Cork County Council has launched a new project to audit and record heritage monuments across the county as part of the Decade of Centenaries programme. The project aims to enhance knowledge of the revolutionary period in Cork from 1912 to 1923 and create a powerful resource to interpret how events of a century ago have been remembered ever since.
Mac Conmara Heritage Consultants, experts in the fields of heritage, commemoration and oral history have been appointed by Cork County Council’s Commemorations Committee to carry out the project. They will develop a master database containing contextual, geographical, historical, and cultural descriptions of identified memorials.
The project will document memorials commemorating the War of Independence and the Civil War but also lesser-known sites and socially relevant events, such as the vote for women in 1918, which will build and add to the excellent research already undertaken in the area of commemoration across County Cork. The project will reach out to a wide variety of groups, including historical societies, community groups, Churches, political parties, An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and organisations such as the National Graves Association.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan welcomed the project, saying, “it is a wonderful initiative that will enhance our understanding of the revolutionary period in Cork. The years from 1912 to 1923 were a defining period of our history, informing who we are as a nation today. The audit sets out to be inclusive, while also recognising that we cannot ignore differences and divisions that existed within our county during that time.”
“There are monuments and memorials to key people and events from a century ago in almost every village, town and parish in County Cork. This project plays an important role in ensuring that these monuments and the events of 100 years ago will not be forgotten.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey hopes that local communities will get involved in the project highlighting how, “Cork County Council staff, members of the public, local history societies, churches and community groups will be invited to submit details on sites for consideration and inclusion within the audit. These people and groups have expert local knowledge that is vital to this project and they will be liaised with throughout the process. We want to capture as much information as possible about monuments, both significant and the lesser known.”
Source: Cork County Council
