Latest news with #CorkCountyCouncil
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Deep pride in Cork as Michael Collins' diary from 1919 goes on display in Clonakilty for August
For the fourth year in a row, the National Archives, in partnership with Cork County Council, has sent one of Irish independence leader Michael Collins' working diaries to be displayed in the museum dedicated to him in his hometown of Clonakilty. This year's diary is the 1919 edition and highlights a lesser-known aspect of Collins' work – his international connections. Alongside the diary, visitors to the Michael Collins House Museum can peruse a selection of letters exchanged between Collins and Donal Hales, a fellow Cork man who was an Irish diplomat based in Italy from 1919 to 1922. Hales, a brother of West Cork IRA leaders Tom and Sean, sought to gain diplomatic recognition for the nascent Irish republic from both the Italian government and the papacy. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to organise arms shipments from Italy to Ireland. The Cork man regularly sent Collins Italian newspaper clippings and reports on European sentiment toward Ireland's independence movement. In return, Collins shared candid updates on the escalating conflict, political developments, and the challenges of building a new state. The diaries, which cover the period from 1918 to 1922, have been officially loaned to the National Archives by the Collins family. They have now been digitised and can be explored on a touchscreen at the Michael Collins House Museum and the National Archives in Dublin. The pocket-sized books are terse records of the daily meetings, appointments and tasks of a busy man trying to run a guerilla war and organise a national loan for a new state while avoiding capture by the British administration in Ireland. 'They're operational diaries, essentially that's what they are. They give a good insight into the internal workings of Collins' mind. When you look at the diaries, you can see Collins was very good at his to-do lists,' the museum's general manager Jamie Murphy told the Irish Independent. The diary will be on display until August 31. The Michael Collins House Museum, which is funded by Cork County Council, is located at 7 Emmet Square in Clonakilty. Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday 9am – 6pm and admission is free. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Examiner
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
West Cork museum to display letters that focus on Michael Collins's international connections
Letters that give a remarkable new insight into Michael Collins's international role have gone on display in West Cork for the first time. The selection of letters were exchanged between Collins and Donal Hales, a fellow Cork man who was an Irish diplomat based in Italy from 1919 to 1922. They will be on display in Michael Collins House Museum in Clonakilty throughout August alongside the Michael Collins Diaries which have been loaned annually to the museum since 2022 as part of a partnership between the National Archives and Cork County Council. But this year's diaries exhibition highlights a lesser-known aspect of Collins' revolutionary work - his international connections. Alongside the diaries, visitors will see for the first time a selection of letters, preserved in the National Archives, and which were exchanged between Collins and Hales that reveal a diplomatic relationship that ran parallel to the military and political efforts at home. Donal Hales from Knocknacurra in Bandon, Co Cork, was an Irish nationalist and diplomat who had lived in Italy since before 1914, working as a teacher. He married an Italian woman and was well integrated into Italian society, which helped his efforts to build trade and political connections between Ireland and Italy. He was appointed by minister Ernest Blythe as the consular and commercial agent for the Irish Republic in Italy, a role he held from 1919 to 1922. Based in Genoa, he played a key role in promoting Irish interests abroad during the War of Independence. He maintained regular contact with Michael Collins, regularly sending him clippings from Italian newspapers and reports on European sentiment toward Ireland's independence movement, while Collins sent him detailed accounts of British military actions in Ireland, and shared candid updates on the escalating conflict, political developments, and the challenges of building a new state. Donal Hales used these letters to inform and influence Italian public opinion. Experts say the correspondence, which was often personal in tone, reflects the trust Michael Collins placed in Donal Hales and the importance of maintaining international awareness during the War of Independence. (Left to right) Aoife Power, Administrative Officer with Cork County Council, Jamie Murphy, General Manager of the Michael Collins House Museum, Cllr Caroline Cronin, Chair of the West Cork Municipal District, Eimear O'Neill, Municipal District Officer at Cork County Council, and Jessica Baldwin, Senior Conservator at the National Archives of Ireland, at the launch of Michael Collins's diaries. Photo: Dermot Sullivan The letters also offer insight into the logistical and strategic support Hales provided from abroad, including efforts to secure recognition and resources for the Irish cause. Mayor of the County of Cork, Mary Linehan Foley, said the Hales/Collins letters 'significantly enrich" this year's diaries exhibition and offer a more 'intimate perspective on the lives and relationships that shaped our nation's history'. Orlaith McBride, the director of the National Archives, said loan partnerships like this reflect their commitment to preserving and sharing Ireland's rich documentary heritage. Admission to the exhibition is free, and Michael Collins House Museum will extend its opening hours throughout August, with full details at
