Cork in Numbers #2
11 facts and stats to chow down on
9: The number of mircrobreweries in Cork as of 2016 according to Bord Bia.
6: The number of samurai in the Murphy’s stout ads that aired in the late ‘90s. The anime version is by Ghost in the Shell director Hiroyuki Kitakubo, but the live action version (featuring real samurai in Ireland!), is, for my money, the better ad.
9: The number of social houses Cork City Council built in 2020 (where the city council was the developer and owns the stock).
55: Where Blarney Castle was placed on a list of 101 places not to visit before you die in a book of the same name published in 2010.
44: The number of years Ted and Catherine O'Riordan lived at the Back Lodge, Kerry Pike Road which was part of Blarney Castle estate before they were evicted in 2004.
€70m: The expected selling price for the Roches Stores building on Patrick Street. It was put up for sale by the Roche family in 2017.
€500m: The value of property assets held by the Roche family in 2006 when the family sold the business to Debenhams, according to the Irish Examiner
5: The number of Olympic medals won by Olympic athletes from Cork. (Two gold, two silver and one bronze).
1: The number of women from Cork to receive the freedom of New York City. Her name was Muriel MacSwiney, wife of Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork. Muriel was also related to the famous Murphy’s stout family. Her family were against the marriage to MacSwiney.
3: The number of name changes Cork RTC has gone through. First it was a regional technical college, then it became the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) in 1997. As of January 1, 2021 it was rebranded Munster Technological University (MTU). Plus ca change!
18: The number of workers from Murphy’s brewery that went off to fight in WW1. 10 never returned.