Cove Street / Barrack Street - October 8 1920

It was quarter to nine on a Friday morning in October as men and women were on their way to work, boys and girls were on their way to school. This would be a normal scene playing out in a normal place and time but, this was Cork city in 1920 - a time of war and a place of fear.

A lorry of British soldiers from the Hampshire Regiment was making it's way up Cove Street and as it came to the junction at the bottom of Barrack Street to turn up for it's destination - Elizabeth Fort, the driver found his route blocked by an abandoned cart. Just then, Commandant Michael Murphy of the 2nd battalion Cork No. 1 Brigade IRA flung a tin can bomb at the lorry, thus signalling the start of 15 minutes of fierce fighting at the bottom of Barracka.

The black & white photo shows the bottom of Barrack Street in the 1940s/50s, it would have been similar looking in 1920. The red line indicates the route of the lorry, coming out of Cove Street and heading up the hill.



Commandant Murphy was accompanied by Kerryman Captain Tadgh O'Sullivan while positioned in a derelict building at the corner of Cove street/Barrack street were a number of volunteers who hurled bombs and rained bullets down on the Hampshires. 

Civilians got caught up in the fierce firefighting and although none were killed some received wounds. 25 year old Thomas Madden was on his way to work at Woodford Bourne when he was hit by shrapnel, as was 36 year old Denis Buckley who managed to crawl into the safety of a nearby public house. 27 year old Kate Fitzgerald was hit by shrapnel and bullets while Jer Linehan was hit by three bullets. It was a miracle all survived.

The Times reported that 'civilians' had attacked the lorry - An example of the London press painting all Irish as "terrorists".



The driver of the lorry somehow managed to manoeuvre up the hill and into the safety behind the walls of Elizabeth Fort, but not without a casualty. As another bomb landed into the lorry 17 year old Private John Gordon Squibb picked it up and was going to throw it back when it exploded. His hand was blown clean off and it was later found on a footpath, while flesh and bullet holes dotted the buildings that lined the bottom of Barrack Street.

                                                Burial of record Private Squibb




Private Squibb died from his injuries later that evening. His remains were sent back to his native Isle of Wight for burial. He was the lone fatality that morning, the rest of the Hampshires suffered non fatal injuries while none were repoteted from the Cork Brigade. 

Hosfords Bakery, South Terrace, the weapons used in the Barrack Street Ambush were stored here. Hosfords played host to one of a number of IRA arms dumps across the city.

Today - it is a car dealership.

The attack ended when the 20 or so volunteers led by Commandant Murphy ran towards Douglas Street and disappeared in waiting getaway cars. The attack in the area left locals fearing a reprisal. That evening, the words " Revenge Tonight" were scratched into the wall at South Gate Bridge. The Sullivan's Quay school closed for a few days and many locals packed their things and headed for temporary safety with friends and relatives far from Barrack Street. 

South Gate Bridge.

Later that night the first attempt to burn Cork city occurred. Enraged auxies, tans and British soldiers fire bombed a portion of Cork City Hall. They did not exceed in doing what they intended to do but, it would not take long before they would. Just two months later the Burning of Cork City took place.

                      

Cork City Gaol - November 1923

The Women's Jail, as it is popularly known in Cork, hosted many males during the Irish Civil War. 

The Republicans jailed there by the Free State did not want to stay too long at Sundays Well and in the Winter of 1923 a mass breakout occurred.

The prisoners in Cork City Gaol were hardened veterans of the war against crown forces, many were members of flying columns and survivors of hunger strikes. They tried to tunnel their way out of the jail but an eagle eyed sentry put a stop to that.

Selection of Anti Treaty IRA prisoner graffiti on cell walls in Cork City Gaol, still visible today.

IRA Vol.Daniel O'Regan made a simple escape from Cork City Gaol. In August 1922 a sentry who was from his neighbourhood let him walk out! O'Regan fled to the US but came back home to Cork in later years. 

Grave of Daniel O'Regan at St Josephs Cemetery.

In November 1923 the decision was made to scale the wall. Well if they couldn't go under it, they'd try getting over it! 

Ad in the Cork Examiner

A long rope ladder was made using bed clothes and under the cover of darkness 42 prisoners made the break for freedom. 

The imposing outer wall of Cork City Gaol.

The position of the moon and shadows were vital for the escape to work. The men estimated 14 of them could fit in the shadow of the wall so, they split into groups of 14, the first group made up of 14 men who were certain to face the firing squad.

Republican prisoners in Cork City Gaol, picture taken from Strawberry Hill.

 When that first group went clean over the wall the next group waited 15 minutes in the shadows so not to draw attention of the sentries. When the 15 minutes time lapsed they too went up and over the wall. The group behind them did likewise.

The 42 men successfully climbed over the wall and in the frosty November night they all crept down Sundays Well in stocking feet before splitting off in different directions. 

Although some men in the last group to go over the wall were apprehended the following morning, the men in the first group, those liable for the death penalty,  successfully escaped from the clutches of The Women's Jail!

For more information on the gaol read this book by local historian John L O'Sullivan.

Cook Street - May 8 1921

Constable Frederick Sterland was spending a Sunday afternoon drinking in Cork City. The 28 year old ex soldier and married man from Birmingham was off duty but, he was a marked man. Commandant Michael Murphy, 2nd Battalion Cork No.1 Brigade, described Sterland as "an able intelligence man brought over from England specially as a secret service agent for the British."

Sterland had been in Ireland for four months before the Cork Brigade got their man on a sunny Spring Sunday in 1921. In the weeks leading up to Sterlands death he was closely watched by members of D Company who befriended him in the pubs he frequented across the city. On the afternoon of his death he began his drinking at Desmond's Hotel on Pembroke Street where he met members of D Company. After a few jars they decided to go to the Rob Roy Hotel on Cook Street.

