Statistical Analysis of Protestant decline in Cork 1911-1926

The decline of the Protestant population in County Cork between 1911 and 1926- abstracts from the 1911 and 1926 census.

Introduction

In recent years a large volume of academic literature has been completed about the sudden decline of the Protestant population of County Cork from 35,038 to 20,628[1] between the last British census of 1911, and the first Saorstat Eireann census of 1926[2]. However, very little research has been completed that looks at the actual position on the ground before the decline, or the actual nature of the decline at local level. This brief article seeks to establish the precise nature of the Protestant population that lived in County Cork on the eve of independence, and the effect of this decline at a local level.

This research shows the detailed nature of the population in 1911, and analyses population movements between 1911 and 1926 at the District Electoral Division in West Cork, where it is claimed that an organised 'enforced exodus' of Protestants occurred during and after the War of Independence in 1921.

One fact leaps out of the analysis of the 1911 census. 19,918 Protestants were recorded as having been born in County Cork. This means that 11,351 (32.39%) Protestants were born outside County Cork, and the main purpose of this article is to discover who these people were. The research shows that there is evidence that a portion of the 1911 native Irish Protestant population migrated, but the vast majority of that population remained.

There is no doubt that the decline was dramatic as the population fell by 43%. However, one of the greatest difficulties in all the research has been establishing how much of this decline was as a result of the withdrawal of the major British army and naval bases from the county, and how much was as a result of other factors. The Irish census of 1926 suggested that the figure was 26,250 for the whole country including Army, Navy RIC and dependants[3], but there has never been proper analysis of the British government's departure and its effect on the emigration. The research proves for the first time that the majority of the population decline in County Cork was directly related to the large military bases in the county.

Methodology

This article seeks to establish a benchmark for any future discussion on the decline by returning to the core source in the 1911 census, and describing the exact nature of the population that was subjected to the upheavals of the First World War and the undoubted traumas of 1921. A detailed analysis can now be attempted with the recent publication of the census online by the National Archives of Ireland. The search engine allows cross tabulation between Religion, Place of Origin, Occupation, Marital Status, Age, and Sex meaning that highly detailed analysis of the data at townland level can be achieved. My own previous attempts to undertake such an analysis twenty five years ago foundered in the large dusty boxes of blue sheets that contained the manuscripts. The search engine reduces years of work to days, and will over time prove an invaluable tool allowing scholars to analyse pre-independence Irish society at a far deeper level than ever previously imagined. Using the extra options available in the search engine it is easy to select the various named religions from the drop-down menu. It is also easy to cross tabulate between country (and county) of origin, and townland to specifically discover the religions of the minority community as they stated themselves in the manuscript.

These results are presented in Table 1. It is also noteworthy that until now it was assumed that all Protestant Episcopalians were in effect Church of Ireland. The main culprits for this were the 1901 census commissioners who stated this in their General Report on page 6[4]. While it may have be true for Ireland, it was definitely not true for County Cork, or for other counties with large military bases such as Kildare.

It is also possible with a relatively small amount of tedium to abstract the origins of each of the religious groupings living in County Cork. Selected results for each grouping are presented in Table 2. Misspellings, minor religions, and atheists are all included under others in the online census, and this can lead to minor errors in some of the statistics.

Part 1

Cork's Protestant population in 1911

Table 1 shows that the majority of the Protestant population were Church of Ireland, but a substantial proportion were Church of England. Methodists were the next most populous community followed by Presbyterians, Baptists, and Quakers. The 62% of the population who were Church of Ireland were mostly Cork born natives as they say this in the 1911 Census on the household form.

21% of the population are recorded as Church of England, and Figure 1 shows the age structure of this group is heavily weighted in the 15-34 age groups. More detailed analysis shows that the Church of England are virtually all military connected, and the bizarre population pyramid for this group contrasts dramatically with the normal Church of Ireland pyramid (See Pyramids elsewhere on this site). Analysis of the Church of England female population shows that most were the wives and children of English and Scottish soldiers living inside or outside the various military barracks, or the families of Government officials. A sample of 50 of these Church of England wives in Cork No. 3 DED shows that 37 were military or government, and many were officers or senior NCO wives. In contrast the Church of Ireland pyramid is beginning to take on a modern profile, which either means the community was using some form of birth control or Ne Temere was having a very early effect. Logic suggests that family planning is partially the cause.

