The Friday View 18/10
The Jack Lynch Tunnel keeps on closing, house prices are only going one way, and Myo Cafe turns ten. Plus, our round-up of some of what's on in the city and county for the week ahead. Dig in.
Welcome to the Friday View. Let’s get to it.
Council watch: While T+D weren’t able to tune into the full council monthly meeting which took place this past Monday, there were a few notable issues raised in questions submitted ahead of the meeting.
You might recall that earlier this year, a car travelling at speed through the city centre crashed into Parliament Bridge, damaging up to eight metres of the listed structure. Some of the stonework ended up in the Lee and was subsequently recovered. Conservation work is ongoing on the parts that were recovered from the Lee and should be completed by December, according to an update from the Council in response to a question by Cllr Kieran McCarthy (Independent). A tender for the full repair work will be issued next month.
If you go down to the Jack Lynch Tunnel at night... well, you’d best not go, because this month alone it will be closed for nearly three full weeks between the hours of 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Why? It’s a fairly short tunnel, yet it’s closed more often than it’s open at night. Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn (Independent) asked the Council to provide data showing how many hours it has been closed since 2020.
The answer is likely a lot. However, we’ll have to wait for the exact figure, as the Council referred the question to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). For the dates the tunnel is closed this month check here.
Elsewhere, the Council said it has spent just over €850k on security for vacant houses across the city since 2020, in response to a question by Cllr Pádraig Rice (Social Democrats). Between 2019 and 2023, the City Council spent close to €40k on shuttering derelict properties. As Ellie O’Byrne reported in T+D in 2022, a single Ballincollig-based company, Dwellguard Ltd, was the main beneficiary of the council contract.
Electioneering: Cllr Paudie Dineen (Independent) announced this week that he’s putting his hat in the ring for the next general election. Declaring his intention to run, Dineen took aim at Ministers Coveney, McGrath, and Martin, saying: “Over the last five years, we have had three government ministers from Cork South Central sitting at a Cabinet table, and all three did nothing for Cork. All three did nothing for the people of Cork. All three did nothing for Cork South Central.”
What’s less clear from his press release is what Dineen intends to do. The former paramedic and current publican will not be going door-to-door canvassing as he is recovering from prostate cancer, but he said he has a few tricks up his sleeve and will be active across social media.
What goes up, must go up more: Data released by the Central Statistics Office this week revealed that house prices have climbed by over 150% since 2013. Cllr Pádraig Rice, not shy in hitting that send press release button, was quickest out the door with a statement.
“The cost of buying a home has increased by a further 10% in the past 12 months,” he said, adding, “A generation is being pushed out of Ireland, not because of a lack of jobs like in the past, but because they can’t find a home.”
“When this Government took office in June 2020, the median price for a home in Ireland was €260,000. In the four years since then, the price of a home has increased by €85,000.”
Needless to add, there were no statements coming from reps of the government parties, especially Fine Gael, who have been in government continually since 2011. Quite the achievement.
Here’s looking at you SuperValu: Well the good people of Ballintemple certainly will be if a planning application to erect signage at the Páirc Uí Chaoimh GAA grounds is green lighted. The six signs up to 40 meters in length will be erected around the stadium and contain backlighting.
Happy 10th! This month, 10 years ago, Myo Cafe opened a foothold on Pope’s Quay. While it’s a small (cosy) cafe, it packs a punch and Myo and cafe owner Liam Mullaney have been central to bringing life back to the quayside. This week, Liam told T+D that he’s very proud to be part of the community on Pope’s Quay and to be still in business, adding that it took a long time to change the perception of the area.
The quayside chess tables and outdoor seating hover definitely helped. Businesses on the quay are thriving Liam said, adding that he hopes to be an anchor on the quay well into the next decade.
As for what’s to come for Myo, Liam side he hopes he can keep adding to what cafe offers at lunch and dinner such as wine and tapas. Happy birthday, and best of luck to all at Myo into the next decade.
