The Cork Mother Jones Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Award.
It has been awarded to Arthur Leahy.
Arthur Leahy speaking at a meeting in the Quay Co-op. Photo: J Barimo.
The award will be presented to Mr. Leahy by James Nolan, Chairperson of the Cork Mother Jones Committee at the Maldron Hotel, Shandon on Thursday afternoon 24th July 2025 at 1.00 pm after the Official Opening of the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School by the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Fergal Dennehy. All are welcome to attend.
James Nolan spokesperson for the Cork Mother Jones Committee stated:
“The Cork Mother Jones Committee is pleased to present the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Award to Arthur Leahy.
Arthur has been active in this city for almost 50 years in a practical way as an advocate of social justice, of inclusiveness and fairness in society. He has devoted considerable effort to the promotion of gay rights and was involved in the organising of the first Irish National Gay Conference in Cork as far ago as 1980.
Arthur played an important role in supporting those impacted by the HIV/Aids epidemic in the 80s and was directly involved in numerous roles in establishing the Quay Co-op and The Other Place LGBT Community Centre in Cork. These provided vital support bases for progressive activists to meet and organise to fight the social and equality campaigns of the 80s/90s and up to the present day.
He has provided inspirational leadership in many campaigns and leads by practical example”
Award citation from the Cork Mother Jones Committee.
The Cork Mother Jones Committee presents the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Award to Arthur Leahy:
For his active role in establishing the gay rights movement in Cork and for his practical efforts to help and assist those in the gay community who were impacted by the HIV/Aids epidemic in the 1980s.
For his initiative when along with others he helped to establish the Quay Co-op on Sullivans Quay in the early 80s which created a safe haven and base for many campaign groups and from which many of those who have been in the forefront of activism on women’s rights, gay rights and environmental campaigns emerged over the past five decades.
For his personal activism and leadership on many issues such as the anti-amendment campaigns, the divorce and same sex marriage referenda which have contributed to the bringing about a wide range of positive inclusive social change in Ireland
For his active work over several decades on behalf of the people of Palestine and his practical support for the Cork Palestinian Solidarity Campaign which has seen many thousands gather each weekend on the Grand Parade in Cork City to bear witness to the genocide being inflicted on the citizens of Gaza and the West Bank. He has worked to identify Israeli products available in Ireland and has supported the Boycott, Disinvestment, and Sanctions (BDS) which aims to get Israel to comply with international law and rights for Palestinians.
As an advocate for social justice, he has, by his quiet practical efforts to foster a cooperative spirit among people working in progressive campaigns, succeeded in creating a more tolerant and fairer society and establishing a community approach which is sustainable and environmentally sound. In this way he is guiding the next generation of social activists to continue this vital work to make Cork and Ireland a better place for all.
The Presentation of the Spirit of Mother Jones Award took place before a packed audience on Thursday 24th July 2025.
All events take place at the Maldron Hotel, Shandon.
Thursday 24th July 2025 at 1.00 p.m.
Choir Kalyna.
Winners of the Lord Mayors top community prize at Cork City Hall in 2024, this choir has become a huge favourite across Cork in recent years. It comprises women and men who are now living in Cork following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing attacks on their country. The choir perform traditional songs from the Ukraine and their wonderful renderings of “You Raised Me Up” are inspiring for all who have been present at their performances.
Choir Kalyna should not be missed and their creative performances against a background of the assault on their homeland provide an example of hope for the human spirit to overcome adversity. We look forward to welcoming them back to perform at the opening of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.
Choir Kalyna with Viktoria.
The Cork Singers’ Club.
Thursday 9.30 p.m.
Established in 1993, the Cork Singers’ Club has uniquely featured in every Mother Jones festival since the opening night on 31st July 2012. Eagerly awaited each year, the Cork Singers’ Club will present an evening of songs. It has ensured that the tradition of singing remains alive in Cork, no instruments are allowed. For locals and visitors this is an opportunity to hear songs being sung in a pure manner in front of an attentive audience. Club members also gather each Sunday night at An Spailpín Fánach to hone their remarkable art. Under the Fear An Tí Jim Walsh, the Cork Singers’ Club is a gem of the singing heritage of the people of Cork. A special effort is made by the singers each year to honour Mother Jones with songs of unions, of working class people and social justice. Go along!
Cork Singers Club.Cobh Animation. Claire Stack.Lord Mayor of Cork singing Fulsome Prison Blues.
