The Friday View 8/11
The Friday View 8/11
☕️New signs across the city, a new running track for Mallow, a new route to St Luke's, a new paint job for a city sculpture and a new (old) President in the.... It's the Friday View.
Good morning and welcome to the Friday View. Let’s get to it.
Run, Mallow, Run: One thing that Cork, and indeed the country does not have half enough of is municipal running tracks. There is a strong argument to be made for building them at existing sprits clubs such as GAA clubs, but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. However the good news coming out of Mallow this week is that under the 2024 Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund, the town is to get a 400-metre Olympic running track, which would be one of only a few like it in Cork according to a press release from the Green Party.
The track is the first part of a bigger project to build a sports complex on the southside of Mallow within walking and cycling distance from the town. Bring it on. Meanwhile, work is progressing on the Kilbrittain Road for Bandon AC’s running track. The groundwork was finished in the summer and it’s expected the track will be complete in the summer of 2025.
Horgan’s Quay steps update: As T+D readers will know we’ve been banging on about the the long-finished set of steps that connects Horgan’s Quay by Kent Station to the Lower Glanmire Road, or would if they were ever open. Well, the good news is that the powers that be have been working in the background, and Cork City Council will take control of the steps from developers BAM and Clarendon.
But before that to happen, a request needs to come into the City Council from Clarendon and BAM and then the process of removing the barriers can get underway. How something seemingly so simple can be so protracted we don’t know as it’s not explained, but kudos to Cllr Oliver Moran from the Green Party for following through on this issue.
Signs, everywhere: If you’ve been on a walkabout of the city centre the past few weeks you might have seen work crews installing the new signs, many of which are still under wraps. The signs are a part of a “new wayfinding scheme” being trialled “in Cork to support tourism and increased walking and cycling.”
Wayfinding sounds like jargon that’s been invented in a death by a thousand committees way of doing things, and we’ll park it up now and forever more, but on first glance the signs are a huge improvement. In both Irish and English, they cover the essentials that you would expect from a sign: where am I, and also can you help me on my way to where I want to go? But more than that, the “tall boys” incorporate nuggets from literature, history, as well as a legend of nearby amenities and places of interest and a QR code where you can wander down a rabbit hole on your phone.
The City Council will erect 48 panels and 10 finger post signs; in equally good news for fans of decluttering everywhere, they’re going to remove 100 signs.
As to why we need the new signs, which we do, research from Fáilte Ireland via a City Council press release notes that “the city centre’s unique island layout, with river channels to its north and south, can make orientation challenging and confusing for visitors.
“Informed by best practice in orientation, the wayfinding network will include engaging interpretation around the city’s character and heritage, highlight Cork’s compact nature and help connect and therefore drive visitor footfall at existing attractions.”
Paint job: Change can be hard (hello America), but we were so used to seeing the unpainted version of sculptor Eilis O’Connell’s long blade of grass-like sculpture outside the Clayton hotel that getting used to the new blue version is, well, jarring. However, writing on Instagram, Derry-born Cork-based O’Connell said after “19 years of no maintenance and six year of nagging City Hall”, Reedpod has finally been cleaned and painted a new colour. It’s definitely one of the more abstract but appealing sculptures in the city centre.
More sculpture: Sticking with things that stand out, the City Council and Fáilte Ireland-backed sculpture trail has a new website which launched last month. T+D slated Island City, the €670k sculpture trail, in a review this time last year with Pádraig O’Connor’s main contention being that it all added up to art that needs words and explanation to make sense, even if those explanations often make no sense. Well now the sculpture trail has a website. With more words. In 36 languages. God help us all. Guided tours will also be offered via the website.
Perry Street no more: All three outlets of Perry Street Market Cafe (Ringaskiddy, Grange and the city centre) will close with immediate effect, the owners announced on social media this week. The Irish Examiner reported that Perry Street owed creditors just over €1.1m, including €500k in tax.
“The hospitality industry has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years, and these difficulties continue to intensify,” owners Brian Drinan and Paul Coffey wrote in a post thanking customers but especially staff.
