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It happened 150 years ago this year and of the seventeen men publicly executed outside North Tipperary’s County Gaol in Nenagh, between 1842 and 1858, the true story of William and Daniel Cormack is one of the few that still remains fresh in folk memory, not just only here in County Tipperary and on the island of Ireland, but also in the USA, Australia, England and Canada.
I first heard about the Cormack Brothers as a small boy living in Co. Wexford and when I arrived here, to reside in Co.Tipperary in 1975, over the next 23 years, I listened intently to the constant and various arguments and debates, with regard as to their true guilt or innocent.
 "Guilty or Innocent?" Reprinted Then in 1998, a marvelous book, entitled appropriately ‘Guilty or Innocent? by author and Tipperary historian Nancy Murphy, appeared on our book shelves. Now for the first time, lovers of history and Tipperary folklore, had compiled together and easily accessible to them, the full factual details of the Cormack Brothers trial, their execution and their exhumation.
The book was the outcome of years of extensive research, carried out painstakingly by the author, into newspapers, official and private correspondence, the Trant Papers, the Petitions for Reprieve, Parish Registers, Poor Law Rate Books and other land records. The book put together, accurately and for the very first time, the known truth, without bias. Not surprisingly the book was sold out within weeks of its original publication date and up until this week was commanding figures of in excess of €64 to €130 in just secondhand condition.
Now, due to popular demand Relay Books, Tyone, Nenagh, Co.Tipperary have agreed to republished ‘Guilty or Innocent?‘ in a limited edition, to meet the renewed interest in the Cormack Brother’s fate this year, being the 150th anniversary of their death.
The Cormack Brother’s murder trial is too complex to discuss in this blog, but Chapter 18, of this well researched book, examines aspects of the Cormack Brother’s case to be questioned, under the following headings :
Were the members of the Grand Jury correct in sending the Cormack Brothers for trial?
The conduct of the investigation as revealed in the trials;
The conduct of the trials by prosecution, defence and presiding Judge;
The quality of the evidence and consequently whether the second Trial Jury was justified in their verdict;
Were there grounds for appeal, for a case stated by the judge for judgement by the Superior Court, and ultimately for mercy by the Lord Lieutenant?
Finally, and leaving the law aside, has the widespread belief in the Cormack Brother’s innocence been justified? The author quotes the indirect evidence for this and leaves a conclusion to the reader.
Within the last few months, the tiny village of Loughmore,Co.Tipperary, native parish to William and Daniel Cormack, have marked the anniversary of their execution and exhumation, by an impressive and evocative recreation of the 1910 funeral of the brothers exhumed remains. They also staged a play, “The Cormack Brothers”, in the parish centre over seven nights, playing to full houses and standing room only.
The limited republished edition of ‘Guilty or Innocent?‘ in paperback, retails at just €12.90 plus €2.00 for postage and packing.
This book is an excellent read for factual history lovers, especially if you enjoy a story where ‘truth is stranger than fiction.’ Take it from me this book is one hell of good read.
It was on the 15th November 1996 that the Minute Book of the Thurles /Rahealty Famine Food Committee was first discovered in St. Mary’s Church Thurles Co. Tipperary. The book had been put in an old apple box with some unwanted prayer and hymn books in 1850 and then placed on the top floor in the bell tower for safe keeping. Over the next 146 years the 2nd and 3rd floors leading to the 4th floor bell tower became unsafe and the contents of the apple box were forgotten. Then in 1996 it was decided to fully restore the church and its 13th century tower resulting in the box and its contents being located and identified.
This minute book contains valuable information of both local & national importance, concerning the ‘Great Famine’ period 1846 and 1847.
 Lila Stanley, Linda Stanley, Kathy Langley & Mary Russell In this book the locations of the soup kitchens in Thurles are given, together with details of their running costs and those employed there.
On Sunday next 15th November for the first time since 1849 a group of ladies from this parish Church will make history by manufacturing this soup, based solely on the recipe contained in these historical minutes.
Visitors to the Church on Sunday next from 10.00am until 6.00pm can view the large collection of famine memorabilia contained in the Famine Museum and if they wish can also taste, for the first time, this famine soup which was given, mainly free, to those forced to attend the 3 soup kitchens then established here in Thurles during the 1845 to 1849 period.
All tours on the day will be accompanied by a guide.
This event will be followed later in the evening by the second annual Famine Memorial multi denomination service which will take place in St. Mary’s Church also on Sunday next, 15th November at 8.00 pm. This ceremony will be conducted by the Rector of St. Mary’s, Rev Peter Cole-Baker assisted by local historian Rev. Monsignor Dr. Maurice Dooley, latter retired parish priest of Loughmore, who will also preach the sermon. Music for this famine memorial service will be provided by members and musicians of the Thurles Cathedral Youth Choir and Phoenix Productions under the direction of local Councillor & Solicitor Mr. Gerard O’Brien.
A warm invitation is issued to all who wish to attend any part of this full day event on Sunday next and elderly persons are advised to come early for the memorial service to ensure seating.
