Spirit of Mother Jones Festival dates for 2027 announced.

Posted on November 9, 2026 by Admin

A statue for Mary Harris in Cork?

The Cork Mother Jones Committee is happy to announce the dates for the 2027 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival in Shandon. The 16th Annual festival will take place from Thursday 22nd July to Saturday 24th July.

According to James Nolan, spokesperson for the festival,

“We are happy to confirm that our 16th Annual Spirit of Mother Jones Festival will once again take place in the Shandon Historic Quarter in 2027. This festival and summer school is dedicated to the inspiring trade union leader and social justice advocate Mother Jones, who was born Mary Harris in Shandon in 1837. Today Mary has become an international symbol for labour human rights across the world. This festival continues to celebrate her life and achievements and supports the causes she fought for even as the 100th Anniversary of her death in 1930 approaches.

Recently we have witnessed the ground breaking ceremony for the erection of a wonderful statue to the Cork woman in Chicago which was performed by the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson and attended by a very large crowd. The brainchild of the Mother Jones Heritage Project, many of whose members have visited Shandon for the festival.

The imposing statue, which shows Mother Jones on the 1903 March of the Mill Children and is entitled ‘We Will Rise’ will be unveiled on 1st May 2027.

We are hoping that Cork people will support our efforts to erect a statue to her here in Cork in time for the one hundred anniversary. We will ask the Cork City Council Heritage section for support in this endeavour. A statue to Mother Jones in Shandon would acknowledge the role played by local woman Mary Harris in standing up the justice and human rights and in time would become an international heritage attraction in the local community.

US Senator Bernie and his wife Jane Sanders came to Shandon in May last year to visit her plaque and to walk the streets of Shandon in the footsteps of Mary Harris. Her father Richard emigrated during the Great Famine and lived initially in Burlington, Vermont the hometown of Senator Sanders who has served as mayor on three occasions. He was amazed to discover a live connection with his home town.

Bernie Sanders at the Mother Jones plaque.

On behalf of the Cork Mother Jones Committee I wish to acknowledge the practical support and encouragement of the Irish trade union movement and the assistance of the Cork City Council towards the festival each year”

stated Mr Nolan

The Cork Mother Jones committee invites ideas for topics at next year’s festival. These should relate to labour and trade union matters, heritage and history, social justice and human rights issues. Material must be relevant, interesting and challenging as debate and discussion is encouraged. All suggestions are considered by the voluntary committee and the closing date is 28th February 2027. Please send all ideas, suggestions, or proposals by email to motherjonescork@gmail.com .

“We Shall Rise”: Mother Jones to Rise Over Chicago.

Posted on October 24, 2026 by Admin

Full Report of the Ground breaking ceremony in Chicago on the site of the Mother Jones Statue from the Mother Jones Heritage Project Website Link with Thanks from Everyone on the Project Team.

https://www.motherjonesmuseum.org/post/groundbreaking-mother-jones-we-shall-rise-monument-at-mother-jones-plaza

Megan Grealy, Public Diplomacy Officer Consul General of Ireland in Chicago, speaks. Behind Grealy, you can see the Heald Square Monument depicting George Washington which is directly across Wacker from this site. Photo Credit: Rick Leschina. Courtesy of Mother Jones Heritage Project.

On Wednesday October 28th the Mother Jones Heritage Project will hold an official ceremony to break ground at the site of the memorial to Cork born, Mary Harris known to the world as Mother Jones. This ceremony will be held at East Wacker Drive & North Wabash Avenue in Chicago at 11:00 am and will be performed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Also in attendance will be representatives of the Chicago Department of Cultural and Special Events (DCASE) and Chicago Federation of Labour along with Ireland’s Chicago Consulate and Alderman Brendan Reiilly.

Rosemary Feurer of the Mother Jones Heritage Project who has championed a statue to Mother Jones for many years. Photo taken on top of the Shandon Bells in Cork during the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2012.

