Man dies in Cork after fight with American sailor

Queenstown, 12 September 1917 - A Cork labourer has been killed during disturbances involving an American sailor at Queenstown.

The Haulbowline man, Fred Plummer, was struck by the sailor with a closed fist, his head hitting the concrete flagged footpath of the beach.

Plummer was unconscious when taken to Queenstown General Hospital, where he subsequently died from what an inquest found to have been a fracture of the skull. 

The incident has added to tensions in Queenstown where there have been a number of disturbances involving American sailors and local civilians, the latter also displaying ill-feeling towards women from Cork City who had been travelling in their hundreds to Queenstown each night to meet the sailors. 

A complaint about sailors in Co Cork after damage was done to a church hall in July. Click here to read the full document. (Image: National Archives of Ireland, CSORP 1917 17718)

In recent days, police in Queenstown have reported several other incidents of disorder, but these mostly arose from the Americans arguing among themselves while on shore leave. Boisterous behaviour and a few isolated ‘scraps’ were reported, but no assaults or damage to property.

However, in response to inquiries from a reporter for the Cork Examiner, local police confirmed that the glass door of a public house on King Street was broken by a party of American sailors. It is not known if the incident occurred owing to an accident or resentment on being refused drink after authorised hours. 

The American sailors have been forbidden to come into Cork City since earlier this week.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]