President's News

UCC marks centenary of 13 executions

16 May 2021

This weekend University College Cork hosted a brief ceremony commemorating 13 Irish Republican Army Volunteers executed by the British government in 1921. The men were buried within the walls of Cork Men’s Gaol, which was later to become part of the UCC campus.

The university has retained the mass grave and its stone memorial and wreathes were laid by various public representatives, including Councillor Shane O’Callaghan (Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork), Councillor Mary Linehan Foley (Mayor of County Cork), and Councillor Michael Collins (Mayor of the City and County of Limerick). Commodore Michael Malone (Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service) and Colonel Ray O’Lean (Executive Officer 1st Brigade, Collins Barracks) represented the Irish Defence Forces.  

Those honoured were: (1 February 1921) Captain Cornelius Murphy, Rathduane, Millstreet, Co. Cork; (28 February 1921) Volunteer Patrick O’Mahony Jr, Berrings, Inishcarra, Co. Cork; Volunteer Timothy McCarthy, Fornaught, Donoughmore Co. Cork; Volunteer John Lyons, Arghabulloge, Co. Cork; Volunteer Thomas O’Brien, Model Village, Dripsey, Co. Cork; Volunteer Daniel O’Callaghan, Dripsey, Co. Cork; Captain Sean Allen, Tipperary, Co. Tipperary; (28 April 1921) Volunteer Maurice Moore, Cobh, Co. Cork; Lieutenant Patrick O’Sullivan, Cobh, Co. Cork; Volunteer Thomas Mulcahy, Burnfort, Mallow, Co. Cork; Volunteer Patrick Ronayne, Burnfort, Mallow, Co. Cork; (2 May 1921) Volunteer Patrick Casey, Cahery, Grange, Co. Limerick; (16 May 1921) Volunteer Daniel O’Brien, Knockardane, Co. Cork. 

This mass grave has become an important site of national memory. The legacy of the 13 executed men, and their struggle for independence, remains interwoven within the fabric of both this university and our broader community.

      - Interim President, Professor John O’Halloran

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