General Daniel Florence O'Leary & Fitzgerald's Park

General Daniel Florence O’Leary

1801 – 1854
Born in Cork City was Aide-de-Camp
to the
Liberator Simón Bolivar
During the Latin American Wars of Independence

A la Memoria del General Danial Florence O’Leary (1801 – 1854)
Oriundo de Cork. Edecán de Simón Bolivar, el Libertador,
en ias Guerras de Independencia Latinamericanas  

Erected with the generous support of the Venezuelan Government
And presented to the people of Cork on
12th of May 2010
His Excellency Dr. Samuel Moneada, Venezuelan
Ambassador to Ireland

Gratefully received and acknowledged
on behalf of The O’Leary Family and The O’Leary Association
by
Richard Lynch & Gearoid O Mannán

Shortly after reading Roger Herlihy’s book, and before I went looking for it I read on Rebel Cork’s Fighting Story that it had gone missing.

Then I went looking for the monument in Fitzgerald’s Park – only to see that it had been temporarily removed to facilitate the building works.

On 17th May, we were in Fitzgerald’s Park – the weekend of the grand re-opening – and able to record the monument in its prime new location. That was one of the benefits of the day.

Overall, I do like what has been done with Fitzgerald Park. Positives would include the new bandstand and green area should be great for performances; I did like the log area; I think that they did the best possible with the Chelsea pod – any failure should lie with the original Chelsea designer if the brief included option for re-use at ground level in a public park.

There are some failures. Providing plants around the silver balls has proven to be a complete waste as the balls are playthings and the plants have been trampled into oblivion already. I am in agreement with Peter Dowdall that if the objective had been to create a world class garden, that target was not met. The blinded hardcore paths, I hope, are temporary and will be replaced with the bound aggregate paths as elsewhere in the park – if part of the design, I would also consign to the failure column.

I may be biased but an improved and enlarged children’s play area, similar to Killarney, would have provided a better return on investment.

Daniel Florence O’Leary

‘One of Barrack Street’s most famous sons is General Daniel Florence O’Leary, born in 1801. The houses at no’s 89/90 have a plaque on the wall marking the place of his birth. It was unveiled by a delegation from Venezuela in 1978 to honour one of the men who fought in the army of the Red Huzzars under General Simon Bolivar that gained liberation for their country from Spanish rule. He was only 16 when he went to South America to fight for the independence of a number of different countries, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru’

A Walk Through The South Parish – “Where Cork Began” – Roger Herlihy (Red Abbey Publications, 2003)