A new exhibition on the War of Independence looks at how the conflict affected Cork

Photography from the War of Independence lines the walls at a new exhibition opening on Friday at Cork Public Museum

While last year local attention focused on our history on the hundredth anniversary of the Burning of Cork, from commemorations to recreations in gaming giant Minecraft, a new exhibition focuses on the 1919-1921 War of Independence in its entirety - through found objects and photography from the conflict.

'By Every Means At Our Command' will open to the public on Friday at Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald's Park - and will be launched on Thursday at 3pm by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Dan Boyle, whose family were involved in the struggle for independence in Cork. Local historian and former serving member of the Irish Defence Forces, Gerry White, will also speak.

A uniform worn by a member of the Irish Volunteers, part of the exhibition at Cork Public Museum.

The exhibition explores how Cork city and county witnessed some of the fiercest fighting during the War of Independence, using original artefacts, images, and documentation - many of which have never been on display before.

Via these media, the exhibition examines the roles of Republican and Crown forces and explores their strategies, tactics, equipment and experiences. 

A group of Cumann na mBan members, bearing a banner with the last words of slain Cork mayor Terence McSwiney. Pic: Cork Public Museum

The exhibition will contain uniforms, weapons and other personal objects to illustrate the realities of living, and fighting, through the war.

Daniel Breen, curator at Cork Public Museum, says: "The aim of the exhibition is to give an informative overview of how the war progressed in Cork from January 1919 until the truce on 11th July 1921. This was a bitter war that brought fear, terror and reprisals onto the urban streets and rural roadways. 

"The exhibition brings to life the stories of some individual men and women in Cork, as well as the events that made the county an arena in which ruthlessness, ingenuity, violence, and bravery combined to devastating effect."

A photograph from 1920, showing Patrick Street just before the Burning of Cork, where a crowd is gathered to observe Terence McSwiney's funeral. Pic: Cork Public Museum

• The exhibition is jointly funded by Cork City Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht and Sport as part of the 2021 Decade of Commemorations programme.