Friday 25th July at 1:00 p.m.
Maldron Hotel Bar.
Jimmy Crowley accompanied by Eve Telford.
Legendary Cork ballad and folk singer Jimmy Crowley accompanied by Eve Telford will perform at lunch time on Friday. Jimmy has created and played on the folk music scene in Ireland and across the world for over 60 years now. He established one of the first folk clubs in Cork in Douglas in the late 70s and early 80s. His band Stokers Lodge was very popular for a number of years.
From his song-writing to his solo albums to his Opus Mór; Songs From a Beautiful City(The Free State Press 2014), Jimmy has made an enormous contribution to preserving Irish ballads. He submits songs weekly to the Cork Evening Echo with a note dealing with its background and his contribution has now exceeded a thousand songs. He has appeared at the Spirit of Mother Jones festival since its very beginnings and holds the woman in very high esteem.
Eve Telford sings traditional folk songs from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Born in Australia, her original songs are inspired by the wellsprings of world mythologies, indigenous rights, the natural world and political protest. Their concerts now embrace a wide variety of songs, old and new, traditional and modern.
Jimmy Crowley with Songs from a Beautiful City.Eve Telford and Jimmy Crowley singing at the Palestinian meeting on the Grand Parade.
Friday 25th July at 6.30pm. At the Shandon Plaza.
The Mexican Community Choir.
Cecila Gamez and her dancers representing the Mexican Community in Cork will perform close by the Dance Cork Firkin Crane on Friday evening. Their performance in traditional attire along with striking sombreros will add a riot of colour to the festival and will honour the connections Mother Jones made with the Mexican revolutionaries in the early 1900. Mother Jones campaigned for the release of many of the Mexican leaders who were imprisoned in the US and was honoured as Madre Juanita in Mexico in 1921.
Friday 25th July at 9.30 p.m.
Maldron Hotel Bar.
John Nyhan and Gearoid Nyhan and friends and introducing US labour singer George Mann.
George Mann is a former union organiser and now a singer of American Labour songs. Based in Ithaca New York, he is interested in labour and working class history and sings the songs of the labour and social justice movements of the 20th Century. He has toured widely and performs at hundreds of concerts each year. In 2013 he produced the “Almanac Trail” with Rik Palieri, which is a tribute to the famous Almanac Singers. Along with Si Kahn he recently released an album of Labour Songs. He is joining us here in Cork directly from singing at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset. This is George’s first visit to Ireland and we are eagerly looking forward to his performance at the festival.
(At the Mother Jones Plaque on John Redmond Street)
Martin Leahy will again perform his song about homelessness “Everyone Should Have a Home” at the Plaque. He has performed this each Thursday outside Dail Eireann for the past two years and in doing so highlights the great failure of many recent Irish governments. His song “Where We Lay our Bodies Down” remains a tribute to Ann Lovett while “Snowflakes” relates to the online attacks on people. Martin hates injustice and he has been very active in exposing the genocide in Gaza and regularly sings also on Saturdays at the Palestinian marches in Cork City and in Bandon.
Martin Leahy with Mother Jones.
Dee Power is a music and drama educator, teaching piano, vocals, speech and dramas and coaching choirs in a variety of schools in the city and county. She plays in two Cork bands, Cork Floyd and Silvertone and plays a variety of sessions in music haunts around the city. She is outspoken re inequality and social injustices and you can regularly hear her using her voice to protest social injustices. She is delighted to be singing at the Mother Jones annual celebration and is much looking forward to setting with the esteemed Martin Leahy
Peter Foynes will conduct a heritage stroll in the Shandon Historical Quarter. Peter has lived and worked in Shandon for many years and is very familiar with this historic area with its ancient streetscape, its proud history and its resilient and diverse community. He offers a unique insight into the economic, social and political area and his Saturday morning festival walks around the community are essential to an understanding of the heritage which includes its famous daughter Mary Harris.
Meet outside the Maldron.
Peter Foynes.
11.00 a.m.
Joe Noonan
“Environmental Law & Environmental Justice – are they allies or enemies?’
Joe Noonan is a Solicitor in practice in Cork for 45 years. Carbon dioxide in 1979 was 336 ppm. It is 426 ppm now. His legal work has included some of Cork and Ireland’s most controversial environmental issues, from how we licence and regulate hazardous industrial activities, the assessment of proposals to build a waste incinerator in Cork Harbour, and assisting people driven from their homes by intolerable noise from badly planned wind turbines. Has the law helped or hindered the public on the front line? What is its place in the critically-urgent global and local response to climate change?