The memorial will consist of a bronze statue depicting iconic Labour activist Mother Jones in a pose which echoes the March of the Mill Children in July 1903 in which she highlighted the exploitation of young children working in the mines, mills and factories of America. Her efforts on this march made national headlines across America and exposed the abuse of young girls and boys who worked in often appalling conditions when they should have been in school and receiving an education.

Gathering at the Baptism Font at the North Cathedral in Cork where Mary Harris was baptised on the 1st August 1837. Left to Right: Elliott Gorn, Kailuani Lee, Marat Moore, and Rosemary Feurer with Festival organisers and supporters at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival taken on the 1st August 2012 (175 years after her baptism).

Actress Brigid Duffy and Logan James Cervantes of Chicago World Language Academy, the model for the sculpture will re-enact the striking pose of the statue’s figures entitled “We Shall Rise” which will soon be erected on the site near the Chicago Riverwalk, which will be renamed the Mother Jones Plaza.

March of the Mill Children 2019 which includes the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Dr. John Sheehan.

“We Shall Rise” and the Mother Jones Plaza will come to represent a fitting tribute to this Cork woman and to the generations of working people of every nationality and their unions whose labour and resilience helped to shape Chicago itself.

The design team of Kathleen Farrell, Kathleen Scarboro and Dante Di Bartolomo have sent the sculpture to the foundry. On behalf of the Cork Mother Jones Committee we wish to congratulate all involved in the Mother Jones Heritage Project for their massive effort in bringing this landmark project to fruition and look forward eagerly to the day when Mother Jones rises over the great city of Chicago.

Honouring Mother Jones in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day. Photo: Dave Adams, Bricklayers Union, Chicago.

The formal ground breaking for the statue was performed by the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson.

See press release below from the Mayor’s Office.

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2026/october/mother-jones-monument.html

Megan Grealy of the Irish Consulate in Chicago speaking at the ground breaking event. Introduced by Rosemary Feurer of the Mother Jones Heritage Project,

Which Side Are You On? The Story of the Song.

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Admin

One of the great anthems of the international Labour Movement was written in a matter of hours on the back of an old calendar. Florence Reece, wife of miners union leader Sam Reece was so angry one evening after the local sheriff J.H. Blair and his deputies had raided their home looking for her husband, she sat down and wrote Which Side Are You On? in response.

1932 saw a bitter miners strike take place in Harlan County in Kentucky, when the mine operators refused to allow the miners to join the union. The coal operators instigated a campaign of terror to prevent the union getting a foothold in Kentucky and upwards of a dozen miners had been murdered by deputies in the pay of the mine owners. The miners were subject to intimidation and constant raids on their homes.

Sam Reece had been warned that the sheriff was coming for him and he had escaped into the mountains. His home was wrecked by the deputies and his wife and two daughters present were terrorised. Florence’s response was to write this song which her daughters later sang at the local union hall.

From such a beginning, the song has traveled worldwide.Pete Seeger popularised it along with the Almanac Singers in the 40s and 50s. It was embraced by the Civil Rights movement in the 60s and 70s. Various verses have been changed but its impact on an audience is immediate.

“My daddy was a miner; he’s now in the air and sun

He’ll be with you, fellow workers, until this battle’s won”

Being in the air and sun meant Sam was blacklisted. He died from Black Lung in 1978.

Florence Reece, labour and civil rights activist passed away suddenly from a heart attack on August 3rd 1986.

“Florence symbolizes that ordinary people out of their own life experiences can capture in simple words and feelings the idea of struggle” (William Serrin in the New York Times, March 18th 1984)

Thanks to Friday’s Labor folklore available from fridaysfolklore@gmail.com . Our thanks to Saul Schniderman for permission to use the following link to read the story of which side are you on and to listen to some of the singers of that famous Labour ballad.

https://conta.cc/4iQVTVX

Labor Day News from Mt. Olive, Illinois.

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Admin

“Mother Jones was an Irish immigrant labor activist who advocated for child laborers and mine and factory workers across America and campaigned for the eight-hour day, safer working conditions, and an end to child labor. She often visited our region to speak and support workers. She is buried in the Union Miners Cemetery, Mt Olive, Illinois, with the Mt. Olive miners who died to preserve the union at the Battle of Virden, 1898. She called those miners her ‘brave boys’.”

