☕️The Friday View 16/05
Falcons in the cathedral, tripe, drisheen and crubeens on the menu in Miyazaki, and Cork Airport is getting an avenue named after Rory Gallagher. Plus, our round-up of what to see, hear and do!
Hello, and welcome to the Friday View! Let’s get to it.
Pulitzer: Earlier this month, Fermoy-born photographer Ivor Prickett won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting on the conflict in Sudan. Ivor was part of a New York Times team which included fellow Irishman Declan Walsh, the paper's chief Africa correspondent.
Prickett was previously a finalist in the 2018 Pullitzers for his war photography captured in Mosul and Raqqa in Iraq. He made the shortlist then for “heartbreaking and frightening images that brought a fresh approach to classic war photography and gave an intimate view of the impact on shell-shocked survivors of what ISIS left behind in Mosul and Raqqa.” Some of that work feels like it could be stills from Alex Garland’s Warfare.
Born in Fermoy, Prickett moved to Navan and attended King’s Hospital where his interest in photography started. He studied photography at Sallynoggin College in Dublin and continued on to a Bachelor of Arts in Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales.
Writing on Instagram, Prickett said: “I am particularly happy that the tragedy in Sudan has been recognised by the Pulitzer judges, because it has been so hard to get people to care about what is happening there. We are all tired of endless wars and suffering but that doesn't mean we can turn away. Sudan needs our attention more than ever.”
Holy birds: Last weekend, JJ was over at St Fin Barre's Cathedral shepherding a Dutch TV crew. They're in Ireland for two weeks filming a travel and food series set to air in September. Now here's the scoop: while filming at the cathedral, we learned from Eoin Murphy, the operations manager, that the historic building is home to something extraordinary - a pair of nesting peregrine falcons. Hello, big news!
It just so happens that the birds of prey were on TV this week on RTÉ Today, when Derek Mooney went to Elizabeth Fort to learn more about the falcons from bird expert Jim Wilson. The male and female pair, Makeda and Solomon, are currently sitting on two eggs in a bird box in one of the spires. Hatchlings are expected any day now.
Barry O’Callaghan, bar manager of Forde’s Bar at the bottom of Barrack Street, said he hears the falcons regularly as they swoop over the skies on their way to the lower harbour to catch prey. So look up the next time you’re over that way. (Better than looking across to the Event Centre site. Ouch!)
Sticking with Barrack Street: The aforementioned Dutch film crew were keen to get a taste of Cork, so we introduced them to tripe and drisheen, though via the chefs at Miyazaki on Evergreen Street. And boy, were they glad they’d called ahead to Mike McGrath and Pádraig Nagle, because the next day, the Dutch crew cooked it the traditional way (boiled in milk) at the Farmgate Café in the English Market, under Pamela Kelly’sguidance. Like most people, though, they found it hard to stomach.
At Miyazaki, though, the tripe gets the karaage treatment, deep-fried, crunchy, and delicious. McGrath and Nagle are also adding crubeen to the menu in the form of a korokke, a gorgeous little Japanese croquette. It all adds up to traditional food with a twist—well worth trying, so keep an eye out when these dishes appear.
As Chef Mike McGrath says: “Keep tripe alive.” The Miyazaki crew are certainly doing their part. And if you snag a window seat at Osho, ’tis almost like being in Spain. If only they served Beamish.
Rory Gallagher Avenue: With no Olympics or Euros to gorge on this summer—although the Double is ON!—what to do? One answer, courtesy of Cork City Council, is a Rory Gallagher remembrance festival called ‘Cork Rocks for Rory’, marking the thirtieth anniversary of his death.
The anniversary celebration of the soft-spoken blues legend includes an exhibition featuring his first guitar, as well as photographic exhibitions at the Cork Public Museum and in the Atrium at Cork City Hall. Additionally, there will be the unveiling of Rory Gallagher Avenue at Cork Airport. While avenues aren’t usually something you associate with airports, Cork Airport is getting one, and the first honour is going to Rory G.
Fringe 2026: The inaugural Cork Fringe Festival wrapped last weekend, but the good news is that the organisers have confirmed they’ll be back in May, 2026 on the weekend of May 8-10. It was no mean feat to set up a new theatre festival, so here’s to the many more editions of Cork Fringe and an opportunity for new writers, directors and performers to stage their works in a special festival.
West Cork Greenways: TFI and Cork County Council are in the consultation stages of building two major greenways in the west of the county: one will link Skibbereen to the towns of Schull, Baltimore and Drimoleague and the other will link Crossbarry to Clonakilty via Bandon and with links to Timoleague. They are two separate greenways and with two separate consultative forums (and websites).
The Council are holding an additional public consultation for the Skibbereen to Drimoleague Greenway section due to the identification of an additional Route Corridor Option which will take place on Thursday May 22 from 2pm -8pm at Drimoleage Parish Hall. More information here.
For the Bandon - Clonakilty Greenway there’ll be a public consultation on will Wednesday, May 21 from 2pm -8pm at Ballinascarthy Community Hall. More information here.
