Editor:
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sligo-born William Bourke Cockran was one of the best-known Irish men in America. (See article in Irish Echo, January 19th, 2026).
Teacher, lawyer, six-term U.S. Congressman from New York, he was confidant to U.S. Presidents Cleveland, McKinley and Roosevelt.
Above all, he was a renowned public speaker, holding audiences in thrall with his spell-binding oratory. Britain's war-time prime minister Winston Churchill credited the Sligoman with making him the awe-inspiring speaker he became.
Bourke Cockran died on March 1st 1923, and was laid to rest in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. He had no children.
Now, in his native Sligo, the Bourke Cockran Society is aiming to promote a new awareness and appreciation of this one-time famous Sligoman, and although the Society has undertaken much research and amassed a treasure trove of information about Bourke-Cockran, an gaping void remains; so far, no audio recording of Cockran's voice has been found.
How ironic for a man once renowned as a public speaker.
The Bourke-Cockran Society in Sligo would love to hear from somebody, anybody, anywhere, who might be able to direct it to someone or some place that might, perhaps, have a recording of Bourke-Cockran's voice.
If you can help, please contact the Society chairman, Keville Burns, at keville.burns@gmail.com
Harry Keaney Communications Officer,
The Bourke Cockran Society, Sligo
