Cork exhibition recalls risks of printing Irish Proclamation

It is the founding document of our nation, but before Ireland’s Proclamation of Independence could be read aloud, it had to be printed first, and a new UCC exhibition explores the risky circumstances behind its creation.

A free exhibition in UCC’s Boole Library, Printed in Defiance: Making the 1916 Proclamation reveals how a small group of printers, working with limited type, faulty machinery, and under the constant threat of arrest, brought the document into being.

The work of those printers transformed a revolutionary idea into something tangible, portable, and dangerous.

The exhibition centres around an original first issue copy of the 1916 Proclamation which was brought from the GPO in Dublin by Richard Gogan, reputedly the youngest member of the garrison, who was 16 at the time of the Rising, having joined the Volunteers at 14.

The Proclamation was donated by Liam and Kaye Cronin, who also made a gift to Cork University Foundation to support students, at undergraduate and PhD level, from under-represented socio-economic backgrounds.

In the aftermath of the Rising, when possession of the Proclamation became evidence of rebellion, it became even riskier to keep a copy. The exhibition highlights the courageous decision to preserve a copy rather than destroy it.

John Borgonovo, historian and senior lecturer at UCC’s School of History, said the exhibition foregrounds the quiet courage, skilled labour, and critical decisions that ensured the Proclamation endured.

“The Proclamation is now engrained in our collective memory as a document of our national history.

“Despite being produced under intense pressure and in secrecy, this hastily printed document remainsapowerful and enduring symbol of the independent Irish State,” he said.

Conservation treatment carried out in UCC has stabilised the document, allowing for safe display and long-term preservation.

Printed in Defiance: Making the 1916 Proclamation is a open to the public at UCC’s Boole Library until September 13.