Cork bridge honours heroic WWII saviour of innocent lives

Cyclists and pedestrians pause for reflection at Mary Elmes Bridge, a relative haven of calm in Cork's bustling city centre

Mary Elmes Bridge in Cork, unveiled in 2019 as a tribute to World War II heroine Mary Elmes. Picture: Larry Cummins

Fri, 20 Nov, 2020 - 06:30

Brothers Rene and Mario Freund were aged just two and six when they held their breath, hidden in the boot of Mary Elmes's car on a mild day in September 25, 1942.

Cork native Mary Elmes, today known as the ‘Irish Oskar Schindler’, was risking her own life to help Rene and Mario escape from the Rivesaltes internment camp, a short drive from Perpignan in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.