Three hundred years ago Jonathan Swift wrote that laws are like cobwebs. They may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets through.
How true is that of an area of law that concerns everyone – the law relating to the environment we depend on for our existence?
Joe Noonan.
12:00 a.m.
Jennie C Stephens
“Climate Justice Here and Now”
Jennie C. Stephens is a feminist climate justice scholar-activist based in Dublin. Her coalition-building work focuses on societal transformation and envisioning a hopeful future for all. She challenges the powerful actors and institutions who have been obstructing transformative climate action for decades and is a member of the Climate Justice Universities Union, a collective leveraging the transformative potential of higher education institutions to accelerate change toward a more just and healthy future. She is the author of Climate Justice and the University (Hopkins University Press, 2024) and Diversifying Power: Why We Need Feminist, Antiracist Leadership on Climate and Energy (Island Press, 2020).
Jennie C. Stephens.
2:00 p.m
Mike Allen
“Housing, Homelessness and the Struggle for Social Justice: A bed for the night.”
Over the last decade, the number of people who are homeless has quadrupled, with people from a far wider range of social background and circumstances becoming homeless, or at risk of losing their homes. Why has this happened? What impact does this have on the men, women and children who experience it? And what are the effects on our wider society? The talk will also set out some of the proposals about what can be done to solve the problem, and look at the various social movements which emerged over time to demand solutions.”
3:00 p.m.
Jack Lane
“Roger Casement-The Real and The Imagined”
Roger Casement remains a compelling figure in Irish history. This year is the 60th anniversary of his re-internment. He has become an icon for many causes. But icons are lifeless things and are deprived of context and thus any real historical meaning. Jack Lane argues that Casement remains highly relevant. After 49 of his 52 years as an active participant and onetime poster boy for the British Empire he became the most dangerous Irishman that the Empire ever faced. That is why he was hanged and that is why there has been a consistent attempt for over 100 years since to traduce his moral significance. Jack will seek to put the record straight.
Jack Lane with Anne Piggott.
4:00 p.m.
Anne Twomey
Making Their Mark: Remarkable Cork Women and the contribution they made to Cork and Irish Society.
Anne Twomey will discuss the ground breaking role of four Cork women. Anna Haslam, suffragette leader, feminist and campaigner for political rights for women. Suzanne Rouviere Day, suffragette, writer and novelist who was among the first women to stand for election. Jennie Dowdall the first woman elected Lord Mayor of Cork (1959) and Eileen Desmond, the first female Minister of the senior Government Departments of Health and Social Welfare.
Anne Twomey
5:00 p.m.
Luke Dineen
“Big Jim Larkin: His Life, Times and Ideology”
Big Jim Larkin lived in a tumultuous world during turbulent times. Like so many other radicals in the early years of the twentieth century, he believed that the dawn of a new age of the people was imminent, one in which the working classes, and not the captains of industry, would control the destinies of nations, including a free and independent Irish Republic.
Central to this vision was his belief in the ideology of syndicalism, the most popular brand of revolutionary socialism until the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. This talk will examine the various components of Larkin’s ideology until the 1913 Dublin Lockout, especially the impact that syndicalism had on him.
Note: This talk may take place using Zoom at the venue.
Luke Dineen.
6:15 p.m.
Plaque events and the annual toast
With singers Martin Leahy and Dee Power.
Hear Martin’s new song “Mother Jones” just released.
Followed by the traditional whiskey toast to Mother Jones at her plaque.
Nick spent several years working in Latin America as a freelance journalist and translator. He has written on Colombian politics and the peace process for different media outlets.
Justice for Colombia promotes links of solidarity between British and Irish trade unions and organisations in Colombia and gives a political voice internationally to Colombian civil society in its struggle for human rights, labour rights, peace and social justice by working in the British, Irish and EU Parliaments.
11:30 a.m. Maldron Hotel, Shandon.
Iron Ladies
This is a new documentary about the role of women during the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike in Britain. It features interviews with some of the women such as Betty Cook, Rose Hunter, Liz French, Sally Higgins, Kay Case and many more who held the communities and families together and who worked behind the scenes to support their husbands, brothers, sons and neighbours throughout the long strike and the bitter winter of 1984.
