Cork Artists urged to participate in the design for the “We Shall Rise” Mother Jones Monument in Chicago.

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Admin

Having selected the site for the Mother Jones Monument, the City of Chicago is now seeking the RFQs (Request for Qualifications) from artists who wish to submit designs for the monument. The next steps will be for the Advisory Committee to choose an artist and a design, with a goal of dedicating the memorial.

The idea to honour Mother Jones was promoted by the Mother Jones Heritage Project, and the great news is that Irish artists and sculptors can apply. So if you know friends, groups or people who might be interested and qualify, especially those here in Cork (the birthplace of Mary Harris) please do send the link underneath to them.

Closing date is 26th March 2023, all details in the attached link above.

The Chicago Monuments Project (CMP) Advisory Committee and the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Projects has decided the statue memorialising Labor icon “Mother” Jones will be placed in Jane Byrne Plaza, in the shadow of Chicago’s historic Water Tower. Jane Byrne (Burke) was the first woman Mayor of Chicago.

Chicago Water Tower. Photo: (Rosemary Feurer).

Irish poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, in an effort to court controversy back in 1882 unfairly described the historic water tower as “a castellated monstrosity with pepper-boxes stuck all over it”. Wilde died on the 30th November 1900, thirty years to the day before Mother Jones.

The artwork commission will be $250,000.

Water Tower and Jane Byrne Plaza. Photo (Rosemary Feurer).

According to Rosemary Feurer of the Mother Jones Heritage Project in Chicago,

“Mother Jones organised oppressed and exploited people, including women and children, black and white, native born and immigrant. She fought to end child labor, and campaigned to improve the working conditions for millions of poor people all over America for many decades,”

James Nolan for the Cork Mother Jones Committee stated;

“This competition to find a suitable design for a monument to celebrate Cork born Mary Harris in Chicago represents a fantastic opportunity for Cork artists with a track record to apply to design what will be a landmark public memorial in a major American city.

We are really hoping some Cork artists will get involved in this design due to its huge connection to the rebel spirit of a woman born in our own city. She was the rebel daughter of Cork City, who survived so much tragedy and yet her indomitable spirit prevailed.

The Chicago City Authorities have just recently issued details of the initial requirements needed to participate in the process.”

The Chicago Water Tower after the Great Fire of Chicago. (Wikipedia).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Water_Tower

For further details about Mother Jones, visit https://www.motherjonesmuseum.org/about-us.

Announcement: Spirit of Mother Jones Festival Dates for 2023.

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Admin

The Cork Mother Jones Committee is pleased to announce the dates for the 2023 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.

Our 12th Annual festival will be held in and around Shandon in Cork City from Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th July 2023. All are welcome.

Thanks to our sponsors, the festival remains open to all free of charge. We are promising a very interesting selection of speakers and topics. Further announcements will appear regularly on this website and on the festival Facebook pages.

Hope to see you all and thanks to everyone for your support for this very unique festival.

Mother Jones in 1909 enjoying a chat with her friend, Terence B. Powderly, whose family was from Co. Meath, Ireland. (Illinois Labor History Society).

Terence V Powderly (1849-1924) started life as a 13 year old railroad worker where he worked as an apprentice in a machine shop. Born in Pennsylvania, Terence’s people were from Co Meath in Ireland.

Having joined the trade union movement, he became a moderate head of the Knights of Labor in 1879. This “Order” grew to having about three-quarters of a million members by the mid 1880s, but subsequently went into rapid decline due the growing radicalism and militancy of the new trade unions and the oppression of the growing industrial corporations which treated workers very badly.

Powderly, who originally lived in Scranton in Pennsylvania went on to hold a number of government posts until his death in 1924.

Mother Jones, although regarded as a radical became great friends with Terence and his wife Emma for several decades and stayed at their homes in Scranton and in Washington with them when visiting those cities.

Stardust Tragedy … still waiting for justice…forty-two years on!

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Admin

On Saturday 11th February 2023, the 42nd Anniversary of the Stardust fire was commemorated at the site of the 1981 tragedy in the presence of a huge attendance of family members and relatives of the children who died. 48 children from the immediate area in Dublin lost their lives when the Stardust Night Club caught fire. Their families are awaiting the truth about what happened that night and are still seeking justice for their loved ones.

The Stardust Memorial Wall, which was unveiled by Charlie Bird on Saturday 11th February 2023 at the site of the 1981 fire.

The Dublin Fire Brigade Band played at the unveiling of the Stardust Monument. Several members of the Fire Brigade, who tried to save the children, also attended the ceremony.
“The firefighters wept for they could not hide, their sorrow and anger for those left inside.”

Following an emotional gathering in the marquee located alongside the site, Charlie Bird unveiled the impressive memorial wall which displays the faces and names of the 48 people who died in the Stardust fire on Valentine’s Day in 1981. It is a powerful visual monument to the children who died that awful night.

Earlier, Antoinette Keegan of the Stardust Families Committee had introduced a series of inspiring talks, songs, and poetry in which the children who lost their lives were remembered. Their everlasting spirit was present among the flickering candles and thoughts of their dignified families and friends and all those who attended.

Large Crowd attend the Monument Unveilling.

Describing the remarkable Stardust relatives as his heroes, Charlie Bird expressed optimism that this will be the year when Truth and Justice will prevail.

“I have said this many times in the past, if the Stardust tragedy had happened in the southside of Dublin, you would not have had to wait for over four decades for the truth of what happened”

The North Dublin Community Gospel Choir sang “What About Us“, “Tears Stream” and “Stand By Me‘ in an emotional tribute to the lost young people of that night.

The North Dublin Community Gospel Choir sings *What about Us.*

Christy Moore sang on video his once banned song “They Never Came Home“, which recounts the events of the Stardust Fire, commenting that:

“I never thought I’d be still singing it 40 years later still waiting for justice”

The Album cover, of Ordinary Man (1985) by Christy Moore which contained the banned track, “They Never Came Home”.

Jean Hegarty of the Derry Bloody Sunday Families and Trust mentioned that it took 38 years for their families in Derry to get justice, but stated that:

“We expected nothing from the British Government, but you had every right to expect more from your own government, our own government.”

Maurice McHugh, father of Caroline, read a poem “Remember Me” penned by Bernadette Ni Bheolain where the children make a plea from beyond their graves to remember them.

“Remember me, remember us as the scales of justice swing to and fro.”

The names of the 48 children who died in the Stardust Tragedy.

Claire Bird (left holding Tiger) with Maurice McHugh at the Stardust Memorial Wall.

As relatives of each of the children were presented with a photograph of their loved ones by Charlie Bird, there was a heavy sense of the shocking unfairness of the four decades of waiting for truth and justice. Yet there is also a growing sense of optimism, hope and expectation, as finally the relatives and families of the Stardust fire are about to be heard.

These families and survivors are now preparing their statements for the opening of the Inquests, which will commence on 19th April 2023.

We wish to thank Antoinette Keegan of the Stardust families for their kind invitation to the Cork Mother Jones Committee to attend the 42nd Commemoration for the Stardust victims. Antoinette was the recipient of the annual 2020 Spirit of Mother Jones Award, which is given to those special people, who have campaigned against injustice. Her two sisters, Mary and Martina died in the fire, and her parents, Christine and John Keegan led the Stardust families campaign in spite of many disappointments and setbacks to establish the truth of what happened on the night and to seek justice for their lost children.