Plans for mural to honour Kiskeam’s Monsignor Flaherty
A MURAL dedicated to a “hugely influential figure in history”, who saved the lives of over 6,500 Jews during World War II, is to be created in the village of Kiskeam
A local committee headed by Councillor Bernard Moynihan has put plans in place to commemorate the life of Kiskeam’s most famous son, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who was born in the village in 1898, shortly before his family moved to Killarney.
Monsignor O’Flaherty was ordained a priest in Rome in 1925, and by the time the German army took control of Italy in 1943, he was running a safehouse and escape route operation for Jews, which also served Allied soldiers. After World War II, Monsignor O’Flaherty received several honours in recognition of his exploits, and he became the first and only Irishman to be inducted by the Vatican into its special “Notary of the Holy Office”.
Following the war, Monsignor O’Flaherty retired to live in Caherciveen in Kerry, where he died in 1963 at the age of 65.
He was deemed such an interesting figure that he was played by actor Gregory Peck in the 1983 film ‘The Scarlet and The Black’, which depicted O’Flaherty’s life and saw him duelling with the Nazi SS chief in Rome, Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Kappler, who was determined to shut down his operation.
Cllr Moynihan told The Corkman that there has always been a desire amongst the people of Kiskeam and the wider Duhallow region to commemorate Monsignor O’Flaherty, who has a “huge amount” of relatives in the north Cork area.
“He was a hugely influential figure in history as you know, saving over 6,500 lives in World War Two, and I’d say that’s a conservative estimate,” Cllr Moynihan said.
Amid such local interest, the Fianna Fáil councillor said that the subcommittee and Kiskeam Development Association joined forces this year to get plans for a mural dedicated to the Monsignor over the line.
Those involved in the push, including Niall Collins, who is a direct relative of Monsignor O’Flaherty, applied to Cork County Council for grant support, received €3,000 under the Heritage Fund and gathered another €1,500 through the contributions of locals.
Although it is still being decided what form the final mural will take, Cllr Moynihan said that there will be an app developed alongside the mural to provide information to people who visit.
He said it is hoped that the development of the mural will contribute to Monsignor O’Flaherty – who is already commemorated in the form of a statue in Killarney – being more closely associated with the village he was born in.