Shut out the Light Films was founded in Liverpool in 2014 by Christie Allanson and Daniel Draper.
We remember our inspirational friend Anne Scargill who attended, spoke and sang at the our festivals in 2014 and 2019.
Anne Scargill born 11th October 1941, died 10th April 2025. A true Daughter of Mother Jones, Rest in peace!.
Betty Cook and Anne Scargill at the March of the Mill Children in Shandon in 2019. Photo by Claire Stack,
1:00 p.m. Maldron Hotel Bar.
Jimmy Crowley and Eve Telford.
Jimmy has featured every year at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festivals since its beginnings. He performed his many Cork ballads and folks songs to an appreciative audience of locals and visitors to the festival.
His collaboration with Eve Telford has now added a wider international and reflective dimension to their vast repertoire of songs and stories. Alongside the new material, the concert will feature some of Jimmy’s most popular ballads also. This is one of the musical highlights of the festival.
Photo: William Hammond, Jimmy Crowley, Eve Telford and Richard T. Cooke.
2:30 p.m. Dance Cork Firkin Crane.
Mick Lynch
Former General Secretary of the RMT Trade Union.
Mick Lynch returns to the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival after his previous visit in 2023. His father, Jackie Lynch emigrated from Warren’s Lane off the Bandon Road to London at the beginning of the Second World War. Mick’s mother was Ellen “Nellie” Morris, who left Crossmaglen in South Armagh to go to London during the Blitz.
Mick Lynch with Joan Goggin (Mother Jones) in 2023,
Mick recently retired as General Secretary from the Rail Maritime & Transport Workers Union RMT after four years. An electrician Mick had joined the union in 1993 and served in a range of positions. He became the public face of the trade union fight in Britain for fair wages and work conditions as a result of his reasonable and cogent defence of union workers in the media. You can listen to his interview with Emma Bowell during his last visit to this festival.
4:00 p.m. Dance Cork Firkin Crane.
President Cecil E. Roberts of the United Mine Workers Union of America (UMWA) (By ZOOM)
The United Mine Workers Union of America was founded in 1890. It is a legendary union having participated in all the key union battles in America during its 135 year long history. The union under John Mitchel employed Mother Jones as a union organiser in 1890, one of the very first women organisers where the Cork woman’s fearsome reputation for organising workers was born. The union is led today by President Cecil Roberts who was elected in 1995 and who has served as President for 30 years. He has announced that he retire in October. We are honoured that President Roberts will join us by Zoom to discuss his life and career in the union and his family connections with Mother Jones. President Roberts is the great grandson of Sarah Blizzard a friend of Mother Jones and a grand nephew of Bill Blizzard, the union leader involved in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921.
President Cecil E. Roberts of the United Mineworkers of America. (Courtesy of UMWA)
Note: We wish to record our thanks to James Goltz of Mt Olive for his assistance in establishing this connection with the UMWA.
Friday 25th July at 6.30pm. At the Shandon Plaza.
The Mexican Community Choir.
Cecila Gamez and her dancers representing the Mexican Community in Cork will perform close by the Dance Cork Firkin Crane on Friday evening. Their performance in traditional attire along with striking sombreros will add a riot of colour to the festival and will honour the connections Mother Jones made with the Mexican revolutionaries in the early 1900. Mother Jones campaigned for the release of many of the Mexican leaders who were imprisoned in the US and was honoured as Madre Juanita in Mexico in 1921.
Members of the Mexican Community Choir. Photo: Claire Stack.
7:00 p.m. Dance Cork Firkin Crane
James Connolly
A documentary by Alan Gilsenan
Presented by Ethel Buckley, Assistant General Secretary of SIPTU
About Yellow Asylum Films, Alan Gilsenan’s production company:
They have just completed a feature documentary, We Only Want The Earth. The film aims to reclaim James Connolly’s story as well as invoking his important social vision – with a clear eye on how it resonates in our contemporary time – an era when even democracy itself appears under threat.
Panel discussion afterwards.
9:30 p.m. Maldron Hotel, Shandon
John Nyhan and friends.
John Nyhan is well known in Cork music circles and has spent a lifetime bringing music and songs to all corners of Cork and beyond. He has played at every Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and his Friday night at this festival has been a highlight for many years. His versatile guitar playing and his vast repertoire of songs of all genres makes him a fountain of knowledge and experience. Many people will recall his concerts with North Cork folk singing legend Mick Treacy where they sang the songs of Pete Seeger, Joe Hill, Woodie Guthrie and Ewan MacColl. His son Gearoid will accompany him.
