Nationalist Activism 1903-1913
(1880-1921) Tadhg Barry
Although he was active in the GAA in Hull and in the Gaelic League in London, Tadhg did not enjoy his time in England. Deeply homesick, he returned to Cork in 1907 and quickly found employment as a clerk for the newly established Pensions Board, the old age pension having just been introduced. Tadhg plunged himself into the city’s burgeoning cultural nationalist scene and quickly became a popular member of the small group of dedicated activists spearheading a Gaelic revival. He joined the Celtic Literary Society, which was more revolutionary than literary!
Founded in 1902, the society campaigned for an independent Irish republic, protested King Edward’s visit to Cork and agitated for local streets to be renamed after Irish republicans. It established the Cork Industrial Development Association in 1903, whose goal was to improve local manufacturing and promote international investment in Cork. Future republican stalwarts Terence McSwiney, Tomás MacCurtain, Liam de Róiste, Diarmaid Fawsitt, Seán O’Hegarty and P.S. O’Hegarty served with Tadhg in the leadership of both organisations. By his mid-twenties, Tadhg had become an enthusiastic Gaeilgeoir. Indeed, his first ever court appearance was not for seditious speech or arms carrying, but for refusing to take out a dog licence because he could not have it in Irish! Tadhg was a committed member of the Gaelic League, which had set up its first Cork branch in 1899 with only twenty members. Within five years, however, it had six active branches, two halls (‘An Grianán’ and ‘An Dún’) on Queen Street (now Fr.
The derelict site of ‘An Grianán’ today, once a home to a small but vibrant cultural nationalist scene of which Tadhg was an integral member. (Courtesy of Ciaran McCarthy)
Matthew Street) and an Irish teaching college in Ballingeary (Coláiste na Mumhan). In 1910, an acrimonious dispute arose within the local Gaelic League between constitutional nationalists and republicans, the former accusing the latter of separatist politics. Tadhg and the other republicans broke away and formed the O’Growney branch, which met at 3 Marlboro Street. It was named after Eugene O’Growney, a priest, scholar and key figure in the Gaelic revival of the late nineteenth century. When in Usk prison in early 1919, Tadhg reminisced fondly about the excursions to Ballingeary. He wrote home to Liam de Róiste that he hoped to be released in time for that year’s trip to the village to improve his Irish because he was trying to master the language but found the grammar difficult!
Coláiste na Mumhan in the early twentieth century. Established by the Gaelic League in Ballingeary in 1904, the college remains in use today. (National Library of Ireland)
The ‘Déanta i nÉirinn’, or ‘Made in Ireland’, trademark established by the Cork Industrial Development Association to encourage the public to buy Irish products. In 1927, the Free State government made the logo the official trademark for goods produced in the Irish Free State. (Courtesy of Donal Ó Drisceoil)
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