☔️The Friday View 14/02
It never rains but it pours, the "Four-Faced Liar" lives up to its reputation, the 10 most dangerous junctions in the city for cyclists and a lovely new film showcases the work of Meitheal Mara.
Good morning and welcome to the Friday View. Let’s get to it!
News in brief
Time is money: Cork City Councillors were told at this week’s monthly meeting that the cost of fixing the famous "Four-Faced Liar" clock on Shandon Bells is likely to be as much as €400,000. Currently, one of the clocks has stopped, with the other three all showing different times. When will the clock be fixed?
Per The Echo: “The timeline for these works is dependent on the outcome of the funding application. However, Cork City Council is committed to carrying out the required repair works to this historically important landmark,” said Niall Ó Donnabháin, a City Council director.
With Stokes Clocks stepping away from repairing the clock, time will tell how long it will all take, and how much it will cost.
Cycling in the city: Ask any cyclist, and it’s likely they’ll tell you in a hot minute where the most dangerous junctions on their commute are. In fact, they’ll probably chew your ear off, and for good reason. To wit, Cork Cycling Campaign has compiled a list of 10 of the most dangerous junctions for cyclists, and they’re likely to chime with many cyclists.
Where are they? Many are in the city centre, such as the junction at South Terrace/Georges Quay and Brian Boru Street to Patrick's Quay, but not all (Model Farm Road is in there too, as is Wilton Road). You can see the full list here, as well as what makes these junctions dangerous, what’s being done, or not done, to make them safer, and hopefully, get more people cycling.
Doing things differently: Every new boss wants to do things differently, or their way, as they tear up the rulebook, or at least add a few pages. President Trump is doing it with Executive Orders, machismo, and a general contempt for norms. Closer to home, Valerie O’Sullivan, the Chief Executive of Cork City Council, told business leaders at a Cork Business Association confab this week that she will be guided by a succinct mantra: Keep it Simple, Decide, Deliver (or KISDD if you need to put it on a baseball cap).
There’s a lot to be said for doing things according to that mantra, and we’ll reserve judgment until we can assess those deliveries. One thing evident from that address to the business community was the appeal to people not in the room: central government. Like all Chief Executives, she would like the budget to increase in accordance with our second-city status. (Cork County Council’s budget for 2025 is €516m, while the City Council has €325m to see it through the year).
What would be nice to see is the Chief Executive venturing beyond the usual speaking circuit of Cork Chamber and the CBA, etc., to community groups, community gardens, community anything, in fact.
Local Green Deals: This week, the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Dan Boyle, signed 12 Local Green Deals (LGDs), which establish partnerships with local businesses and organisations to “accelerate sustainability actions.”
LGDs, you say? Well, what are they when they’re at home? Well, according to the City Council press release: LGDs are a strategic governance approach to local-level climate action, which aligns local actions with the wider goals of the European Green Deal.
We’re absolutely none the wiser from that press release on the details, so we asked what exactly they entail, and hopefully, we’ll know more soon. And then you’ll know more. Or, maybe that could have all been included in the initial press release?
One to watch: On most Saturdays, you’ll usually see a fleet of curraghs making their on the river Lee as rowers from Naomhóga Chorcaí plough a lovely, if sometime meandering path, through the city to the sea. Meitheal Mara, founded in 1983 and based at Crosses Green, has been one of the driving forces behind getting curraghs out on the river, and giving thousands of young people an opportunity to row and get into a curragh as part of the Bádóireacht programme.
‘Bádóireacht; Rows of Opportunity’ a new film by Mickael do Couto tells the story of Meitheal Mara and that programme by focusing on some of the participants as well as some of the key people who keep the programme afloat. The new documentary was funded by Conrad Howard, co-owner of Market Lane.
Public Toilets: The evergreen and public health issue of public toilets, or the lack of them, was back on the council agenda this week. Cllr. Niamh O’Connor (SDs) said we need a long-term solution instead of relying on private businesses to fulfil a public need. In particular, she’s campaigning for a public toilet in The Lough, which sits in her ward and badly needs one, as does nearly every public park. Could the answer lie with the new Chief Executive’s mantra of getting it done? Keep it Simple, Decide, Deliver.
Cllr. O’Connor also outlined cheaper options than the €35k self-cleaning toilets the Council is suggesting. She cited Dublin City Council’s public toilets near Stephen’s Green as a more affordable alternative. Internationally, there are definitely cheaper and more pragmatic options available.
On our radar: A group called Courtspace Cork is surveying users of Douglas Community Park, specifically to get feedback about a possible upgrade to the basketball court there. The community park, like many others across the city, has benefited from a lot more funding and civic pride. (Incidentally, it also has no public toilet) Courtspace Cork wants to assess whether improving the court could lead to more ball time. Survey here.
