The town was officially renamed Kingstown in 1821 in honour of a visit by the British King George IV, but reverted to its ancient Irish name by resolution of the town council in 1921. This monument was erected to mark the occasion of the visit. The inscription is as follows:
To Commemorate the visit of the King to this part of his dominions and to record that on the 3rd of September 1821 His Majesty in person graciously named this Asylum Harbour the Royal of Harbour of George IV and on the same day embarked from hence.
King George arrived in Ireland on his 59th birthday in August 1821 and it was expected that he would arrive in Dun Laoghaire. I think that it was spelled ‘DunLeary’ at the time. But for some reason [related to too much alcohol] he first landed in Ireland at the West pier in Howth where his footprints were recorded for posterity.
After spending a few weeks having a great time in Ireland the king decided to exit via Dun Laoghaire which was later renamed Kingstown in his honour. The name did not change back until 1922 when Ireland was independent.
The George IV monument was erected about 1823 to commemorate the 1821 visit. However, the monument was controversial from the start. It was lampooned by Thackeray the poet. Also, it was a target for many protesters and attacks including a bombing in 1970, after which one of the 4 balls forming the base was badly damaged and had to be replaced [if my memory serves me well the ball was initially replaced by a block of wood which remained for an expended period].
THOMAS MAC CURTAIN MEMORIAL ON GREAT WILLIAM O’BRIEN STREET CORK
I think that I first photographed this memorial in 2014 and I have photographed it a number of times since but I never noticed until now that certain elements are coloured. I photographed here in August 2021 but due to a damaged lens most of the photographs were unusable.
The Memorial is located near the church and in front of the Baldy Barber (Dick Moriarty) on Great William O’Brien Street (originally Great Britain Street).
Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was a Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland. He was elected in January 1920.
On 20 March 1920, his 36th birthday, Mac Curtain was shot dead in front of his wife and son by a group of men with blackened faces, who were found to be members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) by the official inquest into the event. In the wake of the killing Mac Curtain’s house in Blackpool was ransacked.
The killing caused widespread public outrage. The coroner’s inquest passed a verdict of willful murder against British Prime Minister Lloyd George and against certain members of the RIC. Michael Collins later ordered his squad of assassins to uncover and assassinate the police officers involved in the attack. RIC District Inspector Oswald Swanzy, who had ordered the attack, was fatally shot, with Mac Curtain’s own revolver, while leaving a Protestant church in Lisburn, County Antrim, on 22 August 1920, sparking what was described by Tim Pat Coogan as a “pogrom” against the Catholic residents of the town. Mac Curtain is buried in St. Finbarr’s Cemetery, Cork.
His successor to the position of Lord Mayor, Terence MacSwiney, died while on hunger strike in Brixton prison, London.
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