Front and rear gates to St. Mary’s Church will be open, to allow for easy access and car parking.
A quiet plot at Deansgrange Cemetery in Dublin gives no clue as to whose final resting place it might be, let alone the role this Tipperary man previously played in changing the course of this country’s sporting history.
 Thomas St George McCarthy Cup. The occupant of this lonely spot, for the past 66 years, is none other than Tipperary man Thomas St George McCarthy, who with possibly thirteen other men gathered in Thurles’s, Haye’s Hotel, Co Tipperary on that day, 1st of November in 1884, for that inaugural meeting of the GAA. Thomas who died at the age of 80 in 1943, because of reduced means, would have no headstone afforded him, to mark the grave he bought for himself, while still living.
While fellow founders names like J. K. Bracken, Maurice Davin, Michael Cusack of Cusack Stand fame and patron Archbishop Thomas Croke are referred to by the GAA as household names, McCarthy lay with nothing to prove his personal legacy to the Irish Nation.
Why you ask? The answer is simple, Thomas St. George McCarthy, born at Bansha, Tipperary was an Irish Rugby Union International player. Born son of a Kerry man who was a former Revenue Police Lieutenant, RIC County Inspector and a Resident Magistrate, who worked in Tipperary and resided in Bansha, Thomas McCarthy himself was a District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary based at Templemore, County Tipperary. His involvement in the GAA is particularly notable because in a later period there would be a ban for many years in the GAA on people who played rugby, cricket and soccer (Rule 21) from joining the Association and this ban would also apply to members of the British police and armed forces.
McCarthy moved to Dublin from Bansha in 1877 and became a close friend of Michael Cusack, sharing Cusacks dream. He was coached by Cusack for his RIC cadetship examination in 1882, in which he took first place. He joined the Trinity College University Football Club in 1881 and was capped against Wales in 1882. In the same year he won the Leinster Senior Cup with Trinity. His involvement with the GAA was brought about by the belief that this new initiative would encourage young men onto the sports field and away from the consumption of hard liquor.
He had a great love of hurling, and was a regular attender at matches including Croke Park to which he travelled from his home in Ranelagh,Co. Dublin.
However, plans are now in train to redress this injustice and the GAA propose to erect a commemorative gravestone at Deansgrange, which is to be unveiled in November 2009.
The two police forces in Ireland, the Garda Síochána (South) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (North) have already honoured McCarthy by introducing the Thomas St. George McCarthy Cup for competition by members of the Garda and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Perhaps it’s now the correct time for Tipperary, Templemore and Bansha to honour him also, before the year runs out.
A capacity crowd of parents, students and teachers were held spellbound by a very realistic enactment of the founding meeting of  the G.A.A. by a group of Thurles actors in Tipperary Institute on Wednesday last.
Organised by Tipperary Education Support Centre in Thurles, the enactment was brought to life with a script devised by author and historian Tom Noone from contemporary records of the event, and played by members of Thurles Drama Group.
The actors, in genuine period costume supplied by St. Mary’s Famine Museum, decided on a most original concept, by having all the cast enter the auditorium through the audience and then taking their places among the audience, just as they would have done at an actual meeting.
The narrator gave the reasons for the meeting and invited Michael Cusack to open proceedings. What followed kept everyone’s interest at a high level as various points in favour of the proposed association were made, clarification sought on a number of issues, elections held and acknowledgements made of the sterling work done by Cusack and the new President of the fledgling organisation, Tipperary man Maurice Davin. The meeting concluded with the reading of Archbishop Thomas William Croke’s charter for the association.
The cast pictured above comprised Donal Taylor, Tom Noone, Flan Quigney, Martin Fitzgerald, David McElgunn, Liam Ryan and Jimmy Duggan.
Among the capacity audience were Most Rev. Dr. Clifford, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, Nicky Brennan, immediate past president of the G.A.A., Barry O’Brien, Tipperary Co. Board chairman, Tim Floyd, Tipperary county secretary, and a large number of the Tipperary hurling panel.
 Michael Cusack 1847- 1906 founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association Among the many functions being held country-wide to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association, is a novel idea arranged by a number of teachers in the Co. Tipperary Education Centre here in Thurles.
All of the primary schools in town were invited to submit projects to mark this special occasion, and the response from the students has been magnificent.
The results of their endeavours are on show in Tipperary Institute, and include videos conceived and produced by the students themselves, along with drawings, displays, pictures and essays.
All the work will be recognised on Wednesday 4th November in the Institute at a function to be attended by a number of dignitaries, including members of the Tipperary Senior hurling panel.
Now this is where the novel idea comes into being.
A number of local actors will stage a re-enactment of the very first meeting of the Gaelic Athletic Association, held in Miss Hayes’ Hotel, Main Street, Thurles, on November 1st 1884, with a specially commissioned script based on contemporary accounts of the meeting.
It is hoped to have a link with the Michael Cusack Centre in Clare during the presentation.
This event promises to be an historical and educational evening.
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