The burning of Cork by British forces took place 100 years ago today 11–12 December 1920. City Engineer J.F. Delaney later reported on the burning.

The burning of Cork by British forces took place 100 years ago today on the night of 11–12 December 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. It followed an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambush of a British Auxiliary patrol in the city, which wounded twelve Auxiliaries, one fatally. In retaliation, the Auxiliaries, Black and Tans and British soldiers looted and burnt numerous buildings in the centre of Cork, Ireland's third-biggest city.

Many civilians reported being beaten, shot at, and robbed by British forces. Firefighters testified that British crown forces hindered their attempts to tackle the blazes by intimidation, cutting their hoses and shooting at them. Two unarmed IRA volunteers were also shot dead at their home in the north of the city.

More than 40 business premises, 300 residential properties, the City Hall and Carnegie Library were destroyed by fire, some of which was started by incendiary bombs.

The economic damage was estimated at over ￡3 million (equivalent to €155 million in 2019), while 2,000 were left jobless and many more became homeless.

The Report on the burning of Cork from J.F. Delaney City Engineer to the Cork Corporation can be accessed at https://www.corkcity.ie/en/media-folder/museum/1975-22-d5-1-booklet-report-city-engineer-burning-of-cork-1920-19-jpg.pdf It makes for interesting reading.