President praises Kilmurry, and its place in the history of our country
PRESIDENT HIGGINS ALSO LAUDS LOCAL ENDEAVOUR AS HE OPENS NEW INDEPENDENCE MUSEUM
A MID-CORK community was praised by President Michael D Higgins for commemorating its past when he officially opened a new museum in the village which records and displays its links with some of the seminal events in the fight for Irish freedom.
President Higgins said Independence Museum Kilmurry was an important amenity which revealed the area’s links with events of 1916, the War of Independence and the Civil War and consequently would prove a valuable resource for people interested in the revolutionary period.
“The village of Kilmurry can claim an important role in the story of Ireland’s fight for independence – not only does it lie just a few kilometres from Beal na Blath, the site of Michael Collins’s assassination but it was here that Terence MacSwiney who played his own significant part in Ireland’s journey towards independence, was born,” he said.
“When we reflect on the turbulent chapters of Irish history that were written between 1917 and 1923, the West and Mid- Cork regions can be seen to have played an important role in events that would have change the social and political nature of Ireland forever.
President Higgins instanced the role of the West Cork Brigade under Tom Barry and Liam Deasy and their successes against British forces at nearby Kilmichael and Crossbarry as further evidence of Kilmurry’s links with the story of Ireland’s fight for independence.
“There can be no doubting the significance of this region in the history of Ireland’s revolutionary period and I am delighted therefore that some that rich history with its profound connection to our story of independence will be preserved here in Kilmurry and made accessible to all.”
Great credit was due to the Kilmurry Historical and Archeological Association for having the foresight to develop such a space and it was testament to the sense of community that exists in Kilmurry that it was so committed to the preservation of an important part of Ireland’s national heritage.
“As President of Ireland, it always gives me great pleasure to witness these occasions in which communities come together to create such spaces which has such power to connect us to a common past,” President Higgins told an audience of several hundred.
“Such works of historical importance are valuable endeavours which recognise that places such as this museum and cultural centre provide unique portals into a shared and rich past,” he said as he officially opened the Independence Museum Kilmurry.
The museum is the brainchild of Kilmurry Historical and Archeological Association which was founded in 1963 and which in 1965 opened the Terence MacSwiney Memorial Museum as a tribute to the Lord Mayor of Cork who was born in the parish but died on hunger strike in Brixton in 1920.
KHAA Chairman, Noel Howard explained that when renovated farm building that housed the original museum began to fall into disrepair, putting the many valuable historical and archeological artefacts from the area at risk, a decision was taken to build a new museum.
Mr Howard said KHAA applied for funding to the West Cork LEADER programme and received €410,000 and they contacted Theo Dahlke, curator of Allihies Copper Mine Museum on the Beara Peninsula and co-founder of Heritageworks who design and build heritage projects.
“We felt that a museum would make Kilmurry a destination for the ever growing numbers of history buffs – its close proximity to Kilmichael, Beal na Blath, Crossbarry and other War of Independence sites gives it a key role in telling our country’s story in the decade of centenaries,” said Mr Howard.
President Higgins told those gathered at the museum on Sunday that while it was through the written word that people gain so much of our knowledge about what has preceded them, a fuller appreciation can often be achieved through seeing and experiencing the artefacts of everyday life.
“That is why so many of the artefacts here are deeply significant – the complete kitchen of An t-Athair Peadar O Laoghaire, the GAA related memorabilia dating back to the formation of that organisation and the pre-historic farm tools and equipment,” said President Higgins.
“Of course, the museum here also houses a wheel from the Crossley Tender used by the Auxilaries who were ambushed at Kilmichael – all of these connect us to the past with an immediacy which words and descriptions alone cannot achieve.”
Describing the Independence Museum Kilmurry as “a true project of citizenship”, President Higgins said the project will “stand as a great legacy by today’s community at Kilmurry to generations of Irish people to come” before he congratulated the community on its achievement.
“Today is the culmination and celebration of a long journey which saw many volunteers generously give off their time to research, design and source and raise funding for this important project – you can be very proud of what you have achieved,” he declared.
For further information on Independence Museum Kilmurry, please visit www. kilmurrymuseum.ie.