The Friday View 1/09
School is back. So is our tweet of the week, and we've picked the winners of our summer photo competition. Plus, what makes the Lord Mayor of Cork stand out?
☀️Hello and welcome to the Friday View on Tripe + Drisheen. Thanks for subscribing, and do help us spread the word.
In Ireland, mayors’ jobs are ceremonial. Think of them as presidents with a small 'p,' but with a few differences. They are unelected (by the public) and carry no political power, so instead, they're expected to show up, smile, say a few words, press the flesh, say a few more words, pose for a few photos (see above), and drive on. Always driving on. Or being driven in the case of Cork's Lord Mayors.
Anyway, here in Cork city, the lord mayorship is a fine tradition. It's (very) well-paid, and it's a hectic 12-month schedule. We've had a good spread of colourful mayors over the years in Cork city and county. A few years back, we had our chance in a plebiscite to decide whether to have a directly elected mayor, but a very slim majority said no. It's hard to knock the status quo in Cork.
Each Lord Mayor brings their own brand and colour to the office, but the current Lord Mayor, Kieran McCarthy, an independent councillor, has hit the ground running. As he said as much himself, he's wanted this role for a long time. And it shows through his eagerness and exuberance.
Perhaps what makes Cllr McCarthy unique amongst his mayoral peers across the country is that he's a working historian. Since he assumed office early in the summer, he's held more than half a dozen free walking tours throughout the city. How many other cities or towns in Ireland could you roll up to and expect to see the Mayor out leading his flock on a historical walkabout? What's more, he's been conducting walking tours long before he became a mayor, and likely will continue after his term ends next year. He also writes a history column in the Cork Independent, Cork's punniest paper.
Now, the thing about turning up to public events is that they are public, and sometimes some people are less interested in getting a selfie than starting an inquisition. Enter Ross Lahive, the alt-right activist, famous in Cork for storming the City's public library. Last week he turned up on North Main Street where a street fest was taking place to demand answers as to why, according to Mr Lahive, the Lord Mayor accused his band of protestors for the closure of the city library at the end of July during a protest and a counter protest.
Just to be clear for those down the back of the classroom, our lord mayors have no political power. (God be with the days, when a visit by the mayor - and the Bishop - meant your school got a half-day). The decision to close the library last month was not made by the Lord Mayor. That was made by senior library staff and the council executive. But facts and the far right travel on different highways.
What was far more interesting (and entertaining) was the Lord Mayor's response: he opted to sing "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin" forte voce, and oh, how it got under Mr Lahive's skin. It was, in fact, the second time that week that the Lord Mayor sang that song, but this time it got a far bigger audience online courtesy of Mr. Lahive's broadcast (It ended with the phone going spiralling, the Lord Mayor’s chain being pulled and recriminations).
There was something appropriately absurd about the Lord Mayor's musical response. I don’t know if any answer would ever satisfy Mr. Lahive's manufactured brand of victimisation and constant outrage (at least online)?
What makes this Lord Mayor capable for Mr Lahive’s antics is that, like the agitator, he too loves the camera. Both men grasp the pull and power of the (very) small screen and since becoming the Lord Mayor, Cllr McCarthy has significantly ramped up his pieces to camera on his social media channels. So when Mr Lahive presented him with a chance to appear on camera, he jumped at it, but not in the way Mr Lahive expected.
At the end of this month, Cllr McCarthy will host The Lord Mayor's Community & Heritage Concert 2023, with performances from the Barrack Street Band, the Voices of Cork Choir, along with singers Linda Kenny, Art Supple, and others. In its press release, the City Council said that tickets will be distributed by the committee to people who wouldn't normally get the chance to attend such an event.
The Lord Mayor was not listed as one of the performing artists, but if the recent past is a prelude, he’s up for it. It’s his year.
(Update: This piece was edited to reflect that Mr Lahive did not ask the Lord Mayor why he closed the city library, but rather to clarify his comments about the closure of the library. Thanks to a reader for pointing this out).
-JJ
Tweet of the week:
This shot of the two channels of the River Lee wrapping around the city centre by Alan Barry is our tweet of the week. As Alan told us he booked a seat by the window on the right side of the Alghero-bound plane hoping for clear weather, and his luck was clearly in. Thanks, Alan.
News in brief
Docklands to residential lands: The big planning news from the city centre this week was the announcement that O’Callaghan Properties has been granted the go ahead to build more than 1,300 apartments and homes on Monahan Road near the Docklands. As noted in the press, it will be the single biggest residential b development plan in Cork city centre when it gets underway.
No timeline has been given, but what is interesting is that half of the 1,325 units will be one-bedroom, which ties in with demographic changes.
Clean air: Thursday, September 7 is the United Nations International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, or Clean Air Day, and to mark the occasion there are a series of events at City Hall and across the city, culminating with a Clean Air roundtable discussion that’s open to all. The roundtable will be led by Dr Marica Cassarino and Dr Dean Venables of UCC. The pair have received funding from Science Foundation Ireland and will be working with the the City Council and Cork Healthy Cities on air quality and communication in Cork.
Their project, entitled “BEHAV-I-AIR: Behaviour and Impact on Air Quality”, is centred around community engagement and co-creation, which is another way of saying, they want to hear from people on how we get to having better air quality. Free entry and light refreshments will be served. More details about the event and registration here.
