Quakers have been in Cork since 1655, and the Cork Quaker Meeting now meets every Sunday at 11.00 at our Meeting House in Summerhill South (directions are given at the bottom of this page). We are a varied community, but are united in our belief in the intrinsic equality of all people, and in the basic message of Jesus of Nazareth that we should strive to base all our actions in love and compassion. We also share an appreciation of the spiritual nourishment that can be obtained through seeking contact with the Divine through silence and stillness.
Quakers in a Nutshell
The “Religious Society of Friends” was founded in 1650’s in Northern
England by George Fox and assorted likeminded “seekers”. This religious
movement arose from the foment of civil war and religious dissent in
mid-17th-century England, and was fueled in part by dissolutionment with the
established churches of the time. Members first began to be called ‘Quakers’ soon after the
foundation of the Society; this is really a nickname, but is now more commonly
used than the official title. The words ‘Friend’ and ‘Quaker’ are
interchangeable.
The central basis of Quakerism is the belief that each person can make
direct contact with the Divine, which led Quakers to reject the need for clergy to act as intermediaries between us
and God. This is closely related to our belief in the intrinsic equality of all
people, and that there is “that of God in everyone”. As a consequence of these
basic beliefs, Sunday masses or services became unprogrammed “Meetings” held
mostly in silence, with occasional spontaneous vocal ministry. Because they believe fresh insights are
always being revealed, Friends have never had a written creed or a printed
prayer book.
Origins of Quakers in Cork
Quakerism was first brought to
Cork by Elizabeth Smith and Elizabeth Fletcher in 1655. Note that it was not at
all unusual for women to preach, and sometimes to travel considerable distances
to spread news of the Quaker movement, from the very earliest days of Quakerism.
Ironically, some of the first Quakers in Ireland were Cromwellian soldiers, who saw that
violence and fighting were not consistent with the peaceable message of Jesus
Christ. Obediance to the radical message of aiming to love even our enemies
implied social change and service, and ruled out violence as a means of
addressing problems.
The earliest Cork Quaker Meeting
House at Grattan Street was originally built in 1678, and was subsequently
rebuilt and renovated a number of times. The building as it now stands was
completed in 1834, when there were about 280 Quakers in Cork (there are now about 85). The
building is now owned by the Southern Health Board.
A new Meeting House was erected
in 1939 next to the Quaker Burial Ground at Summerhill South, and still serves
Cork’s dynamic and growing Quaker community today.
Finding our Meeting House
If you are unfamiliar with Cork, the best way to get to the Meeting
House is to ask for directions to City Hall. City Hall faces the south
channel of the River Lee and is flanked on 3 sides by one-way streets.
Anglesea Street is the street on the up-river end of City Hall and the
flow of its traffic heads away from the river. Once on Anglesea Street
continue for 3 blocks (3 traffic lights). You will have passed the fire
station on your left, and at the third set of lights you should see the
Victoria Hospital on your left, and on a small traffic island to your
right you might watch for a finger post sign-marked "Quaker Meeting
House”. Turn right. Continue straight through the first set of traffic
lights; the Meeting House is approximately 100 metres beyond this set of
lights, located on the right hand side, behind a large stone wall with
black wrought iron gates bearing a sign “Quaker Meeting House”.There is always a Children’s Meeting on the 2nd Sunday of each month, and as and when children are in attendance otherwise.
