Witness accounts breathe fresh life into free public exhibition - Cork 1920 | The Burning of a City
Street The Its St Picture: Of Ref Vividly Archives; Exhibition A Free In Through December 303 North Cork December In Patrick Burning Hosted To To Of Delany Shortly Volunteer The After Jeremiah Of Examiner On Irish Funeral The Street, St 1920, Events Cemetery, On Overnight New Brought Cork Morning Peter's, Finbarr's Passes Main On 11, Life 12, Way
Historian takes a walk through the streets of Cork, and pauses to reflect upon historic events surrounding a weekend 100 years ago, in December 1920, when the city centre was burned to the ground.
Upon entering the historic church of St Peter’s North Main Street, Cork, one cannot but be struck by the unique historic Cork 1920 exhibition on display.
The care and attention to detail brings to light in an extraordinarily accurate way this turbulent year in Cork, during the War of Independence.
The visual displays cover the following events Cork’s first Republican Lord Mayor Tomas Mac Curtain who was murdered in cold blood on his 36th birthday on March 19, 1920.
The historic account of the second Republican Lord Mayor, Terence Mac Swiney, was arrested and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and he immediately went on hunger strike.
However, as his hunger strike continued it became headline news around the world, even King George V believed that he should be pardoned.
On the 75th day of his hunger strike, Terence Mac Swiney died and a mass Republican show of strength emerged at his funeral.
His successor, the third Republican Lord Mayor Donal O’Callaghan, had now become a target for the British forces and he spent his time on the run.
On the night of December 11-12, Cork city centre would suffer almost unprecedented destruction at the hands of British forces intent on revenge for the death of their comrades in Irish Republican Army ambushes at Kilmichael and Dillon’s Cross, Cork.
The nucleus of the exhibition consists of archival images from various collections: Cork Public Museum, Cork City & County Archives, and Cork City Libraries many of these images have not been exhibited before.
The seven-minute video clip, which includes rare Pathe News film, brings to life the story of the terror campaign which the Auxiliaries and Black and Tans wreaked upon Cork. The exhibition also features a video dedicated to the rebel women of the period.
The eye witness accounts used in conjunction with the images of the burning of Cork city convey an authentic representation of what it was like to experience these traumatic events.
This exhibition synthesises a vast knowledge and a visual experience into a resource for school children which can develop an interest and love of history.
It is an ideal tool for teachers and parents to use bringing history to life and helping to understand what happened to Cork city in 1920.
We also learn that it was only through the timely intervention of the Fire Chief Alfred Hutson and his fire crew that prevented the English Market from being engulfed in flames.
Teachers in the classroom can use this exhibition to help their students understand and explain these events, even developing their own presentations and projects by visiting St Peter’s.
Older generations, many of which had heard stories of the Auxiliaries and Black and Tans, can visit and see firsthand what it was like to experience and understand exactly what occurred. What immediately strikes a chord is the resilience demonstrated by previous generations as they struggled to come to terms with the burning and looting of their beloved Cork city.
The black and white photographs of the devastation are compelling showing the complete obliteration of many important Cork Businesses.
The quality of two enormous colourised images of the scenes of destruction prove to be a very powerful visual instrument in our understanding of what actually happened. In one of these photographs, five young boys peer into the lens of the camera as if to ask what happened to our beautiful city, a sense of helplessness is apparent in this poignant image.
The other colourised view shows the front facade of Sunner’s chemist standing like a solitary sentinel the only building that appeared to touch the skyline and acting as a navigational aid amidst the piles of rubble. These archive images were beautifully colourised by photographer Dana Kelliher.
The amalgamation of a series of unique collections has been professionally curated.
The large displays combined with contemporary film footage succeeds admirably in bringing the reality of Cork 1920 to life.
It is the fastidious detail such as providing the use of a couch to enable visitors to stay a little longer and reflect on the thought-provoking displays that raise the bar for other exhibitions.
Admission is free as is the excellent brochure provided to visitors, an intimate cafe provides refreshments this epitomises the care and diligence that St. Peter’s Cork 1920.
This state of the art exhibition will give new insights into a period which was to alter significantly the landscape of Cork city militarily and politically and which ultimately led to the creation of the Irish Free State.
The people, events, and history have been combined and are all interwoven to create a cohesive and powerful history of Cork’s tragic past.
Cork 1920 has captured the essence of that period, not through the cold light of day, but has brought to life the very embers that destroyed our beautiful city in 1920.
- St Peter’s Cork
- North Main St,
- Centre,
- Cork
- Tel: (021) 427 8187
- Email: info@stpeterscork.ie
- www.stpeterscork.ie