Burning of Cork facts for kids
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The burning of Cork (Irish: Dó Chorcaí) by British forces took place on the night of 11–12 December 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve Auxiliaries, one fatally. In retaliation, the Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and British soldiers burned homes near the ambush site, before looting and burning numerous buildings in the centre of Cork, Ireland's third-biggest city.
More than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties, the City Hall and Carnegie Library were destroyed by fires, many of which were started by incendiary bombs. The economic damage was estimated at over £3 million (equivalent to €155 million in 2019), while 2,000 were left jobless and many more became homeless.
British forces carried out many similar reprisals on Irish civilians during the war, notably the Sack of Balbriggan three months before, but the burning of Cork was one of the most substantial. The British government at first denied that its forces had started the fires, and only agreed to hold a military inquiry. This concluded that a company of Auxiliaries were responsible, but the government refused to publish the report at the time. No one was held accountable for the burning.
Background
The Irish War of Independence began in 1919, following the declaration of an Irish Republic and founding of its parliament, Dáil Éireann. The Irish Republican Army (IRA), waged guerrilla warfare against British forces: the British Army and the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). In response, the RIC began recruiting reinforcements from Britain, mostly unemployed former soldiers who fought in the First World War. Some were recruited into the RIC as regular police constables who became known as 'Black and Tans'. Other former army officers were recruited into the new Auxiliary Division, a counter-insurgency unit of the RIC.
The Auxiliaries and the 'Black and Tans' became infamous for carrying out numerous reprisals for IRA attacks, which included extrajudicial killings and burning property.
County Cork was an epicentre of the war.
On 28 November 1920, the IRA's 3rd Cork Brigade ambushed an Auxiliary patrol at Kilmichael, killing 17 Auxiliaries; the biggest loss of life for the British in the war. On 10 December, the British authorities declared martial law in counties Cork (including the city), Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary. It imposed a military curfew on Cork city, which began at 10 pm each night. IRA volunteer Seán Healy recalled that "at least 1,000 troops would pour out of Victoria Barracks at this hour and take over complete control of the city".
Ambush at Dillon's Cross
IRA intelligence established that an Auxiliary patrol usually left Victoria Barracks (in the north of the city) each night at 8 pm and made its way to the city centre via Dillon's Cross. On 11 December, IRA commander Seán O'Donoghue received intelligence that two lorries of Auxiliaries would be leaving the barracks that night and travelling with them would be British Army Intelligence Corps Captain James Kelly.
That evening, a unit of six IRA volunteers commanded by O'Donoghue took up position between the barracks and Dillon's Cross. Their goal was to destroy the patrol and capture or kill Captain Kelly. Five of the volunteers hid behind a stone wall while one, Michael Kenny, stood across the road dressed as an off-duty British officer. When the lorries neared he was to beckon the driver of the first lorry to slow down or stop. The ambush position was a "couple of hundred yards" from the barracks.
At 8 pm, two lorries each carrying 13 Auxiliaries emerged from the barracks. The first lorry slowed when the driver spotted Kenny and, as it did so, the IRA unit attacked with grenades and revolvers. The official British report said that 12 Auxiliaries were wounded and that one, Spencer Chapman—a former Officer in the 4th Battalion London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)—died from his wounds shortly after. As the IRA unit made its escape, some of the Auxiliaries fired on them while others dragged the wounded to the nearest cover: O'Sullivan's pub.
The Auxiliaries broke into the pub with weapons drawn. They ordered everyone to put their hands over their heads to be searched. Backup and an ambulance were sent from the nearby barracks.
Angered by an attack so near their headquarters and seeking retribution for the deaths of their colleagues at Kilmichael, the Auxiliaries gathered to wreak their revenge. Charles Schulze, an Auxiliary and a former British Army Captain in the Dorsetshire Regiment during the First World War, organized a group of Auxiliaries to burn the centre of Cork.
Aftermath
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Over 40 business premises and 300 residential properties were destroyed, amounting to over five acres of the city. Over £3 million worth of damage (1920 value) was caused, although the value of property looted by British forces is not clear. Many people became homeless and 2,000 were left jobless. Fatalities included an Auxiliary killed by the IRA, two IRA volunteers killed by Auxiliaries.