Railway Park: It’s a sliver of a park nestled in St Luke’s near the rail line by Kent Station, but the local community has been toiling away to bring Railway Park back to life. Last year, the community group transforming the little park secured funding, and like everything in Ireland, they’re looking for more funding to realise their goal of making a gem of a public park and space for the community there. To wit, they’re organising a pub quiz and social night in Henchy’s on Thursday, 22 May from 6:30pm, hosted by the unflappable Ronan Leonard, with all proceeds going to Railway Park.
For your calendar: ‘All About Cork’ opens at Market Gallery in Douglas Shopping Centre on May 23 from 6-8pm, and it features artwork that, you guessed it, is all about Cork. All welcome
Out + About
Clare native Fiona O’Connell is a singer-songwriter who’s ethereal folk music is influenced by Adrianne Lenker and Joshua Burnside. She performs in Plugd on Sunday with the local ambient singer-songwriter Ankil (Pretty Happy), who is inspired by an accumulation of genres. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 7pm, Sunday May 18, Plugd, Cornmarket Street, Cork.
The Coughlans Roots Festival got underway last night, Thursday May 15, with a sold out Lemoncello gig, and there’s plenty more to come. Kevin Quigley and the Great Ideas perform tonight, while James Yorkston, The Half Room and the Raines perform tomorrow. Ricky Lynch and the Lynch Mob and The Céilí Allstars perform free gigs on Saturday and Sunday, while the Original 7 present seven original singer-songwriters on Monday night. Full lineup and tickets here.
Time, date, place: Thursday May 15 - Monday May 19, Coughlan’s, Douglas Street, Cork.
Leitrim-based Fergus FitzGerald has been a practicing artist for fifteen years, painting scenes from countries around the world. That travel aspect informs the title of his wonderfully named solo show ‘Geography is Important’ which is now on at Sirius in Cobh. He extensively researches the areas he depicts before he paints, to which he adds his own thinking and anecdotes drawn from popular culture. His works are exhibited at the Sirius Arts Centre until the end of June. More information here.
Time, date, place: Friday May 2 - Saturday June 28, Sirius Arts Centre, Westbourne Place, Cobh.
Tomi Ungerer was a French illustrator who lived his later years in West Cork. Illustrators Ireland celebrate his work at the Laneway Gallery on Shandon Street, with over 50 artists participating by sharing their interpretations of Ungerer’s work and responses to his influence. More information here.
Time, date, place: Friday May 16 - Saturday June 14, Laneway Gallery, Shandon Street, Cork.
Singer-songwriter Amano is touring the country with her Mythillogical Meitheal Tour, and is in Maureen’s next Tuesday. Singing and performing spoken word is on the cards, with support from poets Lavie Olupona and Aleesha Wiegandt. Tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: 7:30pm, Tuesday May 20, Maureen’s, John Redmond Street, Cork.
Artificial Dream Lab is a night of live music and DJs at Connolly’s of Leap. Its seventh edition is tonight, with performances from trip-hop band AINM and Searching for Apollo, followed by DJ sets from UltraPollen and LostSol. More information and tickets here.
Time, date, place: 7:30pm, Friday May 16, Connolly’s of Leap.
UCC Library presents an exhibition in collaboration with the UCC Music Department, Sonic Experiments from within UCC Library Archives. It includes explorations by UCC music students into the archival content of the Collections, which includes photographs, texts, maps, and other rare materials. The exhibition runs until August and all are welcome, just tell security at the library entrance that you’re there for the exhibition.
Time, date, place: May until August, UCC Library.
This week’s Doc on Sun at the Triskel is one we reviewed on T+D earlier in the year. ‘Chasing the Light’ tells the story of Dzogchen Beara, a well-known Buddhist retreat centre on the Beara peninsula. What many people might not know is the complicated and complex story of Sogyal Rinpoche, author of the highly acclaimed ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, involvement with the centre. In his review, Padraig said ‘Chasing the Light’ is a heartfelt and poignant exploration of one young and idealistic couple’s dream of building a place of refuge on the remote edge of a cliff in West Cork in the early 1970s. Tickets and more info here.
Film review: Chasing The Light
Maurice O’Brien’s latest documentary ‘Chasing The Light’, is a heartfelt and poignant exploration of one young and idealistic couple’s dream of building a place of refuge on the remote edge of a cliff in West Cork in the early 1970s.
Time, date, place: 12pm, May 18, Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin St
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.
This week on T+D:
As National Bike Week rolls around, Kjeld van den Heuvel from Cork Cycling Campaign reflects on how cycling is growing in Cork, but also where it's at a crossroads and a standstill.
Cycling and the city
Cork has been enjoying glorious sunshine lately, and what better way to take it in than from the saddle of a bike? From May 10 to 18, the city is marking National Bike Week - a country-wide celebration that has quietly become one of the most joyful weeks of the year for the Rebel City.
Pádraig went to see a piano recital that was a bit different at Cork Fringe:
Theatre review: Piano Recital at TDC
Watching Andy Ingamells and Benjamin Burns perform Piano Recital at the Triskel Arts Centre in one of the final shows of the Cork Fringe Festival last night, I couldn’t help but think of Glenn Gould.