Gathering at the grave of Mother Jones in Mt. Olive Miners Cemetery in 2024.

Not only is she buried in the only union-owned cemetery in the USA, but she also has the honor of a festival in her name in the country of her birth, Ireland, and at her final resting place. See: https://motherjonescork.com/

The Friends of the Mother Jones Museum, located in the City Hall of Mt. Olive, IL, announced several Labor Day weekend events to honor the Irish firebrand. Events will take place in Mt. Olive, Edwardsville, and St. Louis.

Mary Harris was baptised at this Baptism Font in the North Cathedral in Cork on August 1st 1837.

On Labor Day weekend this year, members of the UMWA Local 1613, Friends of the Mother Jones Museum, the Union Miners Cemetery Association, and Mother Jones actor Loretta Williams will celebrate Labor Day in three events.

Saturday, September 5th at 5:00 pm. The Mt. Olive Homecoming Parade in downtown Mt. Olive, with miners, actor Loretta Williams, and friends of Mother Jone

Sunday, September 6th at 1:00 pm. Dedication of a historic plaque at the grave site of Ernest F. ( Fred) Long, at Woodlawn Cemetery, Edwardsville. Fred Long was a nineteen-year coal miner from Edwardsville who lived in Mt. Olive died fighting for the union in the Battle of Virden, 1898. This program is presented by the Woodlawn Cemetery Board, 400 St. Louis St., Edwardsville, 62025.

Monday, September 7th at 5:30 pm. Celebration of Mother Jones and labor’s contributions to America at the Greenfinch Theater and Dive, 2525 S. Jefferson, St. Louis, Mo. The program will include the Bread and Roses Choir, Unseen St. Louis, The May Day Orchestra, labor songs presented by Casting Runes, Mother Jones speeches with Loretta Williams, and a presentation on union banners.

For more information: greenfinchstl.com

All at the Cork Mother Jones Committee send our best wishes for a successful celebration at Mt. Olive on Labor Day weekend 2026.

Joann Condellone is a founding member of the Mother Jones Museum in Mt. Olive and of the Perpetual Care Association of the Union Miners Cemetery, also in Mt. Olive.

Joann speaking at the grave of Mother Jones.

On October 12th 1898 a battle took place at Virden, Illinois when the coal company attempted to break a United Mine Workers coal strike by bringing in non union labour. When the train arrived with the non union workers, it was ambushed by hundreds of armed miners, many from Mt Olive led by ‘General’ Alexander Bradley. Following a brief battle, 47 miners were struck by bullets, and seven lay dead. Four of these were Mt Olive men named Smith, Gitterie, Kaemmerer and a 19 year old Edward ‘Fred’ Long. Five guards from the Thiel Detective Agency in St Louis also died in the battle..

The recent commemoration (See link below) relates to young Long who was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Edwardsville where there is now a historical marker erected.

The other Mt Olive miners killed in the Virden battle lie at the Union Miners Cemetery outside Mt Olive. Mother Jones lies alongside them.

Further news from MT Olive for Miners Day coming up on the 11th October 2026,

MT. OLIVE, IL. — The Union Miners Cemetery Perpetual Care Committee and the Friends of Mother Jones Museum will observe Miners’ Day at noon on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at Union Miners Cemetery in Mt. Olive.

The program will begin with a short procession from the cemetery entrance to the grave of legendary Irish firebrand Mary Harris “Mother” Jones.

United Mine Workers of America International Secretary-Treasurer Michael Phillippi will deliver the keynote address. UMWA District 12 Vice President Tim Miller will introduce him. Mike Matejka, president of the Illinois Labor History Society, will also speak.

Loretta Williams, portraying Mother Jones, will recall the deaths of “her brave boys” at Virden and the struggles of working people. Dale Hanabarger of Wildflower Conspiracy will perform songs about labor and people’s rights.