Table 2 shows the breakdown of each of the groups, and immediately it becomes clear that the various communities are quite diverse. Those who declared themselves to be Church of Ireland include 2055 people born outside Ireland. However, the other denominations are the most interesting, and these deserve some detailed analysis.

7,327 people returned their religion as being Church of England in the 1911 online census, and as they were given the option on the census form to choose Church of Ireland (or Irish Church) then it is reasonable to assume that they were in fact English, and household forms generally show place of origin as non-national. Analysis of the 533 members of the Church of England who were born in Cork shows that most are children of British Army soldiers in the barracks who are living either in army accommodation or next to the barracks.

In Fermoy, for example, 1746 people are recorded as living in the military camps, and of these 1317 are recorded as Church of England. The Fermoy enumerator is particularly careful to enumerate the various groups living in the barracks, and Table 3 shows the figures for New Barracks. As can be seen 644 English soldiers and their families occupied the barracks with a dependency ratio of 11:2. This suggests each 1,000 soldiers would generate 180 dependants.

Table 4 shows that the pattern is similar in Old Barracks. These figures exclude the members of the military living outside the walls of the barracks on Barrack Hill, New Barrack Lane, and in Abercrombie Place for example.

Simply adding the two barracks figures together and excluding both Roman Catholics and Church of Ireland leaves the non Irish Protestant figure at 1420 in the Barracks out of a total for the town of 2001. Many of these 561 people in the town were soldiers living outside the barracks in family accommodation, or in the Military Hospital.. Fermoy had lost 94% of its Protestant population in 1926, and these figures show precisely why. Equally, it would be more than surprising if the members of the Highland Light Infantry and their families in Victoria (Collins) Barracks in Cork who alone boosted Presbyterian numbers in Cork County by 345 (17%), had remained by 1926.

Table 6 sets out the religions of the military in the main army and naval bases, and this generally excludes family members. As can be seen the Royal Navy was far more balanced between Roman Catholics and Protestants than the Army, and given the origin of the regiments it is hardly surprising. However, it does point out how much Cork was occupied by a foreign army in this period. This excludes the average 952 people of all religions working in the Dockyards, which generated a payroll of ₤54,450 per annum[6] Previous research suggests that one manufacturing job creates at least five other down-stream jobs, which shows the Naval Dockyard had a huge influence in the town of Queenstown, which had a total population of 11,707 in 1911.

Incidentally, many of the crew of HMS Hood were ashore in Ballyvoloon townland, Queenstown No. 2 DED with their families on census night. Given that the Hood was the guard ship for the Harbour stationed at Spike (fifteen minutes by ferry) it suggests a somewhat relaxed attitude to security at the time. Table 6 does not include some of the more minor army bases, nor soldiers living outside the barracks. Members of the mostly Roman Catholic RIC, and members of the substantially Protestant coastguard are also excluded as the figures for both groups are under 200 excluding families.

Part 2

General Reasons for the decline

Military and other government emigration

It is clear from the evidence presented in part 1 that there was a substantial non-native Protestant population in County Cork as recorded in the 1911 census, and most of these migrated as they were employed by the British Government. This is not new information, but the size of the population was dramatically greater than previously assumed. Analysing Table 2 and abstracting only those Protestants born outside Ireland who were not members of the Church of Ireland brings the figure to 8,416. This excludes the 2055 Church of Ireland born outside Ireland, and the 533 members of the Church of England born in County Cork. The figure therefore can be argued as high as 10,734 (74%), and of course could be lower. 8,416 is a conservative estimate but even this figure is 56% of the total decline.

Looking at this from another set of statistics there were 5014[7] active Protestant military recorded in Cork City and County, and 114 Protestant military pensioners. If these generated the same level of dependents as the 1926 Central Statistics Office analysis for the military in Dublin then this would imply a military community of 7,025. If on the other hand the dependents are closer to the Fermoy ratio of 11:2 then the community figure would be 6060. Somewhere under 700 remained in the Treaty forts so if this is subtracted the lowest possible figure would be 5360 or 36% of the decline. In reality this figure is far too low, but it is important to show how easy it is to manipulate the figures between 74% and 36%, if the researcher is so minded to do.