John Nyhan. Photo: Claire Stack.
Introducing union singer George Mann.
George is a former union organiser and now a singer of American Labour songs. Based in Ithaca, New York, he is interested in labour and working class history and sings the songs of the labour and social justice movements of the 20th Century. George tours widely and performs at hundreds of concerts each year’.
George Mann. Photo by Frank Maldon.
In 2016, he produced “Until You Come Home: Songs to Heal the Wounds of War,” a CD focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder and the human cost of war. The CD features songs by such artists as Utah Phillips and Ani DiFranco, Magpie, Roy Zimmerman, Joe Crookston, Joe Jencks, and John Gorka.
George released his CD “This Chain” in October 2023, and in September 2024 he released a CD of Si Kahn’s songs, “Labor Day,” to honour Si on his 80th birthday. Si featured at the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival in 2014 where he sang alongside the late Anne Feeney. He is producing a new album with Mick Coates for September 2025 release, “Ghosts of the Old West,” and will be featuring songs from this album on his 2025 tours. George will play at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival (UK) and Spirit of Mother Jones Festival (Cork, Ireland) in July and will then tour Australia starting in October, including the 50th anniversary of the Maldon Folk Festival.
This documentary film tells the story of Mary Harris (1837 – 1930) from Cork who went on to become known as “the most dangerous woman in America”. Beginning with her early years in Cork, the documentary goes on to detail her life in America following the famine, her marriage to George Jones and the birth of her four children.
It describes the awful tragedies which befell her. Her growing involvement in the labour movement in America, defending the rights of children and workers is documented. Through interviews with leading experts on Mother Jones, we learn of her fearless and tireless campaign to organise workers at a time of severe labour strife and her international legacy today.
Produced by Frameworks Films and the Cork Mother Jones Committee in 2014.
Runtime is 52 minutes.
11:00 a.m. Maldron Hotel.
David Carroll.
Anti-Racist Workplaces project coordinator of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
This project is developing training, capacity building and research to support the fight against Racism at every level of the workplace and union activity across the island of Ireland. It also aims to highlight the invaluable contributions made to Ireland’s workforce by migrant workers across the island.
12:00 noon Maldron Hotel
Raghad Abu-Shamala
“Education in Palestine under Occupation: Human rights violations and aspirations.
Raghad is a Palestinian PhD candidate at UCD specializing in children’s rights in education. Growing up under occupation did not limit her dreams but broadened her horizons. At the age of 14, she was awarded a recognition certificate for achieving the highest results in Human Rights examinations in her school by UNRWA. Join us to learn more about education under occupation, human rights violations and aspirations, as well as the impact of these factors on embracing your identity.
1:00 p.m. Maldron Hotel
Official Opening of the 2025 festival by the Lord Mayor of Cork,
Cllr: Fergal Dennehy.
Songs from ChoirKalyna.
Attendance by Cobh Animation.
Presentation of the Spirit of Mother Jones Award 2025.
Photo: Courtesy of Claire Stack.
2:15 p.m. Maldron Hotel.
Blanca Rice
“From Fermoy to Latin America: The Human Rights Legacy of Patrick Rice”
“On the night of October 11th 1976, Patrick and Fatima, were walking together having finished their social work at a local church in Buenos Aires City, when they were suddenly kidnapped by the Argentinean police, thrusting them into a nightmare of torture and disappearance that seemed to have no end.
But, even in the darkest moments, hope and solidarity shone through. A courageous network of Buenos Aires locals risked their lives to save them, while an entire town like Fermoy, along with Patrick’s family, united in a relentless call for their freedom. Thanks to the pressure put on the Irish government by the campaign in Fermoy, the Irish Embassy in Argentina tirelessly sought Patrick’s release, and an international campaign was launched demanding his freedom.
Through these never ending weeks for family and friends, over one hundred letters were sent to the Irish Embassy in Argentina and to Patrick’s family home, expressing empathy and support.
Patrick emerged as a survivor, dedicating his life to sharing his story and advocating for human rights. Eight years later, when Democracy returned to Argentina, Patrick and Fátima were reunited. Their bond, forged in adversity, blossomed into love and they built a family together: Carlos, Amy and me.”
