Education « Thurles Information

History Of Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again!“

The nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’, sung hereunder, is possibly one the best known versifications, memorised early on during the lives of our children.

So who or what was this ‘Humpty Dumpty’?

Humpty Dumpty was in fact believed to be a large cannon gun, used during the English Civil Wars or ‘Great Rebellion’ (1642 – 1651), between supporters of the monarchy of Charles I and his son and successor, Charles II, who waged war against opposing factions in each of the aforementioned monarch’s kingdoms, including Parliamentarians in England, Covenanters in Scotland, and Confederates here in Ireland.

Note: Two days previously, Prince Charles of Wales was proclaimed King Charles III of England at a ceremony at St. James’s Palace; latter a residence of Kings and Queens of England for over 300 years, until the reign of Queen Victoria, and up to yesterday, at least, provided the official London residence of Charles, former Prince of Wales and his wife, the former Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Rosemary Shand, now Queen Consort.

The fighting during these English Civil Wars made up, in total, three wars, with the first happening between 1642 and 1646; the second during 1648, and the third between 1650 and 1651.

During the 11 week siege of Colchester (13 Jun 1648 – 27 Aug 1648), the Parliamentarians (Roundheads) forced the Royalist army (Cavaliers) to retreat behind the walls of Colchester town; latter situated in the county of Essex, in southeast England. Here, adjacent to this town’s outer wall, was the fortified Church of St. Mary.
A large cannon called ‘Humpty Dumpty’ was hauled up into the church tower, and a fat Royalist, called One-Eyed Jack Thompson, took charge; latter causing mayhem by firing at the Parliamentarian attackers outside the perimeter wall surrounding the town.
Meanwhile, a series of shots from Parliamentary cannon aimed at this tower, succeeded in destroying the area beneath ‘Humpty Dumpty’; causing the cannon to collapse to the ground. The Royalists, or Cavaliers, “all the King’s men” attempted to haul up ‘Humpty Dumpty’ to another section of the wall.
However, because ‘Humpty Dumpty’ was so heavy “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again”. This failure contributed to the fall of the strategically important town of Colchester to the Parliamentarian army.

“My Dearest Kitty” Love Letters.

100 years ago, as the Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State, Michael Collins assisted in leading the Anglo Irish Treaty negotiations, he was also negotiating a new and long distance personal relationship with Kitty Kiernan.

Eight months ago and over the course of 11 episodes, through Kitty and Michael’s correspondence, containing some 300 letters and telegrams, we learn at first hand, [Courtesy of Cork County Council Commemorations Committee], the story of their evolving relationship, in conjunction with the then also evolving story of the Anglo Irish Treaty negotiations, both here and in London.

Episode 1. begins HERE; however we have chosen to publish episodes 11 (‘My Dearest Kitty…’ Finale), hereunder to highlight our point of debate.

It was Major General Piaras Beaslaí, who wrote the first full-length biography of Michael Collins, published in 1926, which was first to suggest that the “Big Fellow” or “Long Fellow” had little or no time for the fairer sex.

Major Beaslaí wrote, “He preferred the company of young men, and never paid any attention to the girls belonging to the Branch, not even to the sisters and friends of his male companions”.
Beaslaí makes no mention of Kitty Kiernan in the biography, nor that Collins was then engaged to be married at the time of his death, in 1922.

Collins had proposed to Ms Kitty Kiernan in the ‘Grand Hotel’, Greystones, County Wicklow, later to be renamed ‘La Touche Hotel’, where I began hotel management training in 1969.

Same hotel, which had initially opened in 1894 and closed in 2004, is now a striking luxurious residential development known as “La Touche Cove”. (But where now is Room 27, then rumoured as used by Collins?)

There was only one floral tribute permitted on the flag-covered coffin of Michael Collins; a single white peace lily from Ms Kitty Kiernan.

Frank O’Connor’s biography of Michael Collins, in 1937, also failed to mention Ms Kitty Kiernan, and essentially ignored the latter’s interaction with other females.

Twenty one years later in 1958, Rex Taylor also failed to mention Ms Kitty Kiernan in his biography.

Many women over that troubled period in Irieland had worked with Collins.
So why was Moya O’Connor, (later wife of solicitor Compton Llewelyn Davies); Lily Mernin (cousin of said biographer Piaras Beaslaí); Nancy O’Brien; Susan Mason; Patricia Hoey and our own Bridget Fitzpatrick (latter Thurles executive and courier for Richard Mulcahy and Michael Collins); Susan Killeen (secretary who worked with him in London); Eileen McGrane, Lady Edith Londonderry, and Hazel Lavery, totally ignored in various writings.

Indeed all these women worked with Collins as either trusted secretaries; incriminating document holders; providers of invaluable information or simply friends; thus these biographers exposed Collins to suspicions of being gay or misogynistic.

Close friend Moya O’Connor is noted, in 1942, as having stated “His friends who wrote about him have distorted him as much or more than his enemies”.

The Collins and Kiernan correspondence must surely now shed a completely different complexion on the private lives of both these young lovers.

Arts BLAST Residency Programme 2022.

The Department of Education has just announced that it’s 2022 Arts-in-Education BLAST Residency Programme will enable up to 425 new Arts-in-Education residencies nationally.

The aim of the BLAST scheme is to give pupils in schools all over the country, including Co. Tipperary, the opportunity to work with a professional artist on unique projects.
The artist’s fee is €1,000 per residency, which in turn is funded by the Department of Education.

Tipperary schools can get involved by completing the application form available HERE.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 30th September 2022.

For more information please visit HERE.

Commemorative Stamp Will Mark Centenary Of Death Of Michael Collins.

An Post has issued a commemorative stamp to mark the centenary of the death Michael Collins. Same will go on general release tomorrow, Thursday, August 18th, 2022, and will be available in selected post offices nationwide and from anpost.com/shop.

Designed by Mr Ger Garland, with the design featuring photography by C & L Walsh, the national (N) rate stamp displays an portrait image of the Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician dressed in military uniform; same image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.

A commemorative First Day Cover (envelope) has also been produced by An Post, which carries the new stamp and a specially designed cancellation mark featuring the name of Collins in similar typeface to that found on the Béal na Bláth monument.
The Death of Michael Collins, assassinated on August 22nd, 1922, was the highest profile casualty of the Irish Civil War, which arose because of the agreed terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

In a break from historical convention, and marking the Co. Cork background of Michael Collins; the cancellation mark includes the designation ‘Corcaigh’.

One disappointing aspect of this welcome Commemorative Stamp – where are the words “Mícheál Ó Coileáin”.