Cllr Kieran McCarthy presents two more historical walking tours during the month of April.
Sunday 14 April, Stories from Cork Docklands, historical walking tour with Kieran, learn about the evolution of Cork’s Docklands from its early days through its historical maps, 19th & 20th century industrialisation to housing and community building, meet at Kennedy Park, Victoria Road 2.30pm (free, duration, two hours, area tour, part of the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, finishes nearby).
Sunday 21 April 2019, Ballinlough Historical Walking Tour with Kieran, learn about nineteenth century market gardens, schools, industries, and Cork’s suburban standing stone, meet outside Beaumont Schools, Beaumont 2.30pm (free, duration: two hours, finishes on Ballinlough Road).
Cllr. McCarthy noted: “Ballinlough and Docklands are full of historical gems; the walks not only talk about these areas as important corners in the city’s development but also their identity and place within the historical evolution of our city. It is also a forum for people to talk about their own knowledge of local history in the area”.
Cllr McCarthy continued; “Ballinlough has a rich variety of heritage sites. With 360 acres, it is the second largest of the seven townlands forming the Mahon Peninsula. It has a deep history dating back to Bronze Age Ireland. It is probably the only urban area in the country to still have a standing stone still standing in it for over 5,000 years. Kieran’s walk will highlight this heritage along with tales of landlords, big houses, rural life in nineteenth century Ballinlough and the rise of its twentieth century settlement history. More on Kieran’s historical walking tours can be viewed on Kieran’s website, www.kieranmccarthy.ie.
Delighted to co-fund the closure of Cork’s Marina for Cork Lifelong Learning Festival’s opening day – thanks to Cork Healthy Cities & Ballintemple Resident’s Association.
11th McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition produced by Red Sandstone Varied Productions.
AUDITIONS SUNDAY 28th APRIL 10am-4pm Old Cork Waterworks, LEE ROAD.
FREE ENTRY event for Primary and Secondary school children. No advance booking required, simply turn up on the day to audition.
This is the eleventh year of Cllr Kieran McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition in Cork city, the auditions for the FREE ENTRY arts participation event take place Sunday 28th April, 10am-4pm at the site of the Old Cork Waterworks Experience, Lee Road, with call-backs the same day. A Cork performance arts project for young people with no entry fees, where all talents are valid for consideration.
The final takes place at Firkin Crane, Saturday 4th May, 7.30pm, open to the public; Tickets €10, Family of 4 Ticket €35.
This not-for-profit community project supports our community’s young people, and creates a great night’s entertainment for all the family. There are two categories primary school and secondary school, so two winners will be awarded a perpetual trophy and prize money of €150. The project is founded and funded by Cllr Kieran McCarthy in association with RSVP (Red Sandstone Varied Productions.)
If they get through the auditions, this community spirited operation involves volunteer professional performance coaches who take the contestants through boot camp and rehearsals before they meet the final judges, and each year sees talented dancers, vocalists, rap artists, bands, duets, magicians, dancers and actors in the line-up. However, as all talents are valid in this fun-filled community event, it has seen a wide variety of talent through the years such as gymnastics, speed cups, martials arts set to music, newly written children’s plays and so much more.
The talent, like the mentors, coaches and judges, is always diverse, entertaining and fun. Each year MCTC invites professionals in the industry, to offer specialised mentor sessions to the budding young artists. This is an invaluable opportunity for these young people; a chance to avail of mentorship, in a phenomenal sharing of the joy of expression! Cllr. McCarthy began the talent competition as a community initiative, he believes, ‘It encourages all young people to develop their talents and creative skills, to push forward with their lives, and to embrace their community positively.’
Producer Yvonne Coughlan says, ‘We respect that these young people are brave enough to come audition, and we honour that effort with the best advice we can. Our contestants come back and support the event long after their initial participation, because of this encouragement and positivity. RSVP works hard to create a supportive atmosphere at all times, and we love the volunteers who give their time and talents to this event each year. This is about empowering a generation of open minded, inspiring individuals, some of whom, like our sponsor independent councillor, Kieran McCarthy will always love performance art, yet work in areas that change policy and support community.’ www.rsvpireland.net
‘I found McCarthy’s Talent Competition to be a great experience in a fun and encouraging environment, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes performing, or would even like to make new friends’ Daniel Cremin Magician, winner 2016
AUDITIONS McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition.
Venue: Old Cork Waterworks Experience, Lee Road. DATE: Sunday 28th April Time: 10am-4pm. FREE ENTRY!
