Yay Cork

Yay Cork

  • Yay
  • Food
  • Homes
  • Beauty & Style
  • Business
  • Wellness
  • Travel
  • Cork, like
  • Shopping
  • Opera Lane Magazine
Yay Cork

Yay Cork

The online home of everything new and happening in Ireland’s greatest city

  • Yay
  • News
  • Food
  • Homes
  • Beauty & Style
  • Business
  • Wellness
  • Travel
  • Cork, like
  • Shopping
  • Opera Lane Magazine
  • Home
  • /
  • Cork, like
  • /
  • News
  • /
  • Cork 1920: This exhibition revisits the most turbulent year in the city’s history
Cork, like, News

Cork 1920: This exhibition revisits the most turbulent year in the city’s history

By Yay Cork February 20, 2020February 20, 2020
  • 451
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
    451
    Shares

Brought to you by St Peter’s Cork.

It’s 100 years since Cork was burned to the ground.

You wouldn’t know it to walk them today, but our city streets were the stage on which some of the most shocking events of the War of Independence played out.

Now you can explore this tumultuous and shocking period in Cork’s history by visiting Cork 1920 – The Burning of a City at St. Peter’s on North Main Street.

Image: Clare Keogh

Through thought-provoking stories, archival material, historic photographs and compelling witness statements, the immersive exhibition highlights the vision, passion, energy and imagination of the men and women of 100 years ago in a powerful way.

A gathering storm

Life was dangerous in Cork in 1920. Citizens endured months of curfews, military raids, repeated arson attacks, ransacked homes and looted businesses. Ordinary life was peppered with instances of murder, destruction and indiscriminate violence.

People could be shot simply for having their hands in their pockets.

Lord Mayor Tomás MacCurtain’s assassination by the Royal Irish Constabulary in March of 1920 made headlines around the world. He was shot dead in his family home on Thomas Davis Street on the morning of his 36th birthday.

His successor, Terrence Mac Swiney, would bring the global spotlight back to Leeside in October following his death, aged 41, from hunger strike after 74 days without food at Brixton Prison, where he was imprisoned by the British Government.

A shocking end to an already tension-filled year came to a head with the Burning of the City on December 11th, 1920. More than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties, City Hall and the Carnegie Library were also destroyed by the fire, causing damage equivalent to €155 million today.

Image: Cork Public Museum – The Michael Lenihan Collection

An immersive experience

At St Peter’s, the story of The Burning of Cork is brought to life inside a series of muslin panels, which echo the eerie, smoky atmosphere in the city on the night it was burned.

Two individual audio-visual boxes help to heighten the visitor experience, inviting you deeper inside the story to hear witness testimonies from a 1960 documentary on the Burning of Cork and a dedication to Rebel Women.

Image: Clare Keogh 

Images from the archives at Cork Public Museum have been brought into vivid colour, offering a unique opportunity to see Cork as you’ve never seen it before.

Even if history isn’t usually your thing, it’s impossible not to be moved by the chilling witness accounts from people living in the city as it crumbled around them. Overall, it’s a testament to Cork’s Rebel spirit and the massive rebuilding effort it took to put the city back on the map after it had been all but wiped out.

A lunchtime talk

Join historian Gerry White, military historian and author, for a lunchtime talk on the Burning of Cork live at St. Peter’s on Thursday, March 12th, 2020 at 1pm. Tickets are €6 and available here.

The Burning of Cork is free to visit at St Peter’s North Main Street until December 2020. Visit the website for more information and follow the St. Peter’s Cork Facebook feed for updates on an upcoming Cork 1920-themed series of gatherings, talks and workshops. #Cork1920

Tags: Cork 1920, sponsored, St Peters
Previous Post

Tayto just launched two EXTREMELY Irish new flavours for St Patrick’s Day

February 20, 2020
Next Post

Met Éireann says we can expect ‘good dry periods’ this weekend

February 21, 2020

You May Also Like

Business, News

Electric Cocktails might be the tastiest crowdfunding project you’ll back this summer

April 2, 2021April 2, 2021
Wellness

People have lost up to 12lbs with this new Cork-based weight loss community

March 31, 2021April 8, 2021
Food

Here’s the menu for the Flavours of Southern India Pop-up at Kinsale’s Old Bank House

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021
Recent Posts
  • Cork cafés, pubs and restaurants can now apply for a €4k grant for outdoor furniture

