Mitchelstown

In the summer of 2011, a year after my brother Paul had died, I went back to Ireland to see the family over there. I stayed in County Clare for a few  days before heading down to Cork, staying over night in a B&B in Tipperary.

On the way down south, I stopped to take perhaps fifty pictures in geographical squares that had not been bagged either by me or any other Geograph contributor. One stop I made was in the main square  of Mitchelstown - a small town in  northern County Cork.

It was a case of stopping, taking a couple of pictures and jumping back in the hire car.  I didn't even know who the statuesque fellow was on the plinth. It turns out that he was John Mandeville (1849-1888). In 1887, he led an uprising of tenant farmers in the town - protesting about increased rents and evictions.

Three men were killed by police that day in what is sometimes known as "The Mitcheltown Massacre". For his part in the unrest, John Mandeville was arrested, tried and imprisoned. The harsh treatment he received in Cork City Gaol had a truly awful effect upon his health and he died at home the following year at the age of just thirty nine.

I uploaded the statue picture on to the Geograph website and thought little more about it or Mitchelstown until early this year when - out of the blue - I received a message from a retired Mitchelstown resident called Anne Griffin.

Anne is a leading light in the town's active history group and she was co-ordinating the creation and production of a 250 page book called "Mitchelstown Remembered". She had found my statue picture on the internet and wanted to know if she could use it as the cover picture for the book. Of course I agreed and then she asked how much money I wanted for using my image. I said that I wanted nothing  but I would love to receive a copy of the book when it came out.

She agreed to that and this morning the book duly arrived. I am chuffed to bits. It is not the best picture I have ever taken by far but now I know who the statue represents I feel extra proud about my contribution.

In the course of time I will read the book and send my thoughts about it to Anne Griffin whose energy and "can do" spirit must have made the book happen. Very kindly, Anne also sent me this "thank you" card which was posted on my birthday. If you enlarge it, you may be able to read it better.

from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/Z68rMKC