THE BONDS IN CORCAIGH, MUNSTER

The Bonds in Corcaigh

Corcaigh or Cork, means marsh, is a city in Ireland, located in the South-West Region, in the province of Munster. It is the second largest city in the state and the third most populous on the island of Ireland. 

The city is built on the River Lee which splits into two channels at the western end of the city; the city centre is divided by these channels. They reconverge at the eastern end where the quays and docks along the river banks lead outwards towards Lough Mahon and Cork Harbour, one of the world's largest natural harbours.

The city's cognomen of the rebel city originates in its support for the Yorkist cause during the English 15th century Wars of the Roses. Corkonians often refer to the city as the real capital in reference to the city's role as the centre of anti-treaty forces during the Irish Civil War.

More information: Cork

Cork was originally a monastic settlement, reputedly founded by Saint Finbarr in the 6th century. Cork achieved an urban character at some point between 915 and 922 when Norseman (Viking) settlers founded a trading port. It has been proposed that, like Dublin, Cork was an important trading centre in the global Scandinavian trade network. 

The Bonds in the Black Rock Castle Observatory

The ecclesiastical settlement continued alongside the Viking longphort, with the two developing a type of symbiotic relationship; the Norsemen providing otherwise unobtainable trade goods for the monastery, and perhaps also military aid. 

The city's charter was granted by Prince John, as Lord of Ireland, in 1185. It suffered a severe blow in 1349 when almost half the townspeople died of plague when the Black Death arrived in the town. In 1491, Cork played a part in the English Wars of the Roses when Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English throne, landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow Henry VII of England. The then mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed. The title of Mayor of Cork was established by royal charter in 1318, and the title was changed to Lord Mayor in 1900 following the knighthood of the incumbent Mayor by Queen Victoria on her Royal visit to the city.

Since the nineteenth century, Cork had been a strongly Irish nationalist city, with widespread support for Irish Home Rule and the Irish Parliamentary Party, but from 1910 stood firmly behind William O'Brien's dissident All-for-Ireland Party. O'Brien published a third local newspaper, the Cork Free Press.

In the War of Independence, the centre of Cork was burnt down by the British Black and Tans, and saw fierce fighting between Irish guerrillas and UK forces. During the Irish Civil War, Cork was for a time held by anti-Treaty forces, until it was retaken by the pro-Treaty National Army in an attack from the sea.

More information: Cork Guide

Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. 

Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, 

but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, 

a possession for all eternity. 

Oscar Wilde

THE BONDS IN LOM NA NEACH, MUNSTER

The Bonds crossing the bridge in Lom Na Neach

Lom Na Neach or Limerick is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the local authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the historic core of the city located on King's Island, which is bounded by the Shannon and the Abbey River. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Luimneach originally referred to the general area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as Loch Luimnigh. The earliest settlement in the city, Inis Sibhtonn, was the original name for King's Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh, The Dark-(haired) Foreigner's Island. The name is recorded in Viking sources as Hlymrekr.

More information: Limerick City and County Council

The city dates from 812 which is the earliest probable settlement; however, history suggests the presence of earlier settlements in the area surrounding King's Island, the island at the historical city centre. Antiquity's map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 the earliest map of Ireland, showing a place called Regia at the same site as King's Island.

The Bonds in Lom Na Neach

History also records an important battle involving Cormac mac Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434 to baptise an Eóganachta king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin, the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, indicating the city was a place of some note. In 812 the Vikings sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the city, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when the Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral.

The Limerick boycott was an economic boycott waged against the small Jewish community for over two years in the first decade of the twentieth century. It was accompanied by a number of assaults, stone throwing and intimidation, which caused many Jews to leave the city. It was instigated in 1904 by a Redemptorist priest, Father John Creagh.

During the Irish War of Independence, the Limerick Soviet was a self-declared soviet that existed from 15 to 27 April 1919. A general strike was organised by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council, as a protest against the British Army's declaration of a Special Military Area under the Defence of the Realm Act, which covered most of Limerick city and a part of the county. During the strike a special strike committee was set up to print their own money, control food prices and publish newspapers.

By the mid-20th century, Limerick was characterised by economic stagnation and decline as many traditional industries closed or left the city.

More information: Limerick.ie

 We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines 

in the hearts of the people and that keeps us all warm. 

Marianne Williamson