Updated 22nd October 2026.

Latest photographs from the Mother Jones Foundation at Springfield, Illinois, courtesy of Mike Matejka, President of the Illinois Labor History Society. Our thanks also to James Goltz of the Mother Jones Museum in Mt. Olive for their assistance.

Mike Matejka speaking at the Mother Jones grave, Mt. Olive.

Vita Cortex Workers Tell Their Story

Posted on July 29, 2026 by Admin

A gathering of some former Vita Cortex workers was held at the recent Spirit of Mother Jones Summer School under moderator Anne Piggott, member of the Cork Mother Jones Committee.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is vita-cortex-workers-2-1337x1024.jpg — Left to Right: Greg Marshall, Jim Power, Sean Kelleher, Denis Ryan, Tom Ronan, Darren O’Keefe (supporter), Helen Crowley. Also present were Connie Griffin and Henry O’Reilly.

The discussion which took place among the former workers was both engaging and inspiring and often very humorous as they discussed events during the 161 day sit-in at the Vita Cortex factory, which manufactured foam for the furniture industry on the Kinsale Road in Cork.

Just before Christmas 2012 on the 16th December, while planning for their Christmas Party, the workers were told the shocking news that the factory was being closed and they were being made redundant and would not receive their pay.

Instead of meekly accepting their lot, the twenty three workers began a sit-in at the factory which continued for 161 day until May 2013 when after negotiations under the Labour Relations Commission between the union and the owners they were paid their full outstanding redundancy payments by the owners of the company.

Anne Taylor, President of the Cork Council of Trade Unions speaking at the Festival. Greg Marshall looks on.

The sit-in which captured the imagination of the country and gained massive support from the local people of Ballyphehane and Cork as well as messages of support from all over Ireland and the wider world, finally ended on 24th May. They appeared on national television and spoke on all the major radio stations as well as obtaining extensive newspaper coverage. Some of their supporters were highly skilled on social media and the story of the Vita Cortex workers basically went viral.

Huge marches of support organised by the Trade Union movement were held in Cork City and attracted great support from the ordinary people of Cork. The Vita Cortex workers were invited to Aras an Uachtarain to meet President Michael D. Higgins, where they had a fantastic day out.

The workers gathered at the Summer School to tell their inspiring story of the one hundred and sixty one day sit-in at the factory during the Spirit Of Mother Jones Festival. They received a standing ovation from the large crowd present. Mother Jones would have been proud of these brave workers.

Congratulations to Ted Tynan.

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Admin

A presentation was made during the recent festival to Ted Tynan by James Nolan on behalf of the Cork Mother Jones Committee for his help and support over many years for the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.

James Nolan of the Cork Mother Jones Committee makes a presentation to Ted Tynan.

Ted is a founding member of the committee and worked on many of the initial festivals. He has attended all fifteen festivals and participated in the discussions at events over the years. His advice and his assistance and his experience is valued highly by all of the various committees who organise each festival.

He was involved in selecting the lovely plaque celebrating Mother Jones, which was designed by renowned sculptor Mick Wilkins and erected in Shandon in 2012 for the 175th anniversary of her birth. Today this monument is a noted landmark on the North side of Cork City and is visited by many people from all over the world.

Ted responses to the presentation in the company of the acting Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Tony Fitzgerald and Anne Piggott of the Cork Mother Jones Committee..

First elected as a Workers Party Councillor in 1979, Ted retired in May of this year. He has said that he was always inspired by Mother Jones who fought for the workers.

We wish Ted and his wife Carmel well in retirement and we are delighted to make this presentation to him for all his work for the recognition in Cork of Mary Harris who became known as Mother Jones.

Carmel and Ted Tynan at the presentation ceremony.

Remembering Joan Goggin and Norman O’Rourke at this year’s Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Admin

Left to Right at the Presentation: Ger O’Mahony, Brian O’Rourke, Anne Piggott, and Eadaoin Delaney. Photo: Emma.

Joan Goggin.