As well as the pure military there were an average 950 men working in the Naval Dockyards at Haulbowline.[8], and when these were taken over by the Free State in 1923 they were promptly closed by the British. The 200 apprentices in the Haulbowline yard were re-located to Plymouth in January 1922, but there is no religious breakdown for them. The effect of the dockyards closure was raised in the Dail by Richard Anthony in July 1927, and even allowing for the political hyperbole it is pointed out that people who had been earning substantial income were now destitute. It is also notable that Jasper Wolfe-West Cork Protestant, former Crown prosecuting solicitor and IRA target during the War of Independence-intervenes in the debate to push the interests of his West Cork constituency in a speech that exemplifies in its ordinariness how much the country had settled in the four years from 1923[9].

World War 1 deaths

387 soldiers from the Church of Ireland United Diocese of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross are commemorated on a memorial in St. Finbarries Cathedral in Cork City. These are the fallen of World War 1, and this is the only hard information available on the effect that the war had on the Church of Ireland. The Methodist Memorial in their church in Ardfallan, Douglas, Cork records 24 deaths. However, it is safe to assume that the casualties came close to 450 given the Church of Ireland losses and Methodist losses. This represents 2.6% of the decline. How many migrated in connection with the war and did not return may again become obvious when the 1926 manuscript appears.

War of Independence and Civil War

Kevin Myers has stated that the number of Protestants assassinated in Cork during the War of Independence was 73 by 1921. He also states that 85 civilians were killed or disappeared in 1921-1922, but doesn't denominate the victims. There was no reason to disbelieve this figure and it represents 0.6% of the 1911 population, which is individually appalling but not statistically significant. As it turns out this was a significant over-estimate. The total number of Protestants killed in Cork was 53 with killed or disappeared by the IRA. The rest were accidental, crossfire, shot by the British or others. Once again the need to double check contentious claims is obvious.

Land Hunger

According to historian Patrick Maume, land purchase rates were highest in County Cork. Therefore, aside from anything else it would be expected that after the 1903 Land Purchase Act a substantial reduction in the number of Protestant farmers would have occurred between 1911 and 1926. In 1911, the number of Roman Catholic farmers in Cork City and County was 24,159. This fell to 22,001 in 1926, a drop of 9% which is about the expected economic decline figure. The Protestant figures increased from 1568 to 1572, or by .1% which is totally at variance with the overall decline. Therefore these factors must be dismissed as a cause of the decline.

However, the process of land purchase had a marked effect on the Protestant population. In 1884 127 mostly Protestant (3 were Roman Catholic) landholders were recorded as owning 796,000 acres of Cork between them[10]. This number had fallen to 82 in 1911, and many of the estate houses were rented according to the Moore Landed Estates database operated by NUIG. 704 Protestants were associated with the demesnes in 1911, As many 'Big Houses' were burned out during the War of Independence, and more often the Civil War to prevent their occupation by Free State forces, it is reasonable that many of the gentry would have left their homes by 1926. While this may have been traumatic for the family, the staff would have been unemployed and forced to leave with their families.

1919 Influenza Epidemic

The influenza epidemic of 1919 must be considered. Evidence from an extraordinarily detailed report for England and Wales shows that the epidemic caused more deaths in urban areas rather than rural areas with an extreme 10% of the population (mostly young adults) succumbing in some towns. The British Government somehow managed to collect figures for 1919 in Ireland and this shows 20,000 people died from the infection while around 10,000 died from related diseases. Locally this would translate into 256 Protestant people.

Economic Decline

If the Protestant population declined at the same rate as the Roman Catholic population in County Cork over the 15 years then it would have dropped by 1051. However the Cork born Protestant population dropped from 21957 to 19066 a percentage decline of 13.16% between 1901 and 1911, a fact disguised by an increase in the Church of England and Scottish Presbyterian populations (all military) of 1,148. This means that the Cork Protestant population decline had already diverged from the Roman Catholic decline by 1911. This requires the history of this period to be reviewed, as it shows that there were already forces driving Protestant decline before any of the troubles of the second decade of the 20^th century began.

Enforced native Protestant exodus

Much has been written about the thesis of the late Peter Hart that there was a sectarian campaign in West Cork based on his own research, and yet nowhere in that controversy was their anything other than passing mention of the actual position on the ground in 1911. This lack of statistical analysis is all the more surprising as arguments are being put forward based on misleading statistical information on both sides.