Note:On March 24th 1976 an Argentine military junta overthrew the government of President Isabel Peron. Thousands of trade unionists, human rights activists and students were arrested, many were tortured and thousands murdered and disappeared over the next seven years. Fr. Pat Rice survived to tell the story of what took place.
Pat Rice in Washington courtesy of Blanca Rice
4:00 p.m. Dance Cork Firkin Crane.
Jilan Wahba Abdalmajiid
A talk by the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland.
Followed immediately at 5pm by:
“Gaza Monologues”
Theatrical Performance produced by Ashtar Theatre, Ramallah. Directed by Naser Al-Swirki
Ashtar Theatre, Palestine, produced the Gaza Monologues with young adults in 2009 and since then, the monologues have toured the world. They were updated by the former group in 2024.
Naser Al-Swirki from Gaza will direct the monologues with actors, musicians and community members from Skibbereen and Cork.
Among those taking part are Siobhan McSweeney, Maeve Higgins, Gerry Kelly, Katrina O’Kane, Aine O’Gorman, Moze Jacobs, Thaddeus O’Buachalla, Clionadh O’Keefe, Trish Lavelle, Tina Neylon, leen MA’rouf, Noor Abbas, Douglas Henderson and Noel O’Callaghan.
Photos courtesy of Gaza Monologues.
7:00 p.m. Dance Cork Firkin Theatre.
Petra Kelly – Act Now!
A documentary by Doris Metz.
Petra Kelly co-founded the German Green Party, Die Grunen in 1979. At one stage in the 1980s it provided the political inspiration for the environmental movement which had developed from the international anti-nuclear mobilisation of the 1970s. Born Petra Karin Lehmann in Bavaria in 1947 she was educated in Germany and later in America, where she was deeply influenced by Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. After returning to Germany she campaigned relentlessly across Europe for political and social change which would protect the environment, ban uranium mining, support nuclear disarmament, defend human rights and work across the iron curtain for the peace movements.
This documentary from Doris Metz also reveals the human side of Petra Kelly as told by her friends and political colleagues and contains much unseen material. Petra was an extraordinary person who became the environmental spokesperson for green politics. Her campaigns remain as relevant today as a new generation of scientists and activists warn of rising temperatures, accelerating climate change and the use of nuclear weapons.
This film is essential viewing for anyone concerned about these issues. The tragedy of her murder deprived the environmental movement of a recognised leader and silenced a passionate voice.
Runtime: 104 minutes.
Petra visited Cork and attended Carnsore Point anti-nuclear festivals.
We hope to have a discussion about the legacy of Petra Kelly.
9:30 p.m. Maldron Hotel Bar.
Cork Singers’ Club.
Photo courtesy of William Hammond.
This unique club of unaccompanied singers has performed at the opening night of the festival since the festival began in 2012 so after our opening days events are complete, why not come along and participate or simple enjoy the night with Jim Walsh as Fear an Ti. The singers night will perform songs about trade unions, workers’ lives, social justice, human rights, life itself and many other topics. Singers are welcome to participate and if anyone wishes to contribute a song, just put your name down on the list.
The Cork Singers’ Club holds regular sessions at the Spailpín Fánach Bar on South Main Street on Sunday nights and is an essential visit for anyone with an interest in singing and to hear the songs of the people of Cork.
In what must rank as one of the most exciting exhibitions of dancing and singing ever seen at the festival, Kalyna Choir and the Mexican Community dancers combined to produce a riot of colour, sound and joy to celebrate the official Launch of the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival at the Maldron Hotel Shandon.
Earlier the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Fergus Dennehy presided at the formal launch of the fourteenth festival.
After being escorted to the stage by his neighbour Joan Goggin as Mother Jones, the Lord Mayor described the forthcoming festival as a “festival of courage” and ‘while Mother Jones was a powerful voice for justice and workers solidarity, the fight for justice goes on and the forthcoming international festival helps to highlight the spirit of Cork born Mother Jones who fought all her life for social justice. He added that we are not just commemorating history, but we want to rekindle the flame of activism that Mother Jones lit over a century ago. Its the flame that still burns in every worker who looks for fair wages and in every child who dreams of a future which is free from exploitation.”
Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy with Lady Mayoress, Karen Brennan and members of the Cork Mother Jones Committee.
Ann Piggott presents a photograph of Mother Jones to Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy, and Lady Mayoress, Karen Brennan.
Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Fergal Dennehy and his guitar.
