Events leading up to 1912.

The Home Rule question became dominant in the early twentieth century, with branches of the Nationalist party and Volunteers being formed. The outbreak of the first World War in 1914 resulting in a split in the Volunteers many following Redmond’s policy of helping the British in return for the promise of Home Rule. However, the events in Dublin in 1916 utterly changed things forever. The Great War ended in 1918 and the 1918 elections fought mainly on an-ti conscription campaign resulted in the demise of the Irish Parliamentary party and the victory of Sinn Fein. 1920 saw the country engaged in a Guerilla war of Independence and by July the position of the RIC became untenable. The Police in Carrigaline had a good relationship with the people but the officers were withdrawn to Cork and Kinsale. Immediately on withdrawal the Barracks situated near the Grotto was burned and the Black & Tans who replaced them had no permanent presence in Carrigaline although they made numerous raids. The authorities felt that the presence of the Army at Crosshaven and Kinsale was enough to keep the people under control. The late Peter Collins always delighted in telling the story that having a photo of a uniformed solder marked “somewhere in France” in the hallway was a great way of getting rid of unwelcome visitors. The Bridge at Carrigaline was blown up to disrupt supplies and traffic to the Army base at Camden. Trains were also raided and relieved of army supplies such as coal that went quickly into local circulation.

The truce and the setting up of the Free State Government brought the usual problems. The Free State troops arrived in Cork in August 1922 and quickly gained control of the area. However, the Railway Bridge was blown up and had to be repaired. Hostilities ceased in 1923 with the arrival of the Civic Guards.


However, under the terms of the treaty the forts at Camden and Templebreedy remained under British control. The famous bar Kennefick’s now Cronins was the dividing line. Apparently the people accepted the soldiers and many of them drank in local public’s houses and attended dances. Eamon de Valera convinced British Prime Minister Nevillee Chamberlain to return the bases to Irish control in 1938 just a year before the second world broke out. One wonders what would have happened then and especially to area around Carrigaline if these fort’s were still under British control and supporting Britain’s war effort.


Harbour security.



Harbour defences.

This section is under revision during this month. The excerpt from Sean O'Mahony's book 'The History and Folklore of Carrigaline' is not available at present due to copyright restrictions. Please come back at a future date to check for updated material