Hart and Eoghan Harris have been accused of arguing from the particular to the general in their analysis, and both point to the 43% decline of the Protestant population of County Cork at various stages as an example of ethnic cleansing or 'enforced exodus' (The Cedar Lounge Revolution, 2009). The Aubane Historical Society (2011) provides a useful resource on the topic while taking an opposite view-point in the debate. It is premature to comment on that controversy which centres around Hart's contention that it was an organised event, but the evidence from the 1911 and 1926 census data shows that there is a small unexplained Protestant movement from County Cork in the period.

In those areas where the most serious incidents occurred the evidence of pogrom is patchy with some areas unexpectedly declining, and areas where collapse was expected not showing any signs of the disaster that visited other parishes. There is evidence that Hart's use of the sources is at times poor. It is also a fact that Harris overstates the case with his claims for the size of the 'enforced exodus', but it is also true that the murder of Protestant loyalists did cause a significant but not substantial migration of this community from parts of West Cork. In fact, much of the evidence on both sides of the argument is not contradictory as it is clear that there was a lot less movement the farther from Ballineen you got. Thus Bantry Protestants could write in the Irish Times that they felt no sense of intimidation, and Bantry Protestants were also murdered. Equally, the Protestant churches of Schull stated that there had been no attacks during either the War of Independence or after on their communities two days after the killings in Dunmanway/Ballineen, yet Schull Rural District lost 32% of its Protestant population in the 15 year period.

Analysis of the decline at District Electoral Division level will provide much for those who are opposed to Hart's thesis to ponder. Whether, the Dunmanway killings were the rampage of an out of control active service unit, or the carefully crafted assassinations of staunch loyalist informers is irrelevant to the fact that it contributed to the departure of a sizeable portion of the Protestant minority from the area. The truth appears to lie halfway between the two opposing theses, but the 1926 census clearly shows some of the effects.

Local examples based around the April 1922 shootings.

Ballygroman: Michael O Neill (IRA), Thomas and Samuel Hornibrook and Herbert Woods, their son-in-law’s nephew, were the first killed on 26th April 1922[11]. This is one of the wealthiest parts of County Cork, though Ballygroman itself is on the poor hillside rather than the limestone valley floors. There was a small, wealthy, Church of Ireland community mostly intermarried between the Reid, and Hawkes families who owned seven estate houses within sight of each other in the Bride valley. In 1911 Charles W. Ashe was recorded at Garryhesta with 7 in the family, and by 1914 he is recorded in Guy's Directory in North Square Macroom. Two were the Hornibrook family, and two were ex-military probably working for the Hornibrooks. Many of the community remained in place despite the fact that their fellow parishioners had been apparently savagely murdered less than a mile from their home. The 1933 economic war and the lack of male (or any) children in the last generation to work the large farms had as much influence on the decision to sell as the slaughter of the Hornibrooks. The Grange family moved to their other house in Bishopstown, while the Hawkes of Bridepark continued in residence until the 1950's when they too died out.

Dunmanway: The CSO stated in 1926 that the town population was not recorded in the Munster volume of the 1911 census[12]. This is true but as it turns out the town population is recorded in the General Report, a statistic that has only very recently become readily available through Histpop.org.[13] The town's Protestant population was 236 in 1911, and fell to 129 in 1926, a drop of 45%. This contrasts with a 3% increase in the Roman Catholic population This suggests that approximately 20 Protestant families who occupied the town in 1911 were no longer there 15 years later. Some are known to have emigrated as a result of the War of Independence and Civil War. Oddly the town decline means that the rest of Dunmanway North and South DEDS declined by a tiny 7 Protestants. Once the 1926 manuscript is released online, historians will be able to make direct factual comparisons between the population of 1911 and 1926 in these townlands. It is premature to speculate at this time on the population dynamics of the area in what was a particularly brutal time in Irish history. However there are hints in the collapse of the Castletown-Kinneigh-Ballinen area to the east.

Castletown-Kinneigh-Ballineen: This area just to the east of Dunmanway was the actual centre of the killings. All of these areas are within five km of each other, and there was a relatively small Church of Ireland community here in 1911. John Chinnery was a relative and neighbour of Robert Howe, and there are suggestions that their assailants on the night of the 'Dunmanway killings' were looking to steal a horse. The alternative view is that this was just a ruse to get them out of the house to be shot. There is no real evidence either way other than hearsay from Hart which shouldn't be doubted but is difficult to prove.

