A tree now stands opposite Lynn City Hall in Massachusetts, marking the birthplace of Joe Murphy, the Cork volunteer whose death on hunger strike in 1920 was long overshadowed in the story of the War of Independence. More than a century on, the Joe Murphy commemoration brought together Cork and Lynn in a simple, moving gesture that felt both local and lasting.
Murphy was born in Lynn on May 10th, 1895, before returning to Cork with his family and growing up in Pouladuff on the city’s southside. He went to Togher National School, worked for Cork Corporation and later joined the Irish Volunteers. He became an IRA officer with H Company, 2nd Battalion, Cork No 1 Brigade.
A quiet tribute across two cities
In July 1920, Murphy was arrested and charged with possession of a bomb. He joined dozens of fellow prisoners on hunger strike in Cork Gaol and died on October 25th, 1920, on the 76th day. He was 25. His death came on the same day as Terence MacSwiney’s, and for generations his story received far less attention.
That is why this Joe Murphy commemoration in Lynn mattered. Cork Lord Mayor Fergal Dennehy and Lynn mayor Jared Nicholson planted the tree together, creating what Dennehy called “a living memory” for Murphy in the city where he was born.
Why the moment mattered
- It recognised Murphy in his US birthplace for the first time in a public civic way.
- It linked Cork and Lynn through a shared Irish emigrant history.
- It added to earlier State recognition, including a posthumous service medal presented to his family in 2019.
There may yet be another marker. Discussions are under way about placing a plaque near the site where Murphy was born, even though the original house is gone.
The Joe Murphy commemoration does not try to outshout history. It simply gives him his place in it. A tree in Lynn, rooted in the ground and growing year by year, feels like the right way to remember him. Image Courtesy: The Irish Times
