☕️ Friday View 06/06
Sprat, mussels and a tidal wave of cash coming Ringmahon AFC's way. Also, the offenders are back in town as are a rake of nostalgic acts. It must be June in Cork. Plus our round-up of what's on.
Hello and welcome to the Friday View on Tripe+Drisheen, let’s get cooking!
Fished out: Colin Barnes made international headlines last week when he announced his decision to wind up Cork Whale Watch, which he ran from his boat, the MV Holly, from Reen Pier near Union Hall. Barnes was blunt about the reason: the humpback whales that migrated into the waters around West Cork and Kerry have moved on, as sprat, a primary food source, has been hoovered up by trawlers.
“There’s a few local trawlers that have destroyed the ecology, and all the fish are gone, and the whales have moved out to forage elsewhere,” Colin told The Southern Star this week.
Currently, there are no quotas for sprat, which are scooped up by trawlers operating in pairs, in a process known as pair trawling. Last year, around 17,000 tonnes were caught, which is processed for fish meal. Trawlers and fishermen operating the sprat boats are correct when they argue they are operating within the law. What’s really being broken is a system of interdependence and biodiversity.
Local activists in West Cork, uniting behind ‘Save Our Sprat’, are pushing the government to introduce a moratorium on fishing for sprat ahead of the spawning season, which starts in September.
Mussel farm meeting: Sticking with the sea, this coming Sunday, 8 June, there will be a public meeting in Kinsale about plans for a 23-hectare mussel farm which has been given the green light. The mussel-seed farm from Woodstown Bay Shellfish Ltd is to be located in a tidal area directly adjacent to Dock Beach.
“This project was pushed through after six years of delay without properly consulting the very people who use and love Kinsale Harbour. We’re asking the public to join us and help protect Dock Beach and the harbour for future generations,” said Dr Marc Ó Riain, a local resident, in a press release.
The public meeting will be held at The Temperance Hall, Kinsale, on Sunday 8 June at 4:00 pm to discuss community concerns and a potential appeal against the licence. All are welcome.
Windfall: Caoimhín Odhrán Kelleher, to give the former Ringmahon AFC and Liverpool FC goalkeeper his full name, had his Wikipedia page updated this week to reflect his move to Premier League side Brentford.
The news on this side of the Irish Sea focused on the significant windfall that is coming Ringmahon’s way, possibly up to €3m, depending on the final deal to be hammered out in the transfer. Worth noting is how canny Ringmahon, or their advisors were, when Kelleher transferred to Liverpool as a 15-year-old.
To put the sign-on bonus coming Ringmahon’s way in perspective, the full €3m would likely be twice Cork City FC’s annual revenue. Naturally, all eyes will be on how Ringmahon invests the money in the club. Mahon might not be getting a public library anytime soon, but they’ll surely have a world-class club and training facility.
50 Pope’s Quay: While you’d be forgiven for not knowing the address, the building you will definitely recognise. That’s because No. 50 is Civic Trust House and stands out like a well-manicured thumb, set back from the River Lee. The Georgian-era gem was built in the 18th century and, in the three centuries of sheltering generations, it now looks after artists and community groups who light up the city with everything from the Choral Festival to the Fold Festival and Cork Pride Festival.
When T+D were last there, building manager Nicki Ffrench Davis mentioned briefly a project to explore and build out the history of the house. That’s up and running, and as part of that, they want your help. To wit, they’re inviting members of the public to drop in to Civic Trust House on Monday, 16 June, from 10 am to 2 pm, to share any memories, stories, or knowledge they may have about 50 Pope’s Quay as part of an oral history project.
The project is supported by a Heritage Council grant, and historian Victoria Kingston, the Cork Folklore Project, and Strive Theatre Company are signed up to gather and present stories connected to the house.
No appointment is necessary, just drop by and admire a living, breathing historical building. And share a scéal if you have one.
Season 5: The cast and crew of The Young Offenders were back on familiar ground this week as the production team decamped to the English Market, where filming for the newest episodes is ongoing. Now in its fifth season, it’s likely the RTÉ-based series will be covering familiar ground.
From the department of you couldn’t make it up: A T+D reader alerted us to a bit of history this week: back in 2004, Ovens wanted to build Ireland’s first crematorium. That plan went up in flames, and An Bord Pleanála instead granted permission for the first crematorium in Cork to be built at Rocky Island, a former British Navy arsenal site in Haulbowline.
However, the Church of Ireland chapel in Ovens, at the centre of the crematorium controversy, was back in the news two years later when An Bord Pleanála granted permission for the church to be converted into a family home. That didn’t go down well either. Jennie O’Sullivan reports.