However, it is in this area of the Bandon valley that the Protestant population decreased most significantly. It will be here that most research should focus once the release of the 1926 census occurs. It is significant that the Protestant population of Ballygurteen 5km south-west of Ballineen drops from 61 in 1911 to 46 (25%) in 1926. Ballymoney DED (including Ballineen) dropped from 147 to 113 (19%), which suggests flight rather than any other cause as there is no other outside influence such as an army barracks. Likewise, Kinneigh dropped from 42 to 19. Castletown, where John Chinnery lived, decreased from 90 to 71, (24%). Yet, in Teadies DED (Enniskeane), separated from Ballineen by a churchyard, the population dropped from 174 to 145 (17%) which is relatively low considering it is in the centre of the shootings, including as it does Killowen the home of John Bradfield who was the last shot on April 29th .

Clonakilty: Robert Nagle was 16 when he was shot. In 1911 he was the second youngest of 9 children (all boys) living in House 38 on Barrack Street in Clonakilty. Clonakilty Urban lost 124 of its 276 Protestants in the 15 years, and this will again be a key area for analysis when the 1926 census is available. What is surprising is that if there was a policy of organised pogrom, that the killers stopped at one out of ten adult males in a house, given the possibility of revenge by the dead youth's brothers. Why is he the only Protestant shot in the town?

Bandon: Inishannon to the east of Bandon witnessed a dramatic drop from 245 to 87. The 1911 returns show 97 people were either military, police, government, or staff working for the estate houses in the area. The shooting by the IRA of Warren Peacock, and Fred Stenning; two attacks on the RIC barracks; the Upton ambush involving the deaths of eight innocent civilians who got caught in the crossfire; and the burning of seven estate houses in the parish—all occurred in the parish. The five Olliffe children emigrated to the United States in two groups between August 1921 and November 1922. Between 1926 and 1936 the population rose to 101 Protestants. What is also noticeable is that the entire population of the DED fell from 817 in 1911 to 650 in 1926. Therefore, while the Protestant population fell by 158 nobody seems to have replaced them in the empty houses as the entire population fell by 167. Bandon towns Protestant population fell from 677 to 375 or a drop of 302. The total population of the town fell by 303, which again suggests that even though there is Protestant migration they were not replaced by anyone else.

Other factors also played a role in the losses in Bandon. 67 people were directly connected with the British Military Barracks in the town, and would have left automatically in 1922. The Allman Distillery in the town, which was a major Protestant employer closed in 1925. The distillery's concentration on the American market proved its downfall with the introduction of Prohibition in 1919. The effect of the closure on top of the burning of the hosiery factory in the town in 1920 by the Black and Tans, and the burning of the Allin Institute in 1921 by the IRA is not quantifiable in the census and will require further research by analysis of the census, county directory and relevant voters lists before and after the War of Independence. While these will not produce a perfect result they may point to those families who were no longer living in the town at the end of the period.

In the context of the controversy the kidnapped Earl of Bandon, a Peer of the Realm-and as 'legitimate' a target as could be found-was to be shot in June 1921 in retaliation for the killing of IRA Commander Sean Murphy. He was saved by the intervention of Republican judge Denis O Driscoll who stated that the Earl had saved the town from burning by the British Military, and that he could not have ordered the Murphy killing. He was released at the truce in July 1921, and lived on until 1925. His home at Castle Bernard was not so lucky, and was burned to the ground when he was kidnapped. This also wiped out the jobs of his 33 Protestant and 7 Roman Catholic demesne staff.

Kinsale Rural District: Kinsale is 15 km South East of Bandon, and had a Protestant population of 2,190 in 1911, and this declined to 1,491 in 1926, a drop of 699. The vast majority of the decline is attributable to the British garrison in the town, and to the custom and excise being replaced by Irish Free State officials. Taking these specific factors into account the decline in the rural district was 92, which is less than the equivalent Roman Catholic decline for the area during the period. This suggests that native Protestants were moving into the area during this period rather than out. Why Kinsale should feel so secure, and their neighbours to the north did not merits detailed analysis once the 1926 census is released.

Conclusion

It is now possible from the abstracts of the 1911 census to begin to re-construct the Protestant decline in County Cork over the period of independence. Of the 35,000 people who identified themselves as Protestant in the 1911 census somewhere in the region of 8,000 to 9,000 considered themselves English. Most of these were either military or their families, and their connection was always with Britain rather than Ireland. At independence, they left as that was where their careers took them. Figure 8 sets out the best estimates for the population loss by group. While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the figures each of the figures it is wise to suggest a tolerance of +/- 3%.