T+D photo competition: Summer in the city and county
Congratulations to the two winners of our July photo competition. We had some great entries for what turned out to be a wet, wet month. We’ll split the difference, and put a cheque in the post to Séamus O'Sullivan and Michael Plaice, our two winners. Thanks to all who entered.
Out + About
🗣Architecture and Design Festival Design POP returns this year, running from Friday until Sunday, September 3 with popup pavilions at Nano Nagle Place, Penrose Dock and Penrose Wharf. The theme of this year is 'Urban Regeneration and Creative Community' and it’s a packed schedule which includes gems such as “an immersive audiovisual space, which captures the ‘essence’ of Cork’s creativity across disciplines, and emphasises the importance of the city’s creative community”.
Elsewhere, tomorrow evening, Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry of Anois Agency will be joined by Frank O'Mahony of Wilson Architecture and Rob Curley and Alfonso Bonilla of Maremoto Architects as well as Darragh Breathnach of DUA for a panel discussion on Urban Regeneration. The full schedule and tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: Friday September 1-Sunday September 3, Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street, Penrose Dock, Penrose Quay and Penrose Wharf, Penrose Quay, Cork.
🎸Local no wave band Crying Loser play in Coughlan’s tonight in celebration of their newly released EP, Oaf Milk. Comprising of lead Arthur Pawsey (Land Crabs, Belvedere Torso), flutist/clarinetist Sam Clague (Land Crabs, Elaine Malone), bassist Micheál Fitzgerald (Trá Pháidín) and drummer Ruairí de Búrca (Trá Pháidín, Ana Palindrome), they create harsh tones using unconventional methods. Support comes from Twitcher, tickets are €15 and available here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Friday September 1, Coughlan’s, 7 Douglas Street, Cork.
🎵American musician Kenny Feinstein’s Water Tower String Band plays in Levis’ Corner House in Ballydehob on Saturday. With backgrounds in punk, bluegrass, reggae, jazz and prog-rock, the band has a diverse range of musicians which has created a unique sound. If you’re in West Cork, it’s definitely worth checking out this bespoke and carefully curated band. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday September 2, Levis’ Corner House, Ballydehob.
🎹Singer songwriters Fiona O’Connell and Calmea and alternative pop musician Laura Duff are touring Ireland with four acoustic gigs. Maureen’s is their next stop after playing Pot Duggan’s in Ennistymon, Co. Clare on Sunday. An afternoon affair, the music starts at 3pm, with what looks to be a very chill vibe. I can’t think of a more lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 2:30pm, Saturday September 2, Maureen’s, Mulgrave Road, Cork.
🪴Following last week’s cancellation due to bad weather, the St Luke’s Garden Meetup takes place this weekend instead. New members are always welcome, so if you’re a St. Luke’s Cross/Military Hill/Montenotte/Mayfield resident who’s interested in gardening and wants to get involved in the local community, why not pop down and say hello!
Time, date, place: 10am -12pm, Sunday September 3, St Luke’s Community Garden, Ballyhooly Road, Cork.
☁️Clean Air Cork: As well as the public discussion on clean air in Cork taking place on September 7, there will be a series of events to mark Clean Air Day including a lunchtime cycle from City Hall to Fitzgerald’s Park. There’ll also be a light show featuring an illumination of City Hall on both September 6 and 7. More information about all the events here.
Time, date, place: Various times, September 7, Cork City Hall.
✊Cork Rebels for Peace will be rallying at Grand Parade tomorrow, Saturday, September 2. Their message: Cork says no to racism. Expect a loud, buzzy carnival atmosphere, and who knows maybe songs. The organisers are asking for people to bring flags, banners and placards, as well as megaphones, whistles - the kitchen sink!
Time, date, place: 2pm, September 2, Grand Parade, Cork city.
🚉Better off by train: In the age of cheap flights, taking the long and circuitous route to a European destination is likely not even an afterthought for most people. Still, it has its benefits, especially for the planet. Rail blogger Jon Worth and MEP Ciarán Cuffe will joing Green Party MEP Grace O’Sullivan at her constitiency office this Saturday for a conversation about taking the slow boat and the mail train. The panelists will share their thoughts on the pain and pleasure of rail travel in Europe, before opening the discussion to the floor. All are welcome, but you need to register here first.
Time, date, place: 4pm, September 2, MEP Grace O’Sullivan Cork Constituency Office, 12D Washington Street West, Cork city.
In case you missed it:
This week, JJ wrote about the first-ever All-Ireland mahjong tournament which took place at the Rockies hurling club in Blackrock. You can read that here:
That’s it for this week’s Friday View. Any tips, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact us via our About page here and via email to tripeanddrisheen@substack.com and on our various social media channels, including Twitter and Instagram where we are posting more stories. 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.
That is a very biased account of events concerning the Lord Mayor ,I'd even go do far as to say it verges on propaganda . I thought T&R had higher standards than that !! At least get your facts right . Firstly the Lord Mayor was not asked to clarify why he closed the library , he was asked to clarify why he lied. Secondly..the phone didn't just go spiralling, the Lord Mayor actually purposely knocked it out of Lahive s hand and it went flying in the air and hit a passerby on the head which created the brief physical tossel between Lahive and the Lord Mayor .
Hmm.. it's still very biased and not accurate . Where did you get the notion that Lahive is " alt right " ? These labels get thrown around to strip normal people who want to highlight corruption and use their right to free speech and peaceful protest of credibility etc . It is your job as a journalist to get as much of the full story as possible . Did you make any attempt to talk to Lahive about the matter ?