Cork Mother Jones Committee member Ann Piggott in introducing the Lord Mayor referred to the loss of committee member Richard T Cooke, who had introduced previous Lord Mayors. She praised all his community work and his work to promote the spirit of Mother Jones across Cork city. A minute’s silence was held in Richards’ honour.
Ann also mentioned the late Joe Sheehan whose anniversary is today and John Jefferies who had also contributed so much to various festivals.
The Lord Mayor described Richard T Cooke as “a man of remarkable talent who brought people together and his legacy will live on in the communities across Cork which benefited from his great work and talents.”
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with the ladies of the Cobh Animation Team. Photo courtesy of Claire Stack.Joan, Eadaoin and Aoife Goggin.
Choir Kalyna in their native costumes then sang a number of Ukrainian songs especially poignant as their country was under serious bombing attack overnight. The Mexican Community Choir in their native clothes and wide sombreros added to the occasion. The ladies from Cobh Animation further adorned the occasion.
Joan Goggin then sang, “The Half Door”, John Nyhan added “This Land is Your Land” while the Lord Mayor with guitar in hand rounded off a spectacular launch to what promises to be a very interesting 2025 festival with “Folsom Prison Blues” and Cork’s own Jimmy McCarthy’s “Ride On’. Our thanks to the staff and management of the Maldron Hotel and to all who contributed to what was an inspiring occasion.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Fergal Dennehy sings Folsom Prison Blues.Johnny NyhanJoan Goggin
The 14th Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School will be formally launched by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Fergal Dennehy on Friday 4th July at 1:00 pm at the Maldron Hotel in Shandon.
We look forward to welcoming the wonderful Choir Kalyna as they perform songs from their homeland to this event.
We are all looking forward to an exciting international festival beginning in just three weeks time on Thursday 24th and continuing to Saturday 26th.
It is packed with talks, walks, songs, music and theater all to celebrate the inspirational spirit of Mother Jones. All are welcome.
Festival programmes are available in the local libraries and many shops around Cork.
The festival will be held in and around the Shandon Historic Quarter from Thursday, July 24th, until Saturday, July 26th, 2025, inclusive. It will be organised by the Cork Mother Jones Committee 2025, an independent, voluntary, community-based committee. The festival is dedicated to the memory of Mary Harris/Mother Jones and to inspirational people everywhere who fight for social justice, workers’ rights, and human rights. This festival celebrates her spirit.
The festival and summer school will consist of talks, discussions, songs, music, films and documentaries. We hope to make them interesting, challenging and relevant.
The venues are Dance Cork Firkin Crane and Maldron Hotel, Shandon and both venues are very close to each other on John Redmond Street, which is itself about 5 minutes walk from the Cork Opera House and Christy Ring Bridge.
All are welcome to attend the 2025 Spirit of Mother Jones Festival and Summer School. The events are informal and free, thanks to the support of the trade union movement, the Cork City Council, Cathedral Credit Union and local businesses. Attendance at each event is on a first-come, first-seated basis, so booking is unnecessary.
United States senator Bernie Sanders and Jane O’Meara Sanders arrived on Shandon Street to huge applause today.
Waiting for Bernie on Shandon Street. J. Nolan.
Bernie and Jane were paying a courtesy call to the Spirit of Mother Jones HQ on Shandon Street where they met members of the Cork Mother Jones Committee and friends of our festival. James and Marie Nolan welcomed our American guests to their local butcher shop which has been on the street since the 1800s and has served as the gathering point for planning the festival which has been held annually since 2012. James is one of the founder members of the Spirit of Mother Jones Festival.
Left to Right: James Nolan, Jane O’Meara Sanders, Senator Bernie Sanders and Marie Nolan. Photo (Mary Dineen).
Bernie stepped inside the counter and admitted that this was a first for him in his career as the longest serving Independent senator in United States congressional history. He examined a wide selection of Cork products and checked out the local bodice.
Is that enough bodice for your tea? Photo: Angela Flynn.
Cork Mother Jones Committee member Ann Piggott then proceeded to make a number of presentations to the Sanders family. Among the items was a copy of the Frameworks Films produced Mother Jones and Her Children, a festival poster and Elliott J. Gorn’s biography of Mother Jones.
In addition Ann produced some Cork treats of a bottle of Tanora, chester cakes (donkeys gudge) and some Tayto crisps, as a symbol of a special Cork welcome which she presented to the Sanders and were very appreciated by Bernie and Jane.