Voting and registering: By this stage you’ll probably have been made aware of some of the candidates running in the general election in your area by way of canvassing. One way of getting up to speed of who’s running in your constituency and to check which constituency you’re in is via the RTE’s Election 24 guide. All candidates who have declared are listed and there’s an overview of each constituency as well as a brief few lines on most candidates.
Cork is made up of five constituencies ranging from three-seaters up to five-seaters. The boundaries have been redrawn since the last time out. In all, 20 seats are up for grabs in Cork and with some notable siting TDs retiring there will definitely be new faces in the next Dáil. To register to vote or to check the register, visit the check the register website.
Tourism plan: Tourism bigwigs were in town this week to launch Fáilte Ireland’s five-year tourism development plan for Cork City, Harbour and East Cork. One of the big ideas in the plan is a “visitor attraction of scale” to be built in the Docklands, to serve as an ‘anchor’ for the area’s tourism offering.
The city has a number of good attractions for tourists - I first visited the Butter Museum a few months ago and found it a charming and niche little museum, and I left knowing more about my city.
The City Gaol, Nano Nagle Place and the Glucksman are other attractions that receive positive reviews from tourists. The Crawford Art Gallery is currently out of action as it undergoes a much-needed redevelopment.
A city’s museum is usually its centrepiece and often one of its most-visited attractions. In that respect, Cork Public Museum flies somewhat under the radar. I recall, perhaps a bit harshly, one of my history lecturers at university dismissing it as the place to go “if you want to see Michael Collins’ underwear.”
And while the museum is full of artefacts and history that are important to our city, it feels cluttered, full, like it’s putting too much into one space. I brought some visitors there last year, and we all left slightly confused. There weren’t many other visitors in there either.
The museum clearly needs a bigger space. The staff obviously work hard and are dedicated to the museum, but are being let down by the space they have. Galway City Museum for example, built in 2006, has a 2,100 square metre space that sees over 200,000 visitors a year. Could Cork have this?
Could a move east benefit the museum? It would tie in with Fáilte Ireland’s plan for a major tourist attraction in the Docklands. One of the city’s most imposing buildings, the Harbour Commissioners Building, is vacant, and perfectly located on the tip of the island.
Previously planned for a tower, the developers, Tower Holdings, have been in trouble in the US, and their other scheme in the city, The Prism, has been cancelled with planning lapsed, making it unlikely to happen. Could the City Council work its synergies with the current boss of Cork Harbour, who just happens to be the former boss of Cork City Council?
The other option is a new build, making a statement the way Bilbao did with the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Musuem, except in the Marina?
Elsewhere, the plan also includes new tourism trails, greater links with the harbour islands, the creation of five city centre cultural districts, and the positioning of Cork as the Food Capital of Ireland.- KMc
Golden handshakes: Local politicians are drawn to the work for a number of reasons; money would not be one of them. However, all councillors who serve out more than two years and have reached the age of 50 are entitled to a gratuity when they retire from the council. Last weekend The Sunday Independent revealed the amount and how had been paid to councillors across the country for the past few years, but noticeable by its absence from the list was the amount to be paid out to former Cork City Councillors.
According to Cork City Council, one of three local authorities across the country, the information “is too personal to publish.” Nearly all other local authorities clearly did not see it like that and provided the data, which is after all public money.
In the county, some of the biggest payout were to Noel Collins (Ind) €88,700, Marcia D’Alton (Ind) €50,495 and Aindrias Moynihan (FF) €47,301, a sitting TD for Cork North-West. A total of €9.5m was paid out by local authorities across the country over the last five years.
Question time: This coming Monday, November 11, residents of Bandon will have chance to meet and question candidates in the upcoming election at a town hall in Bandon Town Hall. Bandon is in the Cork South-West constituency, a three-seater, along with Kinsale, Clonakilty, Dunmanway, Skibbereen, Bantry, Castletownbere. The outgoing TDs are Holly Cairns (Social Democrats), Michael Collins (Independent Ireland) and Christopher O'Sullivan (Fianna Fáil).
