Friday View 18/02
Pubs in Cork in the 1960s, an online exhibition commemorating babies born in Irish institutions, and our news round-up: it's the Friday View.
JJ writes:
For our weekly long read on Tripe+Drisheen, Ellie and I take it in turns. It’s been the pillar upon which we’ve built our newsletter, but you might have noticed we’re adding more news and occasionally you might seen an opinion piece reflecting what one of us thinks about some topic or issue.
Read this week’s Long Read on Democratic Schools in Cork:
One of the things I like about writing the Long Reads is that you learn a bit more and you get to think about things a bit more, as you interview and research and then thread it into what is hopefully a cogent feature.
Self-directed learning is a big, big step in education. Essentially, it’s the idea that kids can and will learn by figuring things out themselves. As Jessica Mason-Little pointed out in the article, learning at democratic schools does not happen in a vacuum: resources and tools are there to help guide and inform learners. Years ago, I wrote a feature for The Japan Times which looked at why students in Japan and other East Asian consistently top international league tables in maths.
For that piece I went to a private fee-paying primary school in Kyoto and I got to observe a maths teacher who had “flipped” the maths class. Basically, he had given small groups of students math problems and then they would have to figure them out by themselves, but also they would then have to teach the rest of the class how they arrived - or didn’t arrive - at their solutions.
I was reminded of that lesson when interviewing Marcin and Jessica because one word they went back to often in explaining how learning happens at a democratic school is trust: you have to trust that kids can learn, and will learn. Clearly, democratic schools are not for everyone; there are only three so far in Ireland, and the fee-paying structure is a barrier. (The fees are a necessity as the schools receive no funding from the Department of Education). It’s a long piece - it’s in the long read section! - but have a read of what the mould breakers are doing, and planning to do.
Image of the week
JJ has been digging around in the wonderful Anthony Barry archive a lot lately and posted this photo, likely taken in the late 1960s, to Tripe + Drisheen social media. It’s of George’s Quay, when O’Flynn’s, The Anchor, and Callanan’s Bar were all fixtures. Conal Creedon recalled on Twitter that he had bought his first Cork Hibs scarf in The Anchor, hand knitted by the proprietor, who also used the window display to exhibit her knitwear.
News in brief
Dursey Cable Car will be out of operation from April 1 this year, according to a statement to the press from Cork County Council sent earlier this week. They are currently looking for replacement towers in order to facilitate the resumption of service. T+D regular contributor Noel Sweeney went to Dursey late last year to report on the future of Ireland’s only cable car.
Have your say on street trading
Public consultation on Casual Trading in Cork city is now open: following two years of coffee horseboxes springing up everywhere, Cork City Council want to reshape their approach to street trading in the city, starting by a fees hike to €15 per day.
The statutory public consultation process on these changes and the new bye-laws are available to view online or at the reception desk in City Hall until March 11.
Take part in the Lifelong Learning Festival
Want to get involved in Cork Lifelong Learning Festival by hosting learning events? The festival isn’t on until April, but the deadline for applications to take part closes tonight at 5pm. If you want to host something, you must be based in Cork city and the event must be free of charge.
Apply here.
Out + About
Illustrations at St Peter’s
Illustrator Ciara Chapman has a new exhibition which just opened this week at St. Pater’s on North Main Street. Titled Alice and Me, Ciara draws on (pardon the pun!) the 19th century children’s book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Ciara is the woman behind the website My Chronic Pain Diary: Ellie’s interview with her is here.
Venue: St Peter’s Cork
From: February 15 to March 1, open daily
Membership Exhibition at the Lavit Gallery
The Lavit Gallery annual membership exhibition opened last night (17 February), and this year includes 52 art works from artists scattered across Cork and beyond. More information here as well as how to become a member of the Lavit.
Venue: Lavit Gallery
From: 17 February to March 5
Online Exhibition and website launch: 12,000 dolls for the babies of Irish Mother and Baby Institutions.
Courtmacsherry woman Laura Whalen founded the Bábog Project to handcraft a doll in memory of the babies born and recorded as dead in Irish Mother and Baby homes. She had a target of 6,000, but contributors from Ireland and beyond have made double this number.
The Bábóg project is holding an online exhibition and website launch tonight, Friday 18, at 8pm. It’s free to attend but you need to register on Eventbrite.
This week on T+D
Ellie’s had a busy week filled with all things cycling. As we reported on Monday night councillors voted down a plan to install a continuous cycle path on Curaheen Road at the monthly council meeting.
Ellie also published an opinion piece setting out in detail why she’s opposed to building more cycle lanes in Cork city.
There were a lot of responses - hey, it’s cycling! - but that’s the good thing about a free press. As Ellie said after the piece was published:
Phew! Quite the day. Lots of disagreement, loads of fantastic points raised, and very little nastiness. It’s never wrong to question things and thanks to all who weighed in with expertise and experience. We all want the same thing: safe, sustainable travel
That’s it for this week’s round-up. Don’t forget to look for out for the weekend edition of Tripe+Drisheen with our Arts+Culture newsletter.
Also any tips, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact either of us at jj.odonoghue@gmail.com or emailellieobyrne@gmail.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.