    Cork cafés, pubs and restaurants can now apply for a €4k grant for outdoor furniture

    April 19, 2021
  • Survey: 84% of Cork business owners are feeling confident about summer 2021

    Survey: 84% of Cork business owners are feeling confident about summer 2021

    April 19, 2021
  • Declining Covid-19 rates down to ‘enormous efforts’ of Irish people – Glynn

    Declining Covid-19 rates down to ‘enormous efforts’ of Irish people – Glynn

    April 19, 2021
  • Here’s how the weather is shaping up for the week (and it’s not bad at all)

    Here’s how the weather is shaping up for the week (and it’s not bad at all)

    April 19, 2021
  • 6 new, bestselling and cult creams for your poor dry, over-washed hands

    6 new, bestselling and cult creams for your poor dry, over-washed hands

    April 18, 2021
  • 3 truly unique Cork cottages to book for a relaxing getaway between now and autumn

    3 truly unique Cork cottages to book for a relaxing getaway between now and autumn

    April 17, 2021
  • Long week? This evening relaxation workshop will help you decompress before Monday

    Long week? This evening relaxation workshop will help you decompress before Monday

    April 16, 2021
  • The Air Ambulance responded to 53 emergency incidents in Cork in the first part of 2021

    The Air Ambulance responded to 53 emergency incidents in Cork in the first part of 2021

    April 16, 2021
  • Publicans are calling for all pubs, restaurants and hotels to open together in June

    Publicans are calling for all pubs, restaurants and hotels to open together in June

    April 16, 2021
  • Two Cork beaches are getting swish new hot showers and lockers for sea swimmers

    Two Cork beaches are getting swish new hot showers and lockers for sea swimmers

    April 15, 2021
  • WEATHER: ‘Noticeably cooler’ for the weekend with outbreaks of drizzle

    WEATHER: ‘Noticeably cooler’ for the weekend with outbreaks of drizzle

    April 15, 2021
  • Ireland ‘on track’ to ease more restrictions on May 4th – Tánaiste

    Ireland ‘on track’ to ease more restrictions on May 4th – Tánaiste

    April 15, 2021
  • 4 more really great Cork cafés that are finally reopening this weekend

    4 more really great Cork cafés that are finally reopening this weekend

    April 15, 2021
  • One of Ireland’s oldest farmer’s markets reopens in Cork this weekend

    One of Ireland’s oldest farmer’s markets reopens in Cork this weekend

    April 14, 2021
  • Explore a woodland art trail and pop-up workshops as part of Killeagh’s May Day plans

    Explore a woodland art trail and pop-up workshops as part of Killeagh’s May Day plans

    April 14, 2021
Recent Posts
  • Food, News

    There’s a brand new gourmet pop-up joining the Marina Market this weekend

    April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
  • News, Wellness

    Lidl is the first retailer to offer FREE period products to customers every month

    April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
  • Homes, News

    Green light for 266 new townhouses, apartments and a creche in Shanakiel

    April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
  • Business, News

    Cork cafés, pubs and restaurants can now apply for a €4k grant for outdoor furniture

    April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
  • Business

    Survey: 84% of Cork business owners are feeling confident about summer 2021

    April 19, 2021April 19, 2021
Recent Posts
  • Here’s how the weather is shaping up for the week (and it’s not bad at all)

    Here’s how the weather is shaping up for the week (and it’s not bad at all)

    April 19, 2021
  • 6 new, bestselling and cult creams for your poor dry, over-washed hands

    6 new, bestselling and cult creams for your poor dry, over-washed hands

    April 18, 2021
  • 3 truly unique Cork cottages to book for a relaxing getaway between now and autumn

    3 truly unique Cork cottages to book for a relaxing getaway between now and autumn

    April 17, 2021
  • Long week? This evening relaxation workshop will help you decompress before Monday

    Long week? This evening relaxation workshop will help you decompress before Monday

    April 16, 2021
  • The Air Ambulance responded to 53 emergency incidents in Cork in the first part of 2021

    The Air Ambulance responded to 53 emergency incidents in Cork in the first part of 2021

    April 16, 2021
  • Publicans are calling for all pubs, restaurants and hotels to open together in June

    Publicans are calling for all pubs, restaurants and hotels to open together in June

    April 16, 2021
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • About Us
  • Privacy Statement

© 2021 Yay Cork

Type and hit enter to display search result