It is clear that a minority of Protestants living in West Cork left the area between 1911 and 1926. While, there is no evidence of an organised 'pogrom'. R.B. Mc Dowell's explanation that 'the Protestant was often a unionist: where a unionist was often a rara avis' may explain the pressure felt by those who left. However, it is also clear that the Protestant population had declined by 3,500 Protestants out of 12,200 in West Cork by 1926. Some economically migrated, some were connected with the British withdrawal (1045), some left as a result of the Land Acts, some may have joined the British Army in the war and not returned, and some definitely left as a result of the War of Independence. What cannot be ascertained using this methodology is the precise amount.

The evidence proves that this was also a very urban population loss as opposed to the suggestions that it was connected with land hunger. This urban population is very much connected with the British administration of the country. The evidence from the census material of an increase in Protestant farmers suggests that those who had apparently most to lose and the least protection were the people who stayed. Given that Cork was very much the focus of both the IRA campaign and the Black and Tan counter-campaign the most surprising fact is not the number of Protestants who left, but the number who remained. If there was a campaign of what might be called 'ethnic cleansing' then why did so many of the people that this was directed against stay. Also it should be noted that in thirty five of the DED's that recorded a decline in 1926 the population increased in 1936. Many of these are in Schull, Bantry, and Skibbereen suggesting that many of those who left between 1911 and 1926 had returned by 1936, (C.S.0., 1936).

The evidence from the census material should lead scholars to reassess their arguments, and allow a true history of the period to be written mindful of:

ñ The slaughter of the Great War,

ñ The savagery of the War of Independence

ñ The tragedy of Civil War

ñ The response of the Nationalist authorities to Protestant fears

ñ The fears of the minority,

ñ The withdrawal of the British administration from Cork.

This research outlines, at the most detailed available level, the Protestant community who lived in Cork during this time. It shows as far as is possible who left and their motives. It is possible that the research will be used or challenged by one other other side in the ongoing dispute, but it should be remembered that the figures presented are the best estimate of the elements of the decline and nothing more. In so far as they are of help in our understanding of our past then the research is worthwhile. If they identify further avenues of research then they are of value. It must always be remembered that until the manuscript of the 1926 census is made available the necessary cross-checking process to verify this analysis cannot be undertaken. However, given the level of detail available in the 1911 census it is possible that analysis of the 1926 census may not add much more to the figures, but hugely to the story.

The 1911 manuscript census will prove an invaluable tool for historians investigating anything from prison sentencing policy which can be abstracted from the prison returns, to the number of cowsheds in any given townland through the house and outbuilding reports, or land tenure examined from the enumerators abstract. It is a most powerful source, and in the same way that it has been able to provide information at a level of detail never considered possible before it should be a mandatory source for any analysis of the twentieth century in Ireland. If Dublin could be rebuilt from the works of Joyce, Ireland in 1911 can be rebuilt from this.

Finally, the volume of research that underpins this article inevitably means that one researcher working on their own may make mistakes. If anyone wishes to access this source material they can contact me, and I will forward it to them. The purpose of the article is to establish the facts, and anything that adds to that is to be welcomed.

Cork Protestant Population 1911 probable outcome 1926

References:

Aubane Historical Society (2011), www.aubanehistoricalsociety.org/troubled_history.pdf accessed 31 May 2011

Central Statistics Office (1926) Census of Population Vol. 3 Religion, http://www.cso.ie/census/census_1926_results/Volume3/C%2015%201926%20V3%20T12.pdf accessed 30 June 2011

Central Statistics Office (1936) Census of Population Vol. 3, Table 11 Religion,http://www.cso.ie/census/census_1936_results/Volume3/C%201936%20VOL%203%20Pt1%20T11.pdf accessed 30 June 2011

Hart, Peter (1998) The IRA and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916-23, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Keane Barry (1986) The Church of Ireland Population in County Cork, 1911-1926, Chimera, UCC Geographical Journal, No. 1 pp 51-59, Cork.

Maume Patrick (1999) The long Gestation, Irish Nationalist Life 1891-1918, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin P. 75.

Mc Mahon, I. (1983) A social geography of the Protestant Community in County Donegal, unpublished M.A. Dissertation, National University of Ireland, Dublin.

