A thread about the #BurningOfCork which took place 100 years ago on 11/12 December 1920. The content is from my new book, #ForgottenLordMayor about Donal Og O'Callaghan. This picture of Grant's Drapery Shop on St. Patrick's Street is courtesy of @CorkPMuseum.

In the weeks leading up to the #BurningOfCork things had spiralled out of control in Cork. The reaction of the Crown Forces to the ambushes in Kilmichael and Dillon's Cross was to bring the terror campaign to a whole new level.

At around 9.00pm on Saturday 11 December, Auxiliaries began to fire indiscriminately at civilians, clearing the main streets of Cork city, even before the official curfew began at 10.00pm. Having set fire to houses in the Dillon's Cross area, they headed for the city centre.

With the Cork City Fire Brigade trying to deal with fires in Dillon's Cross, a call came through at 10.30pm that Grant's Department Store on St. Patrick's Street was ablaze. Soon, flames were also coming from the Munster Arcade and Cash's Department Store.

Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, Captain Alfred J. Hutson, had difficult choices to make as he did not have resources to deal with all of the fires at once. The Auxiliaries and Black and Tans also hindered efforts of firemen by cutting hoses. Picture courtesy of @CorkPMuseum.

As the fire spread rapidly, Lord Mayor Donal O'Callaghan was summoned. Immediately, he called for assistance from other cities. In the early hours of Sunday 12 December, fire brigades from Dublin, Limerick and Waterford responded to the call.

However, the task was a difficult one, not only to contain the fire but to control the Auxiliaries. Over the course of the night, four fire-fighters were taken to hospital with bullet wounds. By 4.00am, City Hall and Carnegie Library were also burning fiercely.

Eye witnesses reported that the firemen trying to guard City Hall had shots fired and grenades thrown at them. Over the previous months, there had been many attempts to set fire to the municipal headquarters of Cork Corporation.

Many of the most important meeting rooms and offices in City Hall were at the front of the building. A consequence of the burning of City Hall is that virtually all of the municipal records up to that time were destroyed.

By 8.00am on Sunday 12 December, due to heroic work of many, Captain Hutson was able to report that most of the fires in the city centre were under control. That morning, a broken-hearted Donal O'Callaghan surveyed the damage, accompanied by Liam de Roiste. Pic from @CorkPMuseum.

De Roiste wrote in his diary: 'Last night in Cork was such a night of destruction and terror as we have not yet had. An orgy of destruction and ruin: the calm sky frosty red - red as blood with the burning city, and the pale cold stars looking down on the scene of desolation.'

Entry in diary of Liam de Roiste, from @corkarchives. Poland (2015) describes the #BurningOfCork as 'the single greatest act of vandalism of the Irish War of Independence'.

500 people lost their homes, 2,000 were made unemployed, 57 buildings were destroyed and 20 were damaged in a night of terror. On morning of 12 December, with the city still smouldering, Bishop Daniel Cohalan issued a decree of excommunication against those involved in violence.

Though the decree applied to all, it was clear that the IRA was the main target of the Bishop's measures. At Corporation meeting on 13 December, the Bishop was condemned for his 'untimely and unfair action'. JJ Walsh was described as 'red faced with anger' by @irishexaminer .

On 15 December, Lord Mayor O'Callaghan received a report from Captain Hutson which claimed that the fires had all been incendiary fires. He wrote: 'It is remarkable that the military never brought any fire appliances, as they had done on nearly all previous occasions'.

The British Government ordered Major General Peter Strickland to conduct an official inquiry. After a 5-day inquiry with 38 witnesses, Strickland presented his report to the British Government who decided not to publish it.

It was only in 1999 that the Strickland Report into the #BurningOfCork was made publically available. Its findings were extremely critical of the Auxiliaries and the chain of command. The 'K Company' of the Auxiliary Division of the RIC was held primarily responsible.

In the immediate aftermath of the #BurningOfCork Sir Hamar Greenwood, Chief Secretary of Ireland, blamed Sinn Fein extremists for the devastation. He inexplicably claimed that the fire had started in City Hall before spreading to St. Patrick's Street.

Supporting Greenwood, the Daily Chronicle newspaper went as far as drawing up a map of Cork which placed City Hall in the centre of the city. Greenwood also denied that Crown Forces had shot at fire fighters and cut hoses.

Having fled Cork as a stowaway on board a steamship, Donal O'Callaghan presented testimony about the #BurningOfCork at the American Commission on Conditions in Ireland in Washington DC in January 1921.
(O'Callaghan second on left in this picture outside the Commission).

Commission Chairman, Levi Hollingsworth Wood, asked O'Callaghan who was to blame for the #BurningOfCork. The Lord Mayor replied: 'I charge definitely and definitely the British Crown Forces in Cork.'

The Commission report agreed that British Imperial forces were guilty. The report referred to the refusal of British Government to permit a civil inquiry and the secrecy and suppression of the Strickland Report. Donal O'Callaghan was praised for his detailed testimony.

Hope you enjoyed thread about #BurningOfCork from #ForgottenLordMayor. RTs welcomed. #Cork1920 @corkcitycouncil @NorthMonHistory @OpinionLine96 @fallon_donal @UCC @Fiona_Forde_Irl @johnger60 @market1788 @RTEHistoryShow @MylesDungan1 @KilmurryHistori @kilmurrynsvex @echolivecork