Irish Examiner
20 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Plans for major solar farm in Cork turned down over archaeological concerns
Plans for a huge solar farm spread across six separate landbanks in the scenic Lee Valley in Cork have been shot down. Cork County Council refused planning for the Aglish Solar Farm Limited project citing archaeological concerns. The 100MW solar farm would have generated enough electricity to power almost 49,000 homes. But planners said the applicant had not demonstrated that enough archaeological investigations had been undertaken to preserve in-situ potential archaeological features and to safeguard archaeological heritage. The proposed development would contravene two specific objectives of the County Development Plan linked to archaeological features, it said, and would seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, and would set an undesirable precedent if granted permission. 'The proposed development is therefore contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,' they said. The company lodged its planning application with the council late last year, seeking a 10-year permission for a solar farm, on six separate parcels of land totalling some 161 hectares, spread across several rural townlands south of Coachford, the River Lee and the Inniscarra Reservoir, and south east of Carrigadrohid. It was proposed to have an operational lifespan of up to 40 years. It attracted more than 200 submissions from third parties, including dozens of local residents, two residents' groups — the Farran Community Association and the Lee Valley Action Group — and from a 14-year-old boy living in the area, who wrote: 'We learn about alternative energy sources in school, but covering prime grassland is not a solution.' Most submissions cited concerns about the scale of the project, the lack of local consultation, and the visual impact in what is designated as a 'high value landscape' in the Cork County Development Plan. The Lee Valley Action Group acknowledged the need for renewable energy generation but said the project would 'fundamentally alter the character of this rural area and undermine the carrying out of agricultural and other rural-based enterprise'. 'In the absence of any national policy guidance on the development of solar farms, the location of choice for solar developments across the country is overwhelmingly focused almost exclusively on valuable greenfield farmland,' they said. 'This has led to solar energy promoters racing to identify ad hoc sites within the open countryside, which are then assessed in a general policy vacuum on an individual basis. 'Such an approach is not supported either in other EU states or the UK, where the use of commercial, brownfield and poor land is advised, and the use of good agricultural land is only allowed in exceptional circumstances." The council sought further information on several issues, including archaeology, and the applicant's planning consultants said they would complete archaeological geophysical surveys and testing if planning was granted. They said an 'appropriately worded planning condition' would alleviate any archaeological concerns on the site, while facilitating 'a positive and timely decision'. They said the "priority status" afforded to solar farm projects, in terms of fast permitting, overrides public interest when dealing with competing environmental interests, and they pointed to a 'pronounced shortage' of geophysical survey resourcing and capacity in Ireland, which can delay projects. They also cited various Government policy objectives which they said necessitated the fast deployment of renewable energy projects. The council decision can be appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála within four weeks.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
The Cork highway that's so bad even the county's roads boss has called it ‘substandard & unsafe'