Bernie with Mother Jones Committee at presentation. Photo (Mary Dineen).
During a brief account of the extraordinary and long life of Mother Jones by committee member Ger O’Mahony, a number of interesting connections between Bernie and the Mother Jones family were revealed. Back in May 26th 2015 Bernie Sanders made his formal announcement that he was running for president of the United States on the waterfront park on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont which he had helped to create while he was the proud Mayor first elected in 1981 of his hometown. He was re-elected three times during his tenure and served until 1989 after which he was elected to Congress.
Exactly a decade after announcing his presidential run, almost to the day (27th May 2025), Bernie Sanders was standing in Shandon, the home of Mother Jones.
Amazingly it was from here in Shandon in the heart of Cork City that Richard Harris and his son Richard junior, the father and brother of Mary Harris (Mother Jones) left to go to Canada on the infamous coffin ships in the late 1840s, probably during “Black 47”. According to author Elliott Gorn, the Harris men first appeared in the 1850 US census as living in Vermont in Bernie’s own town Burlington. Boarding with a local family, they were described as Illiterate and propertyless. In an era of fluid borders, the Harris’s had initially travelled into the United States to Burlington just over the border from Canada where they spent some time after emigrating from Cork .
By the time Richard’s wife Ellen Harris along with the remaining family members including Mary arrived from Ireland in the early 1850s, the Harris family had left Burlington and moved back to Canada to Bathurst Street in Toronto, where young Mary Harris grew up and was educated.
Jane and Bernie at the Mother Jones plaque for the first time. Photo (Angela Flynn).
Everyone then strolled through the ancient and historic streets of Shandon where a young Mary Harris may have walked to assemble at the plaque of Mother Jones erected in 2012 by the Cork Mother Jones Committee.
Jane and Bernie. The famous Shandon Bells can be seen in the background. Photo by Angela Flynn.
From underneath the plaque Bernie addressed the crowd,
” Now is the time to fight for the living. Seeing massive concentrations of wealth and power of a handful of multi-billionaires who literally want to control not just the United States but the entire world, who couldn’t care less about working people……they want it all”
“It is imperative that we stand together as what we see in the United States today will be in Europe and Ireland tomorrow”.
Bernie Sanders. Photo: Mary Dineen.
Calling for international solidarity he continued
“We must remember our common humanity, all the children of the world have a right to live, with food and with education, security and that we must strive for a world of peace and not war. There is an enormous amount of work in front of us, Let’s stand together and let’s do it.”
Jane added
“It’s wonderful to be here to commemorate Mother Jones. What she stood for in terms of workers rights in terms of protection of the children is very much in our feeling of what are the priorities of life. Thank you for welcoming us to Cork on such an auspicious occasion”
Committee member William Hammond then sang the ballad of Joe Hill and concluded with a rendering of Salonika to rapturous applause.
And the meeting concluded with the traditional whiskey toast at the Mother Jones plaque led by Bernie and Jane.
Toast to Mother Jones at the plaque. Bernie, Jane and members of the Cork Mother Jones Committee (Photo by Andrew Desmond).Bernie Sanders at the Mother Jones plaque. Photo: Angela Flynn.President Michael D. Higgins with US Senator, Bernie Sanders.Bernie and Jane with the local community Gardaí. Photo: Angela Flynn.
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival takes place from Thursday 24th July until Saturday 26th July 2025.
Full programme of events will be available on this site by mid June or thereabouts.
Recently a new marker was added to the story of Mother Jones at her burial place in Mt Olive Union Miners Cemetery in Illinois.
Dr Helaine Silverman of the Dept. of Anthropology at the University of Illinois unveiled a new marker at the location where Mother Jones was originally buried in December 1930.
Mt Oliver Marker, Dr Silverman (Photo by Whitney DeMartini).
Following her research the University of Illinois through its Mythis Mississippi Project which advocates the use of cultural heritage resources to assist community development erected the informative marker at the location with the support of the Mt Olive Perpetual Care Committee.
Original grave-site of Mother Jones. (Photo by Whitney DeMartini).Scott Thomas, President of the UMWA Local 1613 speaking in Mt Olive Cemetery at the unveiling of the marker.
The Cork Mother Jones Committee has written to Dr. Silverman to thank her for her efforts to promote Mother Jones as part of the Mythic Mississippi Project.