Out+About
🎶Visual artist and musician Anthony Ruby recently released Black Water Rising, his debut album, which combines uilleann piping with new folk tunes. He performs Live at the Library on Saturday with Cárthach Ó Nuanáin on keyboards, guitar and bouzouki and Tom Boutazz on double bass. Tickets for that available here.
Time, date, place: 3pm, Saturday February 15, Cork City Library, Grand Parade.
🎧If that wasn’t enough music at the City Library, Listen Back returns with a deep dive into Michael O’Shea’s self-titled album. Presented by Paul McDermott, the listening session explores the five-track album that the Newry-born musician recorded with his 17-string instrument he named “Mo Chara”. Tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: 11am, Wednesday February 19, Cork City Library, Grand Parade.
🎵More music in places where you can get books, but this time in Kinsale. Jazz vocalist Laoise Leahy has collaboraed with Johnny Taylor & his trio, Jack O’ Rourke, Dermot Kennedy, Damon Albarn, Ye Vagabonds and others through live shows, festivals, recording sessions and residencies. She performs with Cian Sweeney’s (1000 Beasts) project, As If I Always Knew, at Prim’s Bookshop on Sunday. You can read our interview with Cian here and get your tickets here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Sunday February 16, Prim’s Bookshop, Main Street, Kinsale.
🎭The Blackwater Fit Up Theatre Festival continues this weekend after performances in Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Bartlemy and Inch. It continues this week with performances of Paddy - The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong, a biographical drama about Paddy Armstrong, who was one of the wrongly convicted Guildford Four, starring Don Wycherley. Those take place at Ballynoe Community Hall, near Conna, The Mall Arts Centre in Youghal, and The Palace Theatre in Fermoy. From Tuesday onwards, various productions take place across all of the venues that have hosted the festival; The Sandpark at Inch Community Hall on Tuesday, Pádraig Potts in Bartlemy on Wednesday, and The Ballad of Mossy Flood in Mitchelstown on Thursday. Tickets available at the door.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Friday February 14, Ballynoe Community Hall; 8pm, Saturday February 15, The Mall Arts Centre, The Mall, Youghal; 8pm, Sunday February 16, The Palace Theatre, Ashe Quay, Fermoy; 8pm, Tuesday February 18, Inch Community Hall; 8pm, Wednesday February 19, Bartlemy Community Hall; 8pm, Thursday February 20, Ballynoe Community Hall.
🖼️Fragments of the Past, Maps for the Future is an exhibition featuring the works of Kilkenny artist Mary Butler and local artist Rachel Walsh, at the Laneway Gallery in Shandon. Butler works recycled materials to create assemblages that are inspired by architecture, design, urban shapes and landscapes, and represents an eco-conscious approach to creativity. Walsh creates mixed media maps and ceramics based on the urban fabric of Cork City. The exhibition runs until March 1.
Time, date, place: Thursday February 6-Saturday March 1, Laneway Gallery, Shandon Street, Cork.
🎬Chasing the Light is a documentary about Dzhogchen Beara, that made it’s debut at the Cork Film Festival last November. For those who missed it, it screens at the Triskel from Sunday until Wednesday. You can read Pádraig’s film review of it here, tickets here.
Time, date, place: 2pm, Sunday February 16, 6pm, Monday February 17-Wednesday February 19, Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin Street, Cork.
❤️Fold over: Origami artist Sachiko Kobaysahi is just one of more than a dozen artists showing at Pulp in Market Gallery in Douglas Shopping Centre. The Nagano native will be at the gallery today from 1-3pm for a free Valentine-themed origami workshop. Suitable for all ages and abilities.
Time, date, place: 1-3pm, Friday February 14, Market Gallery, Douglas Shopping Centre, Douglas
🖼️To launch the month-long exhibition by artist Ríona Denys, there’ll be plenty spot prizes, music and paintings to ponder in Osho from this coming Saturday. The French-Irish artist likes to indulge in live painting setting up canvas next to DJs. QRs codes on the paintings on show will direct viewers to the music Ríona was listening to while painting. On the decks for the opening night will be DJs Jon Barry and Mills. All welcome. From 8pm.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday February 15, Osho, Barrack St Cork
🎶And, finally, there’s still tickets going for Ollam at Cyprus Avenue tonight. The line-up is started studded and features bass guitar supremo Joe Dart, Detroit drummer Michael Shimmin, Limerick Seán O’Meara, along with Ross Ainslie on whistle and piper John McSherry. Well worth going to. Tickets €30. Doors from 7pm
Time, date, place: 7pm, Friday February 14, Cyprus Avenue, Caroline Street.
This week on T+D:
We interviewed Sasha Mitichkin, a 20-year-old student from Ukraine studying software development at Munster Technological University, who, in the space of 24 hours built a website to track no-show buses. Since the story went live on T+D and CorkBeo, Sahsa said there’s been a huge uptick of activity on his site. He’s going to share all that info with Bus Éireann. That story below:
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 long weekend.