And finally: What’s a two-hour drive from Douglas? Douglas, apparently. The Southside suburb where traffic goes to die.
Out + About
Solas Quartet, the Cork-based group led by Irish Chamber Orchestra leader Katherine Hunka, will play two dates in their lightning tour of Ireland this week. Tomorrow, Saturday 19, they’ll be in St. Mary’s Collegiate Church in Youghal, and on Sunday, 20 October, at St. Brendan’s Church in Bantry. What’s in the mix? A Haydn quartet, as well as the music of Irish composer Dave Fennessy, Wood Works from the Danish String Quartet, finishing off with Smetana’s Quartet No. 1..
Time, date, place: 4pm, Saturday October 19, St. Mary’s Collegiate Church, Youghal
Time, date, place: 3pm, Sunday October 20, St. Brendan’s Church, Bantry
Local indie veterans Boa Morte play in Prim’s Bookshop, Kinsale, on Sunday. Their latest album, The Total Space, was released last year, and offers a more ambient and droney sound. Support comes from The Guilteens, are a four-piece band from Cork city. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Sunday October 20, Prim’s Bookshop, Main Street, Kinsale.
Cobh singer-songwriter Rua Rí draws influences from folk and trad music. He plays at the Sirius Arts Centre on Friday, presenting a setlist from his debut EP, ‘Shepherd’s Delight,’ and debuts new material. Tickets and information here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Friday October 18, Sirius Arts Centre, Westbourne Place, Cobh.
Dublin six-piece band Silverbacks are known for their riffs and lyrics, drawing inspiration from 70s punk and no-wave. They play in Coughlan’s on Sunday, with support from Limerick indie band the Personal Vanity Project. Tickets and information available here.
Time, date, place: 7:30pm, Sunday October 20, Coughlan’s, Douglas Street, Cork.
All That Remains is the culmination of the artists Liam Lavery and Eithne Ring’s residency at Spike Island, with Sample-Studios. Taking place at the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion in Fitzgerald Park, it features “bottled” stories of crime and punishment. They capture the emotional weight of isolation and confinement through scent, focusing on themes of incarceration, crime, punishment, displacement, and resistance. More information available here.
Time, date, place: Friday October 17 - Saturday November 2, Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Fitzgerald Park, Cork.
The Cork Zine Fest takes place this weekend at the South Parish Community Centre. On Saturday, there will be a zine fair between 11am and 5pm with zine makers from all over Ireland. On Sunday, there will be a panel talk with with makers between 2pm and 3pm, while artist and zine maker Elize de Beer will be hosting two ticketed workshops. Tickets for the workshops are €10 and are available here and here, while tickets for the panel talk are available here.
Time, date, place: Saturday October 19-Sunday October 20, South Parish Community Centre, Sawmill Street, Cork.
The Glucksman Gallery is hosting the second in its round of public lectures/conversations this coming weekend. Up next in the series is artist Caitríona Leahy who will be joined by Dr Ben Gearey from UCC. Over the course of an hour, the pair will explore peatland environments and the impact of human interventions. Leahy's artwork Critical Zone: Bog Study I, II, III, features in the current Glucksman exhibition Groundwork: Climate Awareness in the UCC Art Collection and it will serve as the starting point for this conversation. Free admission, booking here.
Time, date, place: 1-2pm, Saturday October 19, The Glucksman, UCC
This week on T+D:
On Wednesday morning T+D's Pádraig O’Connor sent a text saying he underesitamed the traffic to get out of the city on his journey west to Baltimore where he was head to catch the ferry to Oileán Chléire. He made it, and onto the island for the reopening of Leabharlann Oileán Chléire. You can read that piece here:
And finally, thank you to the kind readers who subbed to T+D to help us keep in trucking on. Much appreciated.
That’s it for this week’s Friday View.
Any tips, comments, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact us via 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.