Cork Burning

‘A tale of arson, loot and murder’ was how one source described the events that would befall Cork city on the night of 11–12 December 1920. In a scene of almost unprecedented destruction, members of the British forces bent on revenge for the ambushes at Kilmichael and Dillon’s Cross set fire to both the commercial and the civic heart of the city. One side of Patrick Street and the area surrounding it were razed to the ground, while City Hall and the neighboring Carnegie Library were gutted ...