Myers Kevin (2010) The IRA campaign in Cork against Protestants and non-republicans was on a truly vast scale, Irish Independent http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-the-ira-campaign-in-cork-against-Protestants-and-nonrepublicans-was-on-a-truly-vast-scale-2417300.html accessed 30 June 2011

National Archives of Ireland (1911) Online Maunscript Census 1911, http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ accessed 30 June 2011.

The Cedar Lounge Revolution (2009) http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/corks-bloody-secret-a-small-dispute/ accessed 30 June 2011.

[1] The 1911 figure includes all Protestants, while the 1926 figure includes 360 Jews, and 1,000 other religions which are not itemised so the correct figure for the Protestant community in 1926 is probably just under 20,000.

[2] All Census data are abstracted from the published 1911 Census for County Cork available on Histpop.org, the published 1926 Census available on CSO.ie, the online 1901 & 1911 Census data available from the Irish National Archives.

[3] http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume10/C%201926%20V10%20Chapter%20IV.pdf This figure has been accepted without question since its publication in 1926, and creates the initial difficulty for scholars. If the military migration was only 25% of the total decline how are the other 75% to be explained without statistical evidence?

[4] See 1901 census, P. 6 General Report where they state that Protestant Episcopleans were 'practically the Church of Ireland' and carried over into the 1911 census. http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&ResourceType=Legislation&ResourceType=Essays&ResourceType=Registrar General&ResourceType=TNA&SearchTerms=general report census 1901&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=452&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=24.

[5] There are slight variations between the published 1911 census figures, and the online census. As I used the online census for this table then this is the figure that appears here. If scholars wish to examine the religious breakdown for other counties between C of I and other Protestant Episcopalians they will find this in the previously unavailable abstract on page 14 of the Preliminary Report http://histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&ResourceType=Legislation&ResourceType=Essays&ResourceType=Registrar General&ResourceType=TNA&SearchTerms=Census 1911 Ireland&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=454&tocstate=expandnew&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=14&zoom=5

[6] The British National Archives provides a currency conversion of the values of the Pound sterling between 2005 and any year from 1250. A pound in 1911 would buy ₤57.02 in 2005. ₤54,450 today would be worth ₤3,100,000 or €3,720,000 at current exchange rates.

[7] http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/TOC2?ResourceType=Census&ResourceType=Legislation&ResourceType=Essays&ResourceType=Registrar General&ResourceType=TNA&SearchTerms=Munster 1911&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=456&tocstate=expandall&tocseq=100&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&c=19147#100

[8] http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1914/apr/22/dockyards-men-employed#S5CV0061P0_19140422_CWA_14

[9] ORDUITHE AN LAE. ORDERS OF THE DAY. - VOTE 27—HAULBOWLINE DOCKYARD.

Wednesday, 6 July 1927 http://debates.oireachtas.ie/dail/1927/07/06/00023.asp

[10] An 1884 British survey of the top 100 ratepayers in each county available on Eppi-Dippam is a key source for this information. Hussey's volume on landholding published at the same time clarifies and amplifies the report. The 1911 position can be abstracted from the census.

[11] There is much confusion as to how Woods was related to the Hornibrooks. Alice Hodder was definite that he was their nephew in her letter to Lionel Curtis (Cabinet Secretary), and the 1911 Census shows him (aged 18) living with his uncle Edward Woods, and his aunt Matilda Warmington Woods (24) in Crosses Green Cork. This is correct as Matilda tells the Irish Grants Committee so in 1927. In 1901 Matilda W. Hornibrook (14) appears in the Hornibrook household return at Ballygroman Upper, and in 1901 Herbert Woods is living in York Street Rathmines (9) with the Woods family who had moved from Cork, and Bandon.

[12] See P. 26, Table 11, Vol. 3 Census 1926 http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume3/C%2014%201926%20V3%20T11.pdf.

[13] The religious denominations of the towns greater than 1,500 population are recorded on pp 222-223 Table 125 General Report http://www.histpop.org/ohpr/servlet/PageBrowser2?ResourceType=Census&ResourceType=Legislation&ResourceType=Essays&ResourceType=Registrar General&ResourceType=TNA&SearchTerms=census ireland 1911&simple=yes&path=Results&active=yes&treestate=expandnew&titlepos=0&mno=459&tocstate=expandnew&tocseq=25100&display=sections&display=tables&display=pagetitles&pageseq=first-nonblank