Visitors to University College Cork will get a chance to see an original first issue copy of the 1916 Proclamation which was brought from the GPO in Dublin by what is believed to be the youngest member of the garrison after philanthropists today donated the document to the college.
Retired Cork businessman Liam Cronin (82) and his wife, Kaye, handed over the rare surviving copy to University College Cork, which will initially put the document on display in the award-winning Glucksman Gallery and later in its planned Treasures Gallery.
Mr Cronin explained the provenance of the document, one of 1,000 copies printed at Liberty Hall in Dublin on Easter Sunday, of which one was read by Patrick Pearse on the steps of the GPO on Easter Monday morning in the presence of the other six signatories.
He explained that he and his wife came into possession of the original copy in 1998 through Éamonn de Búrca, who is considered one of the world’s leading dealers in Irish antiquarian books and manuscripts.
“This copy of the Proclamation belonged to Richard Gogan, who came from a strongly republican family and joined the Irish Volunteers at the age of 14 and was reputedly the youngest member of the GPO garrison during the 1916 Rising, at the age of just 16,” said Mr Cronin.
“Richard Gogan attended to James Connolly after he was wounded and was one of the stretcher-bearers for Connolly when the GPO was evacuated — this copy of the Proclamation was his proudest possession and it’s known that he carried it with personally from the GPO.”
Mr Cronin explained that Gogan was a founder member of Fianna Fail and he later served as Lord Mayor of Dublin and served as a Fianna Fail TD for Dublin North-West from 1954 to 1977 when he lost his seat in the new Dublin Cabra constituency.
A native of Gilabbey Street in Cork, Mr Cronin spoke of his satisfaction at being able to donate the document to the university. “UCC is a university with deep heritage in Irish history and it is wonderful that this remarkable document will now be preserved here for future generations.”
In addition to the Proclamation, the Cronins have also given support to students, at undergraduate and PhD level, from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds through establishing the Daniel and Margaret Cronin Advancing Access Scholarships in honour of Mr Cronin’s parents.
UCC president Prof John O’Halloran paid tribute to the Cronins for their generous donation and gift to support access scholarships for researchers and said donation of the document was particularly timely given UCC will host a conference on the Civil War later this month.
“We are honoured to have become the guardians of this unique Proclamation …. In a matter of weeks UCC will host Ireland’s national conference on the Civil War and this donation further recognises UCC as a centre for Irish history and the preservation of our rich national heritage”.