While Sterland and his 'drinking buddies' went to the lounge upstairs at the Rob Roy, volunteers gathered in the junction of South Mall and Cook Street. One of the volunteers entered the Rob Roy and closed the door in the hallway leading out to the street. The proprietor Mr Evans noticed the IRA activity and protested against it but then a small number of British Soldiers arrived on Cook Street and knocked on the door to see if it was open. Mr Evans was instructed at gunpoint by the volunteer to tell them to come back in an hour as there was a cleaning job going on!  Amazingly the soldiers agreed and went off towards St Patrick Street.

(The Rob Roy on Cook Street, no longer a hotel but still serving pints!)

Sterland heard the commotion downstairs and left the lounge to see what was going on. As he walked down stairs he was ordered to put his hands up by the IRA volunteers who followed behind him. Sterland was marched forward and as the door was opened he was shot. He later died at the South Infirmary hospital. 

After the shots rang out, the Volunteers then rushed up Cook Street towards South Mall where they sped off in a car in the direction of Greenmount.

                        (Junction of Cook Street and South Mall, circa 1950s.)

(In later years, the Old IRA Men's Association was based just a few doors away from where Sterland was shot. The association later moved to a premises at Morrison's Island.)

Cook Street / St Patrick Street - September 9 1919

At the junction of Cook Street and St Patricks Street 23 year old Bryan Crowley was blown off his bicycle by a British Army convoy on the afternoon of September 9th 1919. Crowley was an IRA volunteer from Dunkettle and was hit by a lorry carrying prisoners. 

                                  The junction of Cook Street/Patrick Street in the 1960s



Crowley, who was a labourer, was unfortunate to be crossing the junction at the time Private Thomas Williams was driving the British lorry at high speed. The prisoners onboard were being transferred from Fermoy to Cork Gaol and the military escort included 2 armoured cars.

The area today.

When Crowley was hit the convoy stopped. A crowd gathered around and the officer in charge ordered his men to shoot the prisoners if there was any trouble. In the inquest which followed, Volunteer Byran Crowley's death was deemed accidental.

37 Cook Street

In the Spring of 1919 police raided the offices of the Cork County Board at 37 Cook Street. During the raid, the policemen seized the set of jerseys of the Cork team. They left the premises with the jerseys which were never seen again but, this instance of suppression put in motion Cork's colour change from blue and gold to the now famous red and white.

Before they sported and played in red and white, Cork hurlers and footballers wore blue jerseys with an large golden “C” embroidered on the chest. A replica of this old jersey was released in 2016 to coincide with the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

After the 1916 Rising the British authorities viewed the GAA as a hotbed of Republican activity and in 1919 the county board offices in the city centre were raided. Among the items seized were the blue county team jerseys. The Cork hurlers were only days away from a Munster Semi final and without their jerseys they found themselves in a precarious situation.

As luck turned out, the Father O’Leary Temperance Hall team from the Lough had just annexed with St Finbarrs. Con Sheehan, who ran a pub down Barrack Street, had heard of Corks jersey plight and he suggested to the County Board that as Fr Learys had no more use for their red and white kit that they should use it for the jerseyless county team. So, the team of pioneers handed over their jerseys to the county board via a publican! Because there were only 15 jerseys from the Fr O’Leary team, the county board made a quick order into the Munster Arcade for 6 white pullovers to serve as substitutes jerseys.

The 1919 Cork team with the new Red & White jerseys!

With their new colours the Cork team played against Tipperary in the Munster hurling semi final at the Athletic grounds. Apart from it being the first time Cork lined out in the red and white, it was also the first time the price of a match ticket increased. Entry at the turnstiles went up from 6 pence to a shilling and some disgruntled supporters refused to pay. Instead they broke through some sheet iron at the back of the goal and gained entry into the grounds to watch the match for free!


Cork got through Tipperary, 2-04 to 2-03 and took their new colours to Limerick for the Munster Hurling final. Cork convincingly beat Limerick on a scoreline of 3-05 to 1-06 and their next opponents were Galway in the All Ireland semi final on September 7th. Still clad in their new colours, Cork gave the tribesmen an unmerciful beating of 3-08 to 0-02.


The next stop for the red and white of Cork was the All Ireland Hurling Final at Croke Park on September 21st. Corks opponents were a much fancied Dublin side but the rebels unleashed a fine game of hurling on the dubs and beat them 6-04 to 2-04 to claim All Ireland honours. The Cork hurlers ended a 15 year wait to bring an All Ireland title back to Leeside. The new colours were considered lucky and the Cork County Board decided to retain them.

Today the red and white colours are deeply associated with Cork GAA but if the oppressive authorities of 1919 hadn’t seized the original county colours then perhaps blue would have remained the standard colours of the rebel county.

            Captain of the 1919 Cork team Jim 'Major' Kennedy of Carrigtwohill.





The first red & white Cork team 1919:

1 Ned Grey (Carrigtwohill)

2 Paddy O’Halloran (St Mary’s)

3 Jackie Murphy (Blackrock)

4 Mick Murphy (Blackrock)

5 Frank Kelleher (Shamrocks)

6 Con Sheehan (Redmond’s)

7 Jim Hasset (Collegian’s)

8 Tim Nagle (St Mary’s)

9 John O’Keefe (Carrigtwohill)

10 Paddy Ahern (Blackrock)

11 Daniel Ring (St Finbarrs)

12 Jimmy Kennedy (C) (Carrigtwohill)

13 Con Lucy (Carrigtwohill)

14 Dick O’Gorman (St Finbarrs)

15 John Barry-Murphy (Cloughduv)