Details announced for Cork local authority centenary commemorative meeting in January

Details have been announced of a special local authority centenary commemorative meeting in Cork next month to mark a key moment in the birth of the nation.

Lord Mayor Cllr John Sheehan confirmed yesterday that he will chair a special meeting of Cork City Council in City Hall on January 30, 2020 to commemorate the first meeting of the then Cork Corporation which was elected by proportional representation in January 1920.

The first Dáil Eireann, established in 1919, proclaimed the Irish Republic. Local elections were held on January 15, 1920, with polling day marred by violence in places.

It led to the election in Cork of the first council with a Republican majority - Sinn Féin won 30 of its 56 seats.

During their first meeting in the historic council chamber in City Hall, where council meetings have been held since, the newly elected councillors pledged allegiance to the fledgeling Dáil Éireann, and elected Tomás MacCurtain, who topped the poll in the six-seater Blackpool ward, as Lord Mayor. It was a moment of huge national significance.

But MacCurtain was shot dead by crown forces two months later, following which Terence MacSwiney was elected Mayor. He died on hunger strike in Brixton prison in London on October 25 1920.

In December of that year, City Hall was destroyed during the burning of Cork by crown forces - an incident which devastated the city, destroying more than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties and the Carnegie Library.

Next month’s commemorative meeting, which will also be held in the chamber, will be attended by former Lords Mayor, TDs, Senators and elected members who will read excerpts from the minutes of that meeting 100 years ago.

It will be preceded by a musical performance and a reception for invited members of the city’s business, voluntary and community sector.

Lord Mayor, Cllr John Sheehan said the election of a Republican majority council and a Republican Lord Mayor, Tomás MacCurtain changed everything, not just in Cork but nationally.

“It gave a democratic mandate to Tomás MacCurtain and later Terence MacSwiney so that their deaths later that year were a direct blow to the citizens and not just the deaths of activists in the armed struggle,” he said.

“2020 is a very important year for Cork. The special meeting in January will raise the curtain on a year of commemorative events in the city, marking the fundamental role played by Cork in the struggle for independence.”

The special meeting marks the launch of the city’s 1920 centenary commemorative events, which have been devised by a cross-party committee of elected members, under the steerage of the Lord Mayor.

They have agreed a varied programme of events, including a commemoration of the two martyred Lords Mayor, MacCurtain and MacSwiney, and the burning of Cork.

Speaking in the city last month, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Cork will be at the centre of the national commemorations, with a State ceremony expected to be held to recognise the centrality of events in Cork to the national story a century ago.