New bar coming: A new addition to the city’s night-time economy is due in the coming weeks as work progresses on the new bar inside the old USIT unit on Oliver Plunkett Street. If you peek inside, you can see the bar right by the door. Could it be another late-night venue from the irrepressible Benny McCabe? It sits alongside five other bars and nightclubs, this part of town is about to get even busier!
Musgrave and Marquee up and running: Macklemore performed the first of the Virgin Media Park concerts last night, kicking off the city's summer concert series. During June, veteran/ancient acts such as The Corrs, Stereophonics, The Saw Doctors, Snow Patrol, Madness, and Duran Duran with Nile Rodgers and Chic will be stopping by the rugby ground, while the Marquee offers its tried-and-tested mix of comedy, chart-topping musicians, local artists and a night with Roy Keane.
In a sense, these two temporary spaces exist in the absence of a permanent event centre in the city. Currently, there are two separate proposals for events centres, involving two major promotionalcompanies - one larger and at a more advanced stage than the other. Does the peaceful coexistence of these two major concert events suggest the possibility of two permanent event spaces?
An Ode to Open Ear: Last weekend, 750 people – including myself (Kilian) – made the pilgrimage to Sherkin Island for Open Ear. Running since 2016, Open Ear is an experimental and avant-garde music festival featuring both Irish and international artists. The main stage sits on a cliffside along the island's north shore, while other locations hosted additional performances. St Mona's Church welcomed Brìghde Chaimbeul, while a beach hosted DJ sets by Marion Hawkes, Autumns and Kahn, and DJ Marcelle.
Irish acts formed the festival's core, with Zgellies, Róis, Trá Pháidín, Elaine Malone and Citrus Fresh drawing huge crowds. Other performers travelled from as far as Bristol and Barcelona.
The island's greatest charm lies in its sense of freedom and exploration. Visitors can roam wherever they please, with many making the trek to the Jolly Roger pub. It was a whirlwind experience – and I'll definitely be back next year.
Out + About
Songwriters at the Roundy returns on Tuesday with performances from Laura Elizabeth Hughes, Amy Dunlea, Emily Doyle, Miranda Faul, and Fionnán Barrett. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 7pm, Sunday June 8, The Roundy, Castle Street, Cork.
Artist and illustrator Annie Mar takes up residency at the Sample-Triskel Project Space this month. Through this residency, she will create a brand new body of work centering on a set of drawers and unfinished paintings that she inherited from her grandfather’s studio, untouched for eighteen years since his death. More info here.
Time, date, place: Thursday June 5 - Saturday July 27, Triskel-Sample Project Space, Tobin Street, Cork.
Plugd are hosting a gig in support of Solidarity Cork, a charity supporting Syrian refugees in Ireland and Lebanon. The lineup features Aaron O’Sullivan, Amy Mc, Annie & Orlaith, and Gráinneóg. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 6pm, Sunday June 10, Plugd, Cornmarket Street, Cork.
The final programme in the Triskel’s lunchtime piano recital series is whistle-stop world tour starting in Ireland, with music from Cork composers Linda Buckley and John Gibson, Dublin composer Philip Martin and Bill Whelan’s solo piano transcription ‘The Currach” from his double violin concerto, all of which were commissioned for the Dublin International Piano Competition. Lastly, it’s to Argentina and the music of Carlos Guastavino. Tickets and more info here.
Time, date, place: 1pm, Friday June 6, The Triskel, Tobin St
Irish Palestinian singer-songwriter and music film director Róisín El Cherif brings her magic to Connolly’s of Leap for one night only this weekend. El Cherif recently released a ilingual Irish-Arabic rendition of “Siúil a Rúin and you can catch here in West Cork venue ahead of a busy summer. Ticket and more info here.
Time, date, place: Sunday, June 8, Connolly’s of Leap, Leap
It’s a packed night in Nudes with AC Bergermann, aka Aaron Chicken Burger Man, Molemann and Jean Pack, “a dirty Apéritif with the first pint in the pub”, all taking to the stage for a night of weirdness, uniqueness and otherness. Tickets and info here.
Time, date, place: From 7pm, Friday, June 6, Nudes Craft & Cocktail, Lavitt's Quay
Also, MTU’s graduate shows kicked off yesterday and are open to the public. The exhibitions are being held at James Barry Exhibition Centre, MTU, Bishopstown Campus and Sharman Crawford Street Campus in the city centre. Both exhibitions close on Thursday June 12.
That’s it for this week’s Friday View. As always, any tips, comments, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact us at tripeanddrisheen@substack.com. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity. Get in touch. Have a lovely weekend.
From the T+D archive:
Swift action needed
The 10 small holes stacked in a triangular pattern high up on the gable end of the wall of the new parochial hall at Scoil Abán Naofa, Ballyvourney, are so unobtrusive that to most people, they might as well not exist.