A motion by Councillors Anthony Barry and Rory Cocking at this week's meeting of the local authority's Southern Division called for urgent funding for increased safety and traffic management measures on the section of the N25 between Midleton and Carrigtwohill. Cllr Cocking said the section near Carrigtwohill is 'absolutely lethal' with trucks merging on to the road from a nearby quarry. 'And when these trucks are coming onto the road, it's forcing cars into the fast lane and the speed is horrendous there at the moment.' The East Cork councillor said that with thousands of housing units proposed between Midleton and Carrigtwohill, 'this is only going to get worse. I believe the road is at capacity at the moment and a serious upgrade is required. Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of accidents in recent times. Some of them have had fatalities, unfortunately.' Cllr Barry said that that section of the N25 has had 'fundamentally no improvement works since the day it was opened in 1968. It is a crazy situation from a health and safety level.' 'It poses serious questions for further development in East Cork. And we're talking about putting another 4,000 to 5,000 residential units down there. I think it throws into question any further development that can be put in place on the [rail] corridor until that basic infrastructure is put in place.' Responding to the motion, Padraig Barrett, Director of Services in the council's Roads and Transportation section, said national funding for the Carrigtwohill to Midleton upgrade was suspended in 2022 and hasn't been restored since despite the best efforts of the council. 'From my own point of view, I would consider it one of my greatest disappointments in my role as Director of Services for roads in Cork County. It's a road that's carrying 36,000 vehicles a day, it's an absolutely essential project. It's a substandard, unsafe road.' Mr Barrett said the council is hopeful that the revised National Development Plan announced this week with its €28bn budget for transport will provide funding for the upgrade. The Cathaoirleach of the Southern Division, Cllr Ann Marie Ahern, called on central government to address the lack of funding for the N25 upgrade as a priority. 'I don't think we as a council can accept it going forward. This isn't a reflection of Cork County Council at all, this is actually a reflection of a Taoiseach, who's from Cork, who isn't acting for Cork, and particularly East Cork. And the ministers that are sitting up there, we haven't seen anything in ten years down in East Cork for the N25,' she said.
Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
'Not fit for purpose': Cork's N25 slammed as unsafe with 5,000 homes now at risk
The head of Cork County Council's roads directorate has said it's one of his 'greatest disappointments' that the government has repeatedly refused to provide proper finance to upgrade the "unsafe" N25 between Carrigtwohill and Midleton. The situation has become so bad that the substandard state of the road could potentially stall the proposed creation of 5,000 new homes in the area. Mayor of County Cork Mary Linehan-Foley has vowed to use her office to seek an urgent meeting on the matter with minister for transport Darragh O'Brien. The road upgrade has been stalled since 2022 when then minister Eamon Ryan pulled funding for it. Padraig Barrett, head of the council's roads directorate, addressed the issue at a council meeting after a number of councillors warned the road has become dangerous and gridlocked. Mr Barrett said the council had only been allocated €45,000 for some minor safety works along it 'which wouldn't even cut the hedges for you". He said that it is a major priority for the council to get it significantly upgraded as "it's absolutely essential" to the safe travelling of thousands of motorists every day. Cork County Council was told that traffic conditions on the road in the past four years 'has changed dramatically'. File picture: Dan Linehan Mr Barrett said traffic conditions on the road in the past four years 'has changed dramatically'. It will likely be next year when the council finds out if any money will be forthcoming from the under the National Development Plan to upgrade the road. A joint motion from Fine Gael councillors Anthony Barry and Rory Cocking called on council management to liaise directly with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Department of Transport on the issue. 'There has been a lot of accidents on the road recently and unfortunately some of them have been fatal,' Mr Cocking said. Mr Barry said there have been no meaningful improvements on the road since 1968. Up to 5,000 new houses proposed for the area could be put in jeopardy due to the absence of sustainable travel and development plans. Councillors are hopeful the IDA along with TII and Irish Rail would put pressure on government for proper investment in the N25, as one of the busiest roads in the country. Mr Barry said: We all know it's not fit for purpose. It's crazy from a health and safety perspective. The council's southern division chairperson, councillor Ann Marie Ahern, said the council must insist that minister O'Brien comes down to Cork to see it for himself. Ms Ahern and Independent councillor John Buckley said the Lakewiew Roundabout on the N25 at Midleton is now gridlocked to such an extent that at peak times it can take up to 30 minutes to get on or off the main road. Mr Cocking suggested that the only way to resolve that is to build a flyover connecting Midleton and the Whitegate road. 'We need to get a solution to this before the schools start or all hell will break loose,' Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Mulcahy said.
