A famine cross marking the last resting place of many hundreds of the Famine dead in Cork has been illuminated once again by the ESB after 20 years without lighting. The cross has stood since the 1950s and was put in place by a Norwegian man who came to live in Cork.
The late Olaf Sorensen was a taxi-driver in Cork. He was a colourful character who had lived a rich life, much of it associated with the sea, before he married and settled in the city.
Sorensen Construction, run by his grandson, also Olaf, continues the family presence in Cork to the present day.
The cross marking the graves at Carr's Hill became a landmark overlooking the city. It was lit up at night, and Olaf Sorensen paid for the lighting. Out of his own pocket? Well, not quite. His son Frank was working in Africa as an engineer at the time and was sending home large amounts of money each month. Frank intended it to accrue and be there for him when he got back. Not so.
Olaf had plans to build the cross and he used some of what was in his son's bank account - providentially, it had been lodged to the account of the elder Sorensen.
Frank arrived back in Ireland and, to his dismay, found his money had been disappearing.
His affection for his father was such that he understood his foibles and admired them. "He was an unusual man but you had to love him," he says.
The cross at the paupers' grave cost money to light and the expense was borne either out of Olaf snr's own coffers or the liberal helping of funds supplied from Africa by his son.
In recent years, the graveyard has become the burial place of the destitute in the region.
But the lights went out 20 years ago. Funding was one problem. Also, Cork Airport had misgivings about the fact that the lighted cross was too close to the airport's runways.
The 80ft cross, built and paid for one way or another by Mr Sorensen, was a symbol in Cork and has become a memorial to him. It is illuminating the night sky again because of the efforts of ESB staff, who have repaired the faulty wiring and who will maintain it on a voluntary basis from now on.
The airport issue has been solved too, because a different form of lighting is being used which is to the satisfaction of the airport authorities.
The floodlit cross, sponsored by the Ringaskiddy company, Novartis, beamed out again on the eve of the millennium.
Some 230 people turned up for a dedication and benediction by Canon Michael O'Brien, well known in Cork hurling circles. There are plans to turn the site into a garden of remembrance. The Sorensens would like to see it happen.