killed in an ambush as he returned to Cork city on August 22, 1922.
Emmet Dalton remembered: “It was not about a quarter past seven, and the light was failing… We had just turned a wide corner on the road when a sudden and heavy fusillade of machinegun and rifle fire swept the road in front of us and behind us, shattering the windscreen of our car. I shouted to the driver — “Drive like hell!” But the Commander-in-Chief, placing his hand on the man’s shoulder, said: 'Stop! Jump out and we’ll fight them!'."
After a protracted exchange of fire, he was hit, possibly by a ricochet, behind the right ear. Without speaking again he died, aged only 31, in Dalton’s arms. Collins’s fateful determination to stop and fight ultimately cost him his life. He was subsequently laid to rest in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. The nation was plunged into grief following the assassination of Michael Collins.
The first Michael Collins commemoration at Béal na Bláth was held just a year after his death, in August 1923. The road today looks very different from the one on which Collins died; back then it was just a small lane mostly used by locals. A small black wooden cross was erected at the spot where Collins was shot and those present included members of the Collins family, Kitty Kiernan and General Richard Mulcahy, who led a troop of Free State soldiers.
The Béal na Bláth memorial is a 100m, life-size recreation of the Béal na Blá ambush site, with replicas of the vehicles in Collins’ convoy: a Rolls-Royce Whippet armoured car called Sliabh na mBan, a Crossley Tender (troop lorry) and a Leyland Eight touring car.
Owing to the destruction of bridges by the Irregulars, and other road obstructions, the direct route from Bandon to Cork was not available. The party accordingly set off towards Macroom, with the intention of breaking into the main road near Crookstown and then returning to Cork by that way. They had reached Béal na Bláth when the fatal attack was made suddenly without the slightest warning.
It was then about 6.30pm. The battle lasted for close on an hour, and it was in the very last stages of the fight that General Collins was killed. The despondent convoy proceeded to Cork through very arduous terrain.
There are many more monuments worth discovering in Cork county from the French Armada anchor of 1796 discovered near Whiddy Island to the birthplaces of famous Cork people such as Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, The Bard O’Suilleabháin, and Seán Hurley to name but a few.
Other ambushes commemorated are the Midleton, Dripsey, Upton, Clonmult, Coolnachera and these are well worth exploring for anyone interested in Cork county’s revolutionary past.
Many people are drawn to events commemorated in their location and this is often a microcosm of what was happening nationally. Previous generations lived in a very different environment to that which exists today.
Major changes have taken place in the landscape new roads have been created where once small lanes and boreens and streams formerly existed. Though it was a very different environment to the one we now inhabit, many features of that time still survive, and can be identified such as houses, buildings and sites.
Through the exploration of commemorative monuments we can build up a detailed picture of the revolutionary period in our localities, thereby gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of this complex time.
Cork County Council are to be commended for publishing a series of heritage books of county Cork. Since 2013, and supported by the Heritage Council, Cork County Council’s Heritage Unit has been publishing a yearly heritage publication.
Ranging from bridges, houses, churches castles archaeologically to artefacts and County Cork’s role in Europe (from a heritage perspective) there is a great variety of information contained within each book’s pages. Many of these books are available digitally online.
I would highly recommend the 'Heritage Centenary Sites of Rebel County Cork', which proved invaluable in researching this article.