artillery

USS Wright (AV-1)

Type 38 75mm Field Gun, based on the Krup Model 1903. In service from 1905 through WWII.

Marina. Greenwich gun. Radio school. Too. Much. Cork. Don't. Know. Where. To. Start :)

guliolopez Good Morning...

Thanks National Library of Ireland on The Commons. Mary had told me to set my alarm. And hasn't disappointed :) To the extent that I barely know where to start. Other than to say that, had I slept in til 10 o'clock, I'd have gotten a rude awakening for this one! In terms of location, it's unequivocal. This is "the Marina". Close to the club house of Shandon Boat Club. On the south side of the Lee. Looking north. Just about here on the OSI map. The StreetView driver wasn't brave enough to follow suit. He/she missed out :) In terms of subjects, the most striking must be the "Greenwich gun" or "10 o'clock gun". To my understanding, the firing of this gun was the responsibility of the port authorities. The Cork Harbour Commissioners. Rather than the military. Not directly anyway. However, thinking about it logically, presumably the Harbour Commissioners needed to employ an artillery expert. Given the risks and logistics. So that probably is a military uniform. Perhaps of the Cork City Artillery (which included a non-professional "militia"). I'll do some research on that. The gun itself was fired at 10am every day. Like other similar guns around the (then dying) empire. Unless the image is staged (and I suppose it quite probably is) that would give us the time of day. Though not the year. Which I'll also have have to think about. Otherwise another key subject here, to my eye at least, is Carrig House. The house on the far right. Later known as the "Marine Radio School", it was used for a time for training ships' radio operators. This doesn't help with date however. And probably just as well. As I really shouldn't be allowed to talk about this house. As it will just get my blood up. Given that, along with too many other historic homes in the city in recent years, has been left to ruin, fire and yet more ruin. By the worst sort of absentee landlord: a state-sponsored one!

In reminding myself about the gun, I found this blog post from Kieran McCarthy. Who confirms that the 18lb gun was the responsibility of the Harbour Commissioners. And fired (with a 3lb charge) since the 1870s. However his final conclusion (about the gun "disappearing physically and from memory" after 1930) confuses me more than a little. While I don't doubt him, if the gun was removed, it (or a replacement) must've been put back at a later date. As there's been a gun there as long as I can remember. As evidenced by these recent shots from the Cork Camera Club. Also, Flickr is sometimes thingamabob: www.flickr.com/photos/carrignafoy/403354327/

The catalogue gives a general 1900-1920 date, and I think the girl on the bench's outfit suggests the early part of that range. The buildings opposite are all 1830ish and no help, railway infrastructure 1855ish likewise.