Faeries, Felons and Fine Gentlemen: A History of the Glen, Cork 1700-1980

John Creedon talks to Dave Macardle about his book An Irish Folklore Treasury and explains the roots of his love of place names, history, language and lore. The book is a people’s history of Ireland and introduces a fascinating collection of stories from the Schools’ Collection. This treasure trove of old stories, ways and wisdom, which could have been lost for ever, was collected by schoolchildren as part of a nationwide project set up in the 1930s to preserve Irish folklore. Published here for the first time, this ‘best of’ selection includes chapters on ghost stories, agriculture, forgotten trades, schooling and pastimes. The result is an incredible arc of folk history that tells us about ourselves and how we lived long ago. Click to listen and drink deep....

The Nine Years War was one of the most traumatic and bloody conflicts in the history of Ireland. Encroachment on the liberties of the Irish lords by the English crown caused Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone, to build an unprecedented confederation of Irish lords leading a new Irish military armed with pike and shot. Backed by Philip II of Spain, Tyrone and his allies outclassed the forces of the English Crown, achieving a string of stunning victories and bringing the power of Elizabeth I in Ireland to the brink of collapse. The opening shots were fired in Ulster, but from 1593 to 1599 war engulfed all of Ireland. The conflict consumed the lives and reputations of Elizabeth’s court favourites as they struggled to cope with the new Irish way of war. Sophisticated strategy and modern tactics made the Irish war appear unwinnable to many in England, but Lord Mountjoy’s arrival as deputy in 1600 changed everything. Mountjoy reformed the demoralized English army and rolled back the advances achieved by Tyrone. Mountjoy’s success was crowned by his shattering defeat of Tyrone and his Spanish allies at Kinsale in 1601, which ultimately led to the earl’s submission in 1603, though not before famine, misery and atrocity took their toll on the people of Ireland. Includes O’Sullivan Bere’s battles in Glengarrif wood, under siege at Dunboy Castle and long tragic walk north to O’Rourke country in the late winter of 1603. Part 2 commences at the onset of the battle of Kinsale Christmas Eve 1601James O’Neill is an archaeologist and an alumnus of the QUB History department. He completed a two year post-doctorate fellowship in the School of History, University College Cork, before returning to Belfast where he now works as a heritage consultant, specializing in battlefield/conflict archaeology

The Nine Years War was one of the most traumatic and bloody conflicts in the history of Ireland. Encroachment on the liberties of the Irish lords by the English crown caused Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone, to build an unprecedented confederation of Irish lords leading a new Irish military armed with pike and shot. Backed by Philip II of Spain, Tyrone and his allies outclassed the forces of the English Crown, achieving a string of stunning victories and bringing the power of Elizabeth I in Ireland to the brink of collapse. The opening shots were fired in Ulster, but from 1593 to 1599 war engulfed all of Ireland. The conflict consumed the lives and reputations of Elizabeth’s court favourites as they struggled to cope with the new Irish way of war. Sophisticated strategy and modern tactics made the Irish war appear unwinnable to many in England, but Lord Mountjoy’s arrival as deputy in 1600 changed everything. Mountjoy reformed the demoralized English army and rolled back the advances achieved by Tyrone. Mountjoy’s success was crowned by his shattering defeat of Tyrone and his Spanish allies at Kinsale in 1601, which ultimately led to the earl’s submission in 1603, though not before famine, misery and atrocity took their toll on the people of Ireland. Includes O’Sullivan Bere’s battles in Glengarrif wood, under siege at Dunboy Castle and long tragic walk north to O’Rourke country in the late winter of 1603.Part 1 leads up to the onset of the battle of Kinsale Christmas Eve 1601James O’Neill is an archaeologist and an alumnus of the QUB History department. He completed a two year post-doctorate fellowship in the School of History, University College Cork, before returning to Belfast where he now works as a heritage consultant, specializing in battlefield/conflict archaeology.

Elvera Butler on ‘Downtown Kampus at The Arcadia 1977-81’ In this Cork History Matters podcast chat Elvera Butler tells Dave Macardle the story of one of Cork’s most important musical institutions, the Downtown Kampus at The Arcadia. As Colm O’Callaghan of the brilliant Blackpool Sentinel music history blog put it “The Downtown Kampus rightly enjoys a mythical standing in the history of contemporary music in Cork, as much for the quality and spirit of the music it hosted as for what it represented in wider socio-cultural terms.”An essential proving ground for a young U2 – who took their sound and road crew from those who worked at the venue – to varied names like John Otway, The Beat, The Specials, Nun Attax, XTC, Sleepy Hollow, The Only Ones, The Blades, UB40, The Undertones, The Cure, The Damned, Doctor Feelgood, The Virgin Prunes and hundreds of others all played this hugely influential and inspirational. It was the petri dish for Cork’s alternative music culture that lead to all that was to come throughout the 80s, into the 90s and beyond. Run by Thurles native Elvera Butler and partner Andy Foster, The Arcadia was one of the few places in Cork city that would host punk bands. Butler had been the entertainments officer at University College Cork, and so the venue became known as the 'Downtown Kampus'. The punk scene that developed in the late at the Arc was an important turning point for emerging Cork punk music; until then live music in the city had consisted mostly of Blues and pub rock bands. According to Mean Features guitarist Liam Heffernan, "the [emerging post-punk] scene was amazing....there was nothing else really in late Seventies and early Eighties Cork. Heavy industry was whacked. Elvera Butler brought some fantastic music to Cork. That woke us all up.”

Author Colum Kenny discusses his new book ‘A Bitter Winter,’ a succinct but graphicly detailed dive into the turbulent years of the Irish civil war through the eyes of its key activists on both sides - Michael Collins, Harry Boland, Mary McSwiney and Richard Mulcahy. Reflecting on the lasting bitterness engendered by civil war, Kenny relates it to current tensions surrounding the future of Northern Ireland. Colum aims to foster an informed discussion about the foundation of the Irish state, with the civil war grasped as relevant today rather than politely skirted. The so-far limited coverage of the civil war dodges the bullet, despite its obvious relevance given Sinn Féin’s current trajectory and that party’s insistence on a border poll. Cork, like many other places throughout Ireland, suffered during the conflict that dragged on into the Spring of 1923. Kenny says, “We should be talking about such events now, because they are still relevant to politics on this island”. Colum’s book touches on the life of Seán Hales, the Co. Cork leader in the war with England who was shot and killed on his way to the Dáil. Seán Hales was pro-Treaty and fought on the opposite side of the war to his anti-treaty brother, though they’d been raised together on their Cork farm. Arrested and imprisoned during the 1916 rebellion, after his death the Cork Examiner described him as ‘the man who kept the [IRA] men together in South and West Cork, and was in many ambushes […] He was one of Michael Collins’ closest friends.’