(Above) The Germans in Cork by Lady Carbery 1917, (Talbot Press)
(To read the book in full, please click on this link)
Between 1870 and the end of the Great War, invasion literature was a common feature within British literary and journalistic media. Several prominent authors helped portray the idea of an impending German invasion. Researchers believe these works helped contribute to the tense relations between Britian and Germany that did eventually lead to the Great War. There are several works by members of the Anglo-Irish class that helped popularise the potential German threat. One of the most popular was the 1903 novel The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers.
The Germans in Cork is another dystopian work of fiction. Though satirical in nature, the plot was based on what would have happened in Cork if Germany had won the First World War. The book was published in 1917 after it had first been serialised in the Irish Times in 1916. The Irish Times, a unionist newspaper, printed much atrocity propaganda designed to frighten readers at a time when Germany could have served as Ireland’s strong ally against British rule. All Irish newspapers did however publish articles referring to German invasions and spies but not to the same degree as they did in Britain.
(Above) Drawing of Castle Freke by JF Neale (CPM)
The work was written by Mary Carbery, Lady of Castle Freke, also known as Rathbarry, near Rosscarbery in West Cork. Born in 1867 in Hertfordshire, she married the 9th Baron Carbery of Castle Freke Algernon William George Evans-Freke in 1890 and resided at Castle Freke. Following the premature death of her husband in 1898, she was left to run the estate and raise her family. Mary was one of few English landowners who tried to assimilate with West Cork. She studied the Irish language and was attuned to Irish folklore and customs. Her later published diaries reflect her empathy towards her poorer Irish neighbours and tenants. It was perhaps her sense of belonging and true belief that Germany would tyrannize Ireland that drove her to write this narrative as a warning to the Pro-German element in Irish politics. Works such as this provide a rare insight into the views and fears of the Anglo-Irish classes in Ireland at the time of the Great War and the ever-changing Irish political landscape.
(Above) Government House, Cork. (Lawrence Collection, NLI)
Using the pseudonym Baron Von Kartoffel, (Baron Potato), the book is based in a world where the Baron has been appointed Governor of Cork in 1918. The book is a series of correspondence he and others write detailing his plans to transform Cork and the lives of its inhabitants. The Baron is appalled by the city’s slum conditions, for example, and suggests humanely gassing the patients of Our Lady’s Hospital Lunatic Asylum and moving those living in the slums into the hospital. Here they would be educated to contribute more to society. The Baron also suggested that he would deport all Sinn Féiners, despite their support in facilitating the German takeover of Ireland. Overall, under his rule much needed improvements would be brought to Irish industry and society but would be state-led and this would require the suppression of the Irish language, culture, and way of life.
(Above) Postcard, Castle Freke in ruins (CPM)
Lady Carbery’s style of writing however is not without comic relief; from her choice of character names to commentary on locals not knowing the proper ways of making sausages but having an abundance of large breweries. In the foreground, her book predominately contains conspiratorial tones. This was likely influenced by the faked ‘German Plot’ that was used to justify strong measures being taken against Irish nationalist groups and organisations on the premise that the German Empire was collaborating with them in aiding the establishment of an Independent Irish state.
(Above) Mary Carbery's West Cork Journal 1898-1901 by Jeremy Sandford
Another alternate history book was written a year later in 1917 by James Nicholson Richardson, The Germans at Bessbrook - a Dream. Inspired by Mary Carbery’s writing, James’ aim was to discourage local pro-German tendencies and armed insurgence in Ireland as he believed in the ‘German Plot’. Mary’s clever tactic of presenting a vividly frightful description of German forces invading Cork proved popular and influential though she remained anonymous for almost 20 years. It was not until 1937 on the flyleaf of The Farm by Loch Gur that Mary chose to acknowledge herself as the author of the Germans In Cork.
The Farm by Lough Gur by Lady (Mary) Carbery (Lilliput Press)
To read the book in full, please click on this link
Author: Mera Qamar