☕️The Friday View 28/03
100 years of CUP, a Mallow man sprints into the headlines, Cork GAA bigwigs are looking for bands to fill The Páirc and we have our weekly round-up of what's on for the week ahead.
Good morning and welcome to the Friday View. Let’s get to it.
CUP: Celebrating 100 years of Ireland’s oldest university press, Cork University Press. Notable books from CUP include the Atlas trilogy: Atlas of the Great Irish Famine (2012), Atlas of the Irish Revolution (2017), and Atlas of the Irish Civil War: New Perspectives (2024). Hot off the press this year is Designed for Life: Architecture and Design in Cork City, 1900–90 by Tom Spalding.The exhibition also includes a walk through the decades, featuring seminal publications such as The Novel in France, The Irish Review (whose last edition was published in 2020), and The Book of The Cailleach. Running until the end of 2025, the exhibition is located just inside the entrance to the Boole Library
Medal man: Mallow man Michael Kiely made headlines this week as he won gold at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Florida. The 80-year-old took a podium finish in the 800m race (80–84 age category) with a time of 3 minutes 9.35 seconds. Like many runners in Mallow and across Cork, he doesn’t train on a running track, due to a severe lack of them, but, as he told the Irish Independent in 2022, his wife cut a track in their back garden with a lawnmower, and it’s that circuit he runs round. And round. As he said back then: “They’re talking about putting a track in Mallow, but I might be growing flowers before that comes.”
On track: Sticking with running, Bandon Athletic Club hopes to have its brand-new track up and running at some stage this year, possibly by the end of summer. Situated on the Kilbrittain Road, the nine-acre site was purchased in 2021, and through a combination of fundraising and grants, the committee has been labouring away. They’re now on the final stretch toward what would be a massive addition to West Cork, and hopefully more athletes following in the footsteps of Ballineen’s Phil Healy and Kilbrittain’s Nicola Tuthill.
Out to tender: This week, Cork City Council put out to tender a €10 million upgrade for roads around the Docklands area, including Centre Park Road, Monahan Road, Monahan Linear Park, Marquee Road, the local collector roads between Monahan and Centre Park Roads, Kennedy Spine Park, Marina Marsh, and Marina Walk.
More sites: The Irish Examiner reported on Thursday that the Land Development Agency is eyeing up privately owned sites around Cork city to increase its output of affordable homes. The agency is currently building 900 homes in the city at sites including Horgan’s Quay, the Marina Quarter, and the former St Kevin’s Hospital. It also has plans for 350 homes at the ESB site in Wilton and 140 homes in a new tower at Anglesea Terrace. Long-term plans include developments in Kilbarry near Blackpool, at the ESB site in the Marina, and at Tivoli Docks.
Yer all winners!:The IMRO Live Venue of the Year Awards took place at The Sugar Club in Dublin on Tuesday, with three Cork venues - Coughlan's, Levis' and Cork Opera House - making the shortlist. While McGinley's in Letterkenny took the overall prize, Coughlan's won Best Venue in Munster. Meanwhile on Coburg Street, Sin É was crowned Best Pub in Cork at the recent Irish Restaurant Awards (Munster edition), while L'Atitude 51 Wine Bar triumphed in the wine category. Well deserved!
Under the Goldie: €250,000 has been allocated for the restoration of Shandon's famous bells as part of Cork's new €700,000 Historic Structures Fund, which aims to preserve the city's architectural heritage. Other historic Cork buildings receiving funding include the Cheshire Home in Tivoli, Kinsale Museum, and Cobh's Sirius Arts Centre. The allocation comes as recent restoration projects in the city have incurred significantly higher costs - most notably the €350,000 refurbishment of the Victorian Fireman's Hut on Anglesea Street
Expanding: Dan Lowrey’s on MacCurtain Street has received planning permission from Cork City Council to expand into the adjoining premises – formerly home to Eye Lash You (surely a prize-worthy name!) beside the Everyman Theatre. A small doorway will link the current bar (named one of Europe’s best and cosiest by the European Bar Guide) with the new space. The expansion includes an enlarged basement for a cold room and bathrooms, plus an extended upstairs snug area.
Glanmire says ‘No’: The Northern Distributor Road faces its first hurdle (of many?) as SAVE Glanmire From Gridlocklaunches its campaign, holding its first public meeting on April 3 at the local GAA club. The proposed road, stretching from Carrigrohane in the city’s west to Glanmire in the east via Hollyhill, Ballyvolane, and Mayfield, would terminate near Glanmire Village on the Glashaboy Estuary. While the Glanmire ‘Gridlock’ group isn’t opposed to the road itself, it objects specifically to its eastern endpoint on the Glanmire Road, warning it will “cause traffic chaos, harm businesses, and impact residents & the environment.”
Public Meeting: 7:30pm, Tuesday, April 3 | Glanmire GAA Club
Consultation Deadline: April 10 here.
