Where the Bandon Road crosses through Lough Road and St Finbarrs Road you will find what was once the HQ of the 2nd Battalion of the First Cork Brigade at No.129. This cross section in the heart of the city's south side is known locally as Phairs Cross.
No.129 was William Phair's bakery, hence the name Phairs Cross. It also served as the base for what became known the The Phairs Cross Company.
The Witness Statement of Jeremiah Keating.
Grave of Jer Keating, St Finbarrs Cemetery.
At no.129 Phairs Cross arms were hidden and wanted men were too! This cross section proved to be the beating heart of the south side Republican movement with the nearby Fr O'Leary Hall serving the cultural needs of nationalists with weekly Gaelic League classes and ceili's while important figures such as Fred Cronin lived within a stones throw of the cross.
It was in the Cronin house where Terence Mac Swiney often found safety when the authorities were looking for him. MacSwiney was safe in the area of Phairs Cross which was proved to be a fortress protected by local IRA Volunteers.
From the Cork City Business Directory of 1921.
In 1960 old IRA veterans gathered at Phairs Cross where a plaque was unveiled at no.129. The man tasked with the honour of unveiling the plaque was Con Neenan a leading figure with The Phairs Cross Company. In the 1920s Neenan went to the US where he served as 'Timthire', the IRA's representative in America.
Many members of the Phairs Cross Company played GAA with St Finbarrs and in his later years Neenan helped the GAA club purchase land at Togher for their pitches and a clubhouse. Today the home of the 'Barrs is known as Neenan Park.
In Barrs tradition, winning teams would march their silverware up Bandon Road to Phairs Cross behind the Barrack Street Band. At the crossroads they would be met with a balzing bonfire and supporters singing the praises of the gallant old blues!
Con Neenan at the unveiling of the plaque at Phairs Cross
Neenan in the 1920s
Cork Examiner obituary of Con Neenan.
The plaque, which still sits proudly at Phairs Cross, names those of the local company who died in the struggle for freedom.
The unveiling of the plaque 1960.
One of those honoured on the plaque is Charles Daly who was murdered by crown forces in the railway tunnel at what is now known as Kent Station. Daly was from nearby Lough Terrace.
Charles Daly.
William Spillane is another name on the plaque and he came from where the Lough Credit Union now stands on Bandon Road. Spillane was 21 when he was shot accidentally by a comrade while fighting Free State forces in Ashford in 1922.
Spillane was an employee with Punch & Co.
Eamonn Tierney is a fascinating name on the plaque. He was originally a London born civil servant who would throw himself into the fight for Irish freedom. Tierney was one of the original members of the Irish Volunteers in London commanded by Michael Collins and like Collins he would take leave of London life and head to Dublin to take part in the 1916 Rising.
Tierney would become known as 'The Hero of Reilly's Fort' for his staunch defence of the garrison during Easter week and during his time in Frongoch he went on hunger strike and his health suffered. He later moved to Cork, joined the Phairs Cross Company but, he died from appendicitis on the 16th of December 1920.
The grave of Eamon Tierney at St Finbarrs Cemetery Republican Plot.
Also mentioned is 29 year old George Bourke who , following a hunger strike as an anti treaty IRA prisoner in Newbridge Internment Camp during the Civil War, died from peritonitis on the 22nd of December 1923.
IRA Lieut. George Bourke
Bourke was born and reared at 93 Bandon Road, a stones throw away from Phairs Cross. He worked at Henry Ford's factory and spent time in the British merchant navy during WWI.
From the begining of the War of Independence he joined his local IRA company and was active in the fight for freedom until he was arrested and imprisoned on Spike Island in 1921. While there he suffered food poisoning and his health was severely dented from the dire conditions in the unsanitary prison.
Bourke's health did not recover. When he went on a 15 day hunger strike following his arrest by Free State forces in 1923 his health went into severe decline. He was released and died in the South Infirmary during the bleak Christmas of 1923.
The grave of George Bourke at the Republican Plot St Finbarrs Cemetery.
Dr Con Lucey is also mentioned on the plaque even though he did not fall in action like his younger comrades. Dr Lucey lived long after the days of conflict ended but, as medical officer of the First Cork Brigade he was honoured none the less.
The Phairs Cross Company 1960.
Today: Fr O'Leary Hall on Bandon Road, near Phairs Cross.
'The Boys of the Old Brigade' - Veterans of the Phairs Cross Company proudly marching up Bandon Road.
The Phairs Cross Company
(air: Brennan on the Moor, words: Pauline Murphy)
On the southside of the city where St Finbarr taught and prayed,
were a band of freedom fighters of the bold First Cork Brigade,
they were boys from Barrack Street and lads from the Lough,
fellows from Greenmount and men from Friars Walk,
Chorus: The Phairs Cross Company,
Oh they'll set old Ireland free,
on the streets of the rebel city,
the Phairs Cross Company.
They took up arms and bravely took on the empire's might,
they traded hurleys for rifles and were hunted day and night,
they traded bowls for bullets and were destined to be free,
they struck that blow for freedom from the south banks of the Lee
Chorus
There were ceili's and Irish classes at the Fr O'Leary hall
instilling a sense of pride in an Ireland won for all,
and when the gallant old blues, would march their silverware
to Phairs Cross, a bona there lit up the southside air.
Chorus
Charles Daly came from the Lough, a soldier brave and true,
killed in the railway tunnel by a murderin' British crew,
Young Spillane from Bandon Road, fell tragic in Ashford,
fighting for the Republic he had sworn to uphold.
Chorus
The RIC and Tommies, they could not beat us down,
the black and tans and auxies , we ran them out of town,
we flew the flag of Erin and we fought to set her free,
the bold and brave boys of the Phairs Cross Company.
Chorus
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