Granddaughter of murdered Lord Mayor of Cork guest of honour as centenary of election marked

Fionnuala MacCurtain said she feels humbled and honoured that tomorrow night’s event also marks the start of the city’s 1920 centenary commemorative events.

The granddaughter of murdered Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomás MacCurtain, will be among the guests of honour at a special city council meeting tomorrow night to mark the centenary of his election as the first republican mayor of the city.

Fionnuala MacCurtain, whose late father, Tomás, recalled how as a four-year-old he cradled his father as he lay fatally wounded after being shot by members of the RIC just two months after his election, said she feels humbled and honoured that tomorrow night’s event also marks the start of the city’s 1920 centenary commemorative events.

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

It will be attended by former Lord Mayors, TDs, Senators and elected members, and will feature readings of excerpts from the minutes of the January 31, 1920 meeting of the then Cork Corporation - the first to be elected by proportional representation.

The first Dáil Eireann, established in 1919, proclaimed the Irish Republic and local elections were held on January 15, 1920.

It led to the election in Cork of the first council with a Republican majority - Sinn Féin won 30 of its 56 seats - with MacCurtain topping the poll in the six-seater Blackpool ward.

During their first meeting in the historic chamber in City Hall, the newly-elected councillors pledged allegiance to Dáil Éireann, and elected MacCurtain as Lord Mayor.

Following his murder two months later, Terence MacSwiney was elected Mayor. He died on hunger strike in Brixton prison in London on October 25 1920.

Lord Mayor Cllr John Sheehan said the election of a republican majority council and a republican Lord Mayor 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.

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

Mr Sheehan said:

2020 is a very important year for Cork. The special meeting 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.