AN EVENT to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the assassination of Tomás Mac Curtain will take place in Cork City tomorrow.

Organised by Sinn Féin’s Phoenix Historical Society, the event takes place at 12pm at Mac Curtain’s grave at the Republican Plot in St Finbarr’s Cemetery.

A wreath will be laid at Mac Curtain’s grave and Sinn Féin area representative, Mandy O’Leary Hegarty, will deliver the main oration.

The murder of Tomás Mac Curtain took place on March 20, 1920, when he was shot dead at his home in Blackpool in front of his wife and son.

In the wake of the killing, his home was ransacked by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary, who were later found to be responsible for his murder by the official inquest.

The murder of Tomás Mac Curtain, which occurred on his 36th birthday, sent a ripple of shock and caused immense grief as the country grappled with the loss of such an admired figure.

Following Mac Curtain’s death, the city came to a standstill mourning the loss of Cork’s first Republican Lord Mayor.

Speaking ahead of the annual commemoration, Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent encouraged people to attend.

“Everyone is welcome to attend. We gather there every year, there’s a wreath laid at the Republican Plot in St Finbarr’s and also there will be a wreath laid at the former homestead in Blackpool where Tomás was shot by British Crown forces.

“We remember him every year. Even during the pandemic, we made sure that there was always a wreath laid,” he said.

“Last year, we gathered at the grave in numbers again and we’ll be doing so again on Sunday.”