GNA EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: THE JOHN BARLEYCORN THREE

In an unprecedented, some would say unnecessary, exclusive, Glanmire News Area stands up with the young men dubbed “The John Barleycorn Three” after they successfully burned down the 18th Century building that had been a monument (and pub) to the people of Glanmire, some 14 years ago.

Now in their early 20s, these young men whose identities GNA have thoughtfully chosen not to ask for, carry the burden of knowledge of what they did with them everyday, and also the knowledge that their reasons for committing their crime against Glanmire is still misunderstood by the people they call “neighbours”.

John Barleycorn Hotel in it’s heyday

The ringleader of The John Barleycorn Three, aged eight at the time of the blaze, exclusively tells GNA; 

This was not a case of some kids dicking about with matches in an abandoned building, setting old curtains on fire and then legging it when things got out of hand. It was a political statement against the capitalist society in which we found ourselves and the oppression we saw all around us on a daily basis. 

The John Barleycorn Hotel represented everything that was wrong with society in 2006; from questionable music to horses being held captive in small fields.

It had to go.

Glanmire News Area gleaned that the trio had originally planned on setting fire to other notable Glanmire landmarks that same day, including the basketball courts outside St Joseph’s Primary School and some bins behind the vets on the corner of that hill that goes up to Mayfield, but their plans fell apart when they used up all their matches in the first blaze due to a crude understanding of the nature of how fire spreads.

If you see a Glanmire landmark on fire, Cork City Fire Brigade can be contacted by telephoning 999 / 112.