The Friday View 23/06
Bonna Night minus the bonfires, crime stats, an Olympian is pushed out, protestors too, the Polish Ambassador will be in Cork for a special exbibition and a new musical venue for Bantry.
Dia dhuit and welcome to the Friday View. Thanks for subscribing and do help spread the word.
No op-ed this week. I was going to ask Ryan Tubridy to write it, but T+D can’t afford him.
Image of the week:
News in brief:
Changing of the guard: Later today, Cllr Kieran McCarthy (Independent) will be voted in as the next Lord Mayor of Cork in a ceremony in City Hall chambers. The historian and author of more than a dozen books on all things Cork replaces Cllr Deirdre Fordre. There will also be a changing of the guard in the county as Cllr Frank O’Flynn (FF) takes the reins from Danny Collins as the County Mayor.
Pushed out: The race is over for Olympic race walker Rob Heffernan, who has been co-hosting Red FM's breakfast show since February 2022. Red's new owners, Bauer Media Group, are bringing back Keith Cunningham (K.C.) from rival 96FM, and as a result, Heffernan has been shown the door. The Olympic champion told listeners he was "devastated" by the news, but like a true champion, he's taking it in his stride. Heffernan will be able to devote more of his time to his new running club, Cork City AC, which has over 200 members.
Order, order: Garda Commissioner Drew Harris joined the quarterly Joint Policing Committee last Monday in City Hall. At the forum, an array of crime statistics is presented, providing an opportunity for councillors and other elected representatives to get answers from the top brass of the police force in Cork city. The number of gardaí in the city has fluctuated somewhat over the past decade, from 638 in 2016 to 730 in 2021, but now stands at 707.
Meanwhile, some key stats from that meeting: as of mid-June, there had been 127 vehicles reported stolen. The figure was 155 for 2022. Notably, incidents of intent to steal a vehicle or an item from a vehicle are way up from last year at 133 compared to 77 in 2022. This aligns with reports of car thefts and attempted car thefts being a widespread problem in the city. Theft from a vehicle is also up from last year, with 169 cases compared to 136.
Sticking with crime and punishment, the City Council released statistics on parking-related offenses for the year up to June 2023, and as always, St Patrick's Street tops the list as the most ticketed street in Cork with 3,345 tickets issued, accounting for just over 6% of all parking tickets. Interestingly, wardens issued 10,000 more tickets for the 12 months leading up to May of this year, with the total reaching 53,273. This would suggest either an increase in car traffic in the city or more aggressive ticketing in certain locations.
Even transgressors who park on cycle lanes or in cyle cracks are being tickets, albeit the the increase is frmo a very low base: 67 tickets were issued in the 12 months to May of this year, as opposed to three for the previous 12 months. Bike Commuting Ireland has a full list of where those tickets were issued here.
Sticking with policing, gardaí gave short shrift to protesters at the security conference organised by the government and held in UCC. The protesters were ejected for disrupting the peace, according to a statement from an Gardaí. As I tweeted yesterday, librarians in the City Library were probably wondering why the same swift treatment could not be administered to those on the right who intimidate, film, and disrupt the peace when they visit the City Library. However, one key difference in the protesters is that while both sides are entrenched in their beliefs, those on the (far) right would likely return to the library immediately after being ejected and resume their disruptive behaviour.
On dereliction, according to City Council statistics for Q2, there are 116 sites on the Derelict Sites Register (DSR), with 56 in the process of being added to the register and five having been removed. While the City Council has levied more than €1 million from derelict site owners, it has only collected just over €55k for Q2.
West Cork envy: It was announced this week that Bantry is to get a new specially built concert venue. West Cork Music has long been campaigning for such a venue, especially considering that West Cork hosts three significant festivals each year: the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, West Cork Literary Festival, and Masters of Tradition.
The new concert hall will be designed by the Dublin-based firm McCullough Mulvin Architects, who will commence a feasibility study starting in September. Additionally, a community information day is also scheduled for the same month in Bantry. Hopefully, groundbreaking for the new venue will take place soon.
Out + About
🖼Chapel Hill in Macroom will play host to an array of work by the artists collectively known as The f.Project. On Friday, June 30 at 6:30 pm, they will stage "Of Light," an exhibition featuring photography, film, and performance, with Brian Mac Domhnaill, Director of the Lavit Gallery, as the guest speaker. Ellie has a podcast episode about Chapel Hill from last year, which you can listen to here.
Time, date, place: Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, June 30 - July 23, Chapel Hill School of Art, Macroom
🏸Bonna night, minus the bonfires: Cork Sports Partnership has organised events across city parks this afternoon with the emphasis on family and fun (and not bonfires). Taking place between 3 pm and 6 pm in The Glen, Mayfield, Knocknaheeny, Farranree, Mahon, and Togher, there will be sports games, face painting, boxing exhibition fights, music, and arts and crafts. All are welcome.
🎻(Free) Music and the city:If you're in town today at lunchtime, consider dropping by the Opera House where Cork-born cellist Yseult Cooper-Stockdale will be performing as part of the Summer at Half Moon Place lunchtime concert series. Yseult, an accomplished musician, has worked and recorded with a diverse selection of ensembles and artists, including the Welsh National Opera, Kojaque, Anna Meredith, JFDR, Sun Collective, Bastard Assignments, and Southbank Sinfonia. The new initiative from the Opera House is a great way to enjoy live music for free. Starting from July, they will be hosting music sessions twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, so be sure to check the Opera House or Tripe + Drisheen for the full listing.
Time, date, place: 1:10pm, Friday 23 June, Cork Opera House, Emmet Place
🖼A summer favourite:A highlight of the summer arts calendar is a group show at the Lavit Gallery featuring painting, print, photography, sculpture, and craft. It's a great way to see the work of the many artists based in and around Cork and to support them if you can. Included in this year's show are exhibiting artists and makers such as Badly Made Books, Ballyhoura Ceramics, Anna Barden, Anne Bolgna, Katherine Boucher Bueg, Tom Campbell, Tom Climent, Billy Dante, Stephen Doyle, Sinéad Fagan, Angela Fewer, Conrad Frankel, Ita Freeney, Mags Geaney, Sonja Guenther, Barbara Hall, Sean Hanrahan, Seiko Hayase, Margaret Heffernan, and many more.
Time, date, place: 10:30am – 6:00pm, Tues-Sat, 15 June – 29 July, Lavit Gallery, Wandesford Quay
🇵🇱Poland on show: The work of Ballincollig-based self taught Polish artist Artur Grejner will take centre stage at Galley 46, MTU’s cultural outpost on Grand Parade. “Soul Engravings'' is Artur first solo exhibition in Ireland and will includeexamples of his work from the past 20 years. Poland’s Amabassdor to Ireland, Anna Sochańska will launch Soul Engravings on 5pm, Thursday 29th June. All are welcome. More information here.
Time, date, place: 11am - 4pmm June 28 - July 13, MTU Gallery, 46 Grand Parade
This week on T+D:
On Wednesday, we wrote about the famine plot on Carr’s Hill which is now back under the guardiamship of the City Council. It’s a fascinating site and we will be looking into it more.
And on Thursday, we had a review of a wonderful show by the 12 Ensemble who were in Cork for the Midsummer Festival. The Festival continues until Sunday, June 25.
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. 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.