Joan was a familiar sight at the festival, dressed as Mother Jones in her Victorian outfit and being present at launches, openings or just attending some of the many events.

When not at the festival she often joined the picket lines at strikes in the city especially whenever nurses were involved.

Daughter of union man Bill Martin, she remembers her father telling her that Jim Larkin used to visit their home on Bandon road, when he came to Cork.

Joan passed away on March 26th 2026. May she rest in peace.

A memorial plaque was presented to her daughter Eadaoin Delaney on behalf of the Cork Mother Jones committee.

Joan Goggin 2022 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.

Norman O’Rourke

Norman attended many festivals and his stirring bagpipes piped in the Lord Mayors of Cork at the launches and openings of the Spirit of Mother Jones festivals. He was indeed a familiar sight at festivals, matches and Republican ceremonies around Cork and beyond for decades. Norman was thrilled to receive a Lord Mayor’s Community Award in 2024 and he was even more thrilled with his image on a large banner which hung on the Grand Parade for many years where it overlooked the Gaza marches on Saturdays.

Norman passed away on 27th August 2025. To Marie, his wife and to Brian, Dara, Niamh, Breffni and Cliona we extend our sympathy. Brian accepted the plaque on behalf of the O’ Rourke family and afterwards took it to St.Finbarr’s hospital to present to his mother Marie.

May Norman rest in peace.

Norman O’Rourke (Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 2023).

Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís!

Events at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School for Saturday 25th July 2026.

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Admin

Events at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School for Saturday 25th July 2026. All events at the Maldron Hotel, Shandon except where stated.

9:30 a.m. Peter Foynes: A Heritage stroll. Meet at the Maldron

11:00 a.m. “Remembering the Asbestos War in County Cork 1975-1980”
Speakers: Gertie O’Driscoll, Tom MacSweeney, Derry Chambers & John Twomey.

1:15 p.m. Memories of departed friends.

2:15 p.m. Naomi Masheti. Cork Migrant Centre. “Activism through Story Telling: Raising the Voices of Migrants’

3:30 p.m. John Donoghue. “The Battle of Irish Town: Mother Jones, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Catholic Working Class Resistance 1919-1923.”

5:00 p.m. Celebrating the Vita Cortex Struggle. Speakers: Ex-Workers and Supporters tell their story

6:30 p.m. Plaque events with singer and songwriter Martin Leahy. Singers and musicians welcome. Followed by a traditional whiskey toast to Mother Jones. Plaque is located on John Redmond Street.

Presentation of the Spirit of Mother Jones Award 2026.

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Admin

Phil Ní Sheaghdha receiving the Spirit of Mother Jones Award 2026 from James Nolan of the Cork Mother Jones Committee. Photo: Angela Flynn.

Events at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School on Friday 24th July 2026.

Posted on July 23, 2026 by Admin

All events take place today at the Maldron Hotel, Shandon.

10:00 a.m. The Big Meeting. A documentary about the annual Durham Miners’ Gala, the largest trade union and community gathering in the UK. Directed by Daniel Draper.

11:30 a.m. Bernardo Guanche Hernandez, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Ireland. Life in Cuba

1: 00 p.m. Club Ceoil Ballyphehane Ballad Group.

2:15 p.m. Grace O’ Sullivan. “Taking Action for the Planet: Life on the High Seas”. In memory of Fernando Pereira (1950-1985)

3:45 p.m. Tadhg Hickey: Writer, film maker, comedian and political activist.

5: 00 p.m. GAZA (2019):

A film by Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell.
Portrait of a people and a place prior to the Genocide.

7:30 p.m. “This Land is Our Land: Confronting Extremism and Reclaiming Democracy”
Panel discussion: speakers,
John Donoghue, Associate Professor of History, Loyola University, Chicago
Gema Kloppe-Santamaria, Lecturer, School of Society, Politics and Ethics, UCC.
Tom Boland, Lecturer in Sociology in UCC.
Moderator: John Barimo.

9:30 p.m. John Nyhan and Friends
David King and Friends: Songs of Struggle, Songs of Hope.