Written questions are welcome before the meeting and should be submitted to bandonconnects@gmail.com.
Time, date, place: 8:30pm, Monday November 11, Bandon Town Hall
Out + About
The Cork International Film Festival returns to The Arc and Triskel Cinemas, as well as The Everyman. On Saturday, a documentary about Dzogchen Beara, screens at the Triskel on Saturday. Chasing the Light tells the story of the Buddhist retreat centre, from its foundation by British hippies to becoming a respected Western Buddhist Institution. It is followed by a Q&A with Director Maurice O’Brien.
Fréwaka (Fréamhacha) is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a home care worker who is sent to a remote village to care for an agoraphobic woman, with the two developing a strangely deep connection. It screens in The Everyman this evening
Weeks after his guitar was sold at auction and donated to the state, a 50th anniversary screening of Tony Palmer’s Rory Gallagher: Irish Tour ‘74 takes place at The Everyman on Thursday, followed by a Q&A with his brother Donal.
A tribute to three pioneers of cinema, The Irish Lumières: The Horgan Brothers tells the story of the brothers James, Thomas and Philip Horgan, who were making cinema a mere couple of years after its advent, in none other than the East Cork town of Youghal. This screens in the Triskel on Tuesday, followed by a panel discussion.
Time, date, place: 8:30pm, Friday November 8, The Everyman, MacCurtain Street, Cork; 8:30pm, Saturday November 9, The Triskel, Tobin Street, Cork; 5:30pm, Tuesday November 12, The Triskel; 5:30pm, Thursday November 14, The Everyman.
Cork Craft + Design Fair takes place this weekend at the Glucksman in UCC. Bringing together more than 50 artists and crafters, they’ll be exhibiting in every square inch of the musuem. Included in the mix is work in textiles, jewellery, print, ceramics, stationary, furniture, glass and woodturning. More information here.
Time, date, place: 1-7pm, Friday 8 November, 10am-6pm, Saturday 9 November, 11am-5pm, Sunday 10 November, The Glucksman Gallery, UCC.
The Cork Pops Orchestra, led by Evelyn Grant, present their ‘Musical Stories’ Concert Series at City Hall next week. Performers include vocalist Keith Hanley, and the young rapper Tiny, who came through the Kabin Studio in Hollyhill. They are working with producer and arranger Jimmy Brockie to bring this year’s Cork Pops concert to life. Book through the website.
Time, date, place: 10am and 12pm, Tuesday November 12 - Friday November 15, City Hall, Cork.
Local 4-piece hardcore/metal band Worn Out were recently announced to as support for American hardore punk band Stray From The Path at Mandela Hall in Belfast and Opium in Dublin. First, though, they launch their new EP, Low, in Dali on Saturday night. This band are heavy, so if you’re into that, check them out. Support from Lure In, Embrace Execution and New Mud. Tickets are available here.
Time, date, place: 8:30pm, Saturday November 9, Dali, Lavitt’s Quay, Cork
A collection of Palestinian artworks is being exhibited in Bantry, in a collaboration between the Bantry group for Palestine, supported by the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the Palestine Museum US. Art Under Fire features the works of Palestinian artists, most of which are for sale, with proceeds going towards humanitarian causes in Gaza. The exhibition runs until December 13 at the Marino Church, Bantry.
Time, date, place: Friday November 8 - Friday December 13, Marino Church, Wolfe Tone Square, Bantry.
Mary Cassatt, une grande dame: Cork Decorative & Fine Arts Society continues its series of public lectures on art and notable artists this coming Saturday. This times it focuses on the life and work of American painter Mary Cassatt. The American painter was one of only three women ever to join the Impressionists. Áine Andrews, a practicing artist specialising in painting and batik, will talk through the works of Cassat.
Time, date, place: 11:30am, Saturday November 9, Nano Nagle Place, Douglas Street.
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.
This week on T+D: Pádraig O’Connor meets Cork’s newest theatre collective. The CTC will be premiering new shows, works in progress, this coming Saturday, November 9.