If only the Cork hurlers were a band: Fans scrambling for tickets this week on Ticketmaster for the hurling League Final on April 6 will no doubt have experienced the stress and anxiety as those blue dots turned white within minutes of tickets being released. The league final, against Tipperary, is a sell-out. Cork County Board could only wish they could have more matches like this, as they’re not having much luck bringing concerts to the venue. It’s not for lack of trying, according to Cork GAA chief Kevin O’Donovan, who was speaking at a Cork Chamber confab this week. As he put it, the Páirc is too small for Coldplay and too big for Live at the Marquee.
One thing there is certainly not is a dearth of touring acts of all sizes. Getting the right ones to gig at the Páirc, well, that’ll likely require hiring some well-connected, well-experienced industry aficionado. Secure a string of successful gigs, and the powers that be down the Páirc won’t have much trouble positioning themselves as a touring venue. But, as the County Board is learning, music is a different ball game. In the meantime, thank God for hurling (and camogie and football). And so say all of us!
Headline of the week: Glamorous Chinese tourist causing a flap in Cork town. While not literally a tourist, or born in China, the story on CorkBeo was about a Golden pheasant spotted foraging for food on the outskirts of Carrigaline. Kudos to the headline writer!
Out + About
🖼️ Health and well being: Two new exhibitions opened this week at The Glucksman on the grounds of UCC. Focusing on work and health, there is a thread that runs between them. Labour of Love: Economies of Care in Contemporary Art, featuring both Irish and international artists, focuses on the essential but often overlooked, underpaid and undervalued work of carers, those working in the hospitality sector and elsewhere
Meanwhile, Health and Wellbeing in the UCC Art Collection reads like it's very on the nose: an exhibition of artworks from the University College Cork art collection that explores the intersection of art and healing, with a particular focus on mental health and physical wellness. But we'll reserve final judgement until we review it.
Time, date, place: Tues -Sat, March 28- July 6, The Glucksman, UCC
🎹 Chopin: If you're in the mood for Chopin (and we don't mean wood!), Triskel is going all-in on the Polish composer and virtuoso pianist this coming weekend with a double performance by concert pianist Fionnuala Moynihan. Over two performances, Moynihan - university pianist and performance coach at Maynooth University - will perform the Complete Chopin Nocturnes. Booking and more info here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday March 29, Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin St.
📚‘A pint of plain is your only man’: To celebrate MylesDay (Myles na gCopaleen) in Cork, Mercier Books will be hosting an open mic reading from An Béal Bocht, widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century, with John McCarthy, and anyone else who could care to read a passage. Email mylesdaycork@gmail.com if you would like to take part. Admission is free but booking ahead by email suggested. Tell ‘em Tripe sent you!
Time, date, place: 8pm, Tuesday April 1, Mercier Books, St Luke’s Cross, Cork.
🎧Cork underground stalwarts Plugd and Dose have teamed up to put together a night of experimental madness at Dali. Hyperdawn are a Manchester-based experimental duo who’s sound varies from vast off-kilter beats to R’n’B, using live reel-to-reel tape processing, electronics and vocals. They are joined by Mantua, the experimental music project by Elaine Malone, and London-based Boy Lucid. Tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday March 29, Dali, Lavitt’s Quay, Cork.
🎶Joshua Burnside is an experimental folk singer songwriter who takes influence from alternative electronica and Irish folk. He performs at St Catherine's Cultural Centre, Kinsale for the launch of Lost Sessions, a new cultural initiative of Lost Studios. He is supported by Cobh folk musician Rua Rí, a young talent who has been making noise in the local scene. Tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: 7pm, Friday March 28, St. Catherine’s Cultural Centre, Ardbrack, near Summercove, Kinsale.
🖼️This weekend is your final chance to see Backwater Artists’ latest exhibition, At first / I was Land, at Studio 12. Curated by Niamh Brown and featuring the work of Paul Gaffney, Debbie Godsell, Fiona Kelly, Sarah Long, and Róisín O’Sullivan, the exhibition, which takes its name from an Eavan Boland poem, explores the metaphor of Ireland as a woman or maternal figure, and the reality faced by women living under patriarchy. There will be a panel discussion on the exhibition at the exhibition space on Saturday March 19 at 2pm. More information about the exhibition here and the panel discussion here.
Time, date, place: Until April 4, Studio 12, Wandesford Quay, Cork.
🔭Don’t forget, Cork Lifelong Learning Fest starts next week, April 2 to April 9. There’s hundreds of free events on across the city and online. We highlighted a few this week here:
10 things to see, hear and do for Cork Lifelong Learning Fest 2025
To say there’s a lot on for the 20th edition of the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival is like saying the Cork hurlers have some talent. I mean, it wildly understates it. The annual festival of ideas, music, film, cookin…
Also, this week Pádraig O’Connor wrote about his trip west to The Hollies and learning about to start a vegetable garden by not doing (that) much.
In an eco-village in West Cork, the focus is practical with magical results
I first heard of The Hollies a couple of years ago from a friend of mine who attended one of their courses on wild food foraging. He enjoyed the day so much, the following year he returned again for an intensive week-long course in cob building, and…
For your calendar:
Cork World Book Fest returns next month and runs from April 22-27. More information here.
Cork International Choral Festival kicks off just after beginning April 30 until May 4. More information here.
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.