The Friday View 07/01
Welcome to the first Friday of 2022 - there's parks that need cleaning, bikes that need cycling and Rembrandt prints that will be leaving.
Happy New Year to one and all, and let’s hope it’s a good/better one.
JJ writes:
Before schools finally opened yesterday, it was a case of will they, or won’t they? Thankfully they did, because the kids need school, and their friends, especially their friends. That said, I understand the frustration and anxieties teachers and school staff are working under, especially with doors and windows open in the middle of winter.
Mental health is a much-used phrase, and maybe one that casts a wide net over a vast expanse, but while reading about Covid and the past two years in a piece by John Lanchester in The London Review of Books this piece stood out:
“I wonder, though, whether the deepest cost of the pandemic, after the immediate burden of illness and death, won’t be in the area of mental health. The young have had their education and their socialisation disrupted, with consequences that may take years to play out - that may, for all we know, be irreversible. Covid has involved an upturning of the contract between the generations: children have been conscripted to protect adults, and have paid the price.”
In other (non Covid) news, this week the Lord Mayor of Cork city was presented with a new car, in keeping with the time-honoured tradition (in Cork) whereby the Lord Mayor receives a complimentary car from Henry Ford & Son Ltd. A press release from City Hall touted all the bells and whistles of the Mustang Mach-E, as well as informing us that mayor’s driver has christened the car “Knight Rider.”
We (still) look forward to the day (soon) a similar press release announces that the incumbent Lord Mayor has a work bike, and that he looks forward to getting out on it as he glides down the new cycle lanes installed by the City Council in the city centre. If a bike is good enough for the new mayor of New York City on his first week of work, then surely it is for our mayor too.
The lone ranger of Pophams Field
For the past couple of years Michael O’Riordan has been going out to clean up Pophams Field in Farranree on the north side of the city so that his daughter and other kids in the area can play in the park.
This week Michael put a call-out to see if there might be a few more people who would come and join him, starting tomorrow January 8.
Michael told Tripe + Drisheen there are a few reasons why he’s starting the communal clean up.
“The reason I decided after two years to put a call-out and invite people to come do a clean is because I can't do this forever and I want to find other people in the area who would be interested in making some effort in getting started.
“I also want to prove to the Council that people care about the area and are willing to take care of the park.”
Micheal’s not interested in becoming an advocate for the park, rather he’s just motivated to keep it clean, and, as he said, “there’s a lot of rubbish out there.”
(Michael shared photos of the remains of shredded cans and syringes).
“And I hope that by sending out the invite, it will help me find some more people who want to do the same in Pophams Field and other areas.
“I think that's the gist of it.”
Micheal’s had meetings with the community warden and some councillors and he told us that there is interest in making improvements to the park, but “it's still very early days and there’s no real plan in place yet.”
“To date everything I’ve done has been self-funded. I use my own bags and my own equipment and for now I'm happy to keep it that way. It helps maintain my independence. I'm a lone ranger.”
Come Saturday though, there might be a few more rangers in the Pophams Field clean up crew.
Where: Pophams Field, Farranree
When: Saturday, January 8 at 9 a.m.
What to bring: Yourself and any cleaning equipment you might have
Image of the week
There’s an almost painterly quality to the R&H Hall in this photo by the Cork-based artist Kim-Ling Morris. The silos are not long more for this world if all goes to the developer’s plan. But they’ll be with us another while yet. You can see more of Kim-Ling’s work on Instagram here.
Making unwanted gifts wanted
Starting this week, Barnardos shops around the country will gladly receive donations of unwanted Christmas gifts. The charity has a shop on North Main Street, and you can drop off items that you or your family won’t be using.
“In each of our shops you will find anything from clothes, shoes, accessories and children’s items to household goods,” Bernadette Harrington, Barnardos shops manager said in a statement to the media.
“If you received anything that was too small, too big or just not right for your home we will gladly find a home for it in our shop. The funds brought in from each donated item will go directly towards our work with just under 18,000 children and families in communities across the country, so it really will be the gift that keeps on giving.”
Barnardos on North Main Street is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you wish to make a donation they ask you call ahead first on (021) 425 1727.
Out and about
🖼 Exhibition: Water - More or Less at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre
Dublin-based artist Marie Hanlon brings her touring exhibition about water to Skibbereen from this weekend. The exhibition at Uillinn comprises six installation works each addressing an aspect of water stress: flooding, drought, desalination, industrial contamination, seasonal shortages and the unappealing realities of water treatment.
On Saturday, January 8 Marie will be in conversation with writer Sara Baume about the exhibition and the themes it draws from. Make sure to look out for Ellie’s Arts + Culture newsletter tomorrow which goes into more depth on Marie’s exhibition and her work.
🖼 Rembrandt in Print at the Crawford
Rembrandt has his last weekend in Cork at the Crawford Art Gallery, so if you have the chance do drop by to see some of the master’s work. The exhibition comprises 50 works from the Ashmolean’s collection of over 200 etchings and drypoints by Rembrandt. There’s so much detail in his prints, which includes the only sketch he ever did of a pig. Running along side it is a special print primer run by Cork Printmakers. If I had to make one minor adjustment, it might be to add a little more light to the main exhibition room.
Free entry, finishes January 9.
This week’s long read
Just before Christmas Ellie sat down with Seamus Kelly and Ed Winter. The pair first met in Cork Prison. I’m a sucker for profile pieces, but this is a great story about hard times, but also what friendship means.
That’s it for this week’s round-up. 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.