For further information contact Yvonne: rsvpireland@gmail.com
A public meeting has been scheduled for Friday 29 March 2019 in the Millennium Hall, City Hall from 11am to 1pm, the purpose of which is to share ideas on how the Decade of Centenaries 2019-2023 might be commemorated in Cork City. Cllr McCarthy noted that participation is open and all are welcome. The Lord Mayor will give an opening speech, followed by an introduction by Liam Ronayne, City Librarian, setting a historical context after which attendees will be invited to share their ideas at a workshop session”.
The agenda for the meeting is as follows; 10.45am – Light refreshments; 11.00am – Welcome by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Mick Finn 11.05am – Introduction by Liam Ronayne, City Librarian 11.15am – Breakout workshops 12.15pm – Workshop feedback 1.00pm – Conclusion/Wrap up. Please note, if you would like to share your ideas but are unable to attend the meeting, you may do so at centenaries@corkcity.ie
“For me public historical outreach is really important on Cork one hundred years ago. I have met so many people who have medals, documents and artefacts passed down from relatives from the War of Independence and the Civil War. For me I would like to see a space where people can bring these along, get some feedback on them and ultimately commemorate the sacrifices of ancestors. There is a significant amount of scholarship and books from Cork City and metropolitan area on the topics. It would be important to get such work more into the public realm, to work closely with local historians, historical societies and citizens who speak regularly about the value of learning more about such heritage”, Cllr McCarthy noted.
“The suburbs also offer some interesting perspectives. From Ballinlough, you hear about War of Independence secret gun burials/ stashes. There is the heritage of Terence McSwiney living near Cross Douglas Road. In Douglas, during the Irish Civil War the National Army prepared an attack on the city. At 2 am on a Bank Holiday Monday, Emmet Dalton and 450 soldiers of the National Army landed at Passage West, in one of the most famous surprise attacks in Irish military history – a battle which spread out into the landscape of Rochestown. In a last ditch effort by Republican forces to prevent to delay the Free State soldiers in their attempt to take Cork City, the Cork-Passage Railway bridge over Douglas Estuary was blown up by the Republicans, or Irregulars as they were otherwise known. There is a need to mark these wide range of diverse events and stories. For my part I have also gathered stories from 100 years ago, which can be viewed on my heritage website, www.corkheritage.ie”.
A public meeting has been scheduled for Friday 29th March 2019 in the Millennium Hall, City Hall from 11am to 1pm, the purpose of which is to share ideas on how the Decade of Centenaries 2019-2023 might be commemorated in Cork City.
Participation is open and all are welcome.
The Lord Mayor will give an opening address, followed by an introduction by Liam Ronayne, City Librarian, after which attendees will be invited to share their ideas at a workshop session.
The agenda for the meeting is as follows;
10.45am – Light refreshments 11.00am – Welcome by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Mick Finn 11.05am – Introduction by Liam Ronayne, City Librarian 11.15am – Breakout workshops 12.15pm – Workshop feedback 1.00pm – Conclusion/Wrap up
Please note, if you would like to share your ideas but are unable to attend the meeting, you may do so at centenaries@corkcity.ie
Pictures I took from the viewing stand this year; thanks to Cork City Council for organising and to all the community groups for their great colour and pageantry. More pictures are on my heritage facebook page, Cork Our City, Our Town.
This week marks another chapter in the history of the illustrious St Patrick’s bridge as it re-opens after re-furbishment. It has had a rocky history. The thread below shares some of the interesting.
Demand: By the middle of the 18th Century demand for bridge access to the developing St Patrick’s Hill area was strongly called for. When first proposed opposition reigned in the city, especially the businessmen near the proposed site and the ferry boats that operated the River Lee. Their petition to the council was turned down and in 1786, the go-ahead for the raising of money for the project was given.
Tolls: Funding a new bridge was difficult so the Corporation of the city that loans would have to be taken out and would have to be paid back with interest. However the loan or the £1000 contribution from the council was not enough to pay back the financial institution plus interest that loaned the money. So it was decided to place tolls on the proposed bridge and to abolish them 21 years later.
New Bridge: Mr. Michael Shanahan was chosen to be the architect and chief contractor of the operation. From 1788, he set about planning the project and on 25 July of that year, the foundation stone was laid. It took a half a year to nearly complete the whole job. The people of the city were astounded at the progress of the new bridge.
Unfortunately on 17 January 1789, disaster occurred as a flood swept through the Lee Valley. A boat tied up at Carroll’s Quay (then Sands Quay) broke lose and crashed against the uncompleted centre arch i.e. the keystone and destroyed it. Devastated Michael Shanahan set off to London to find new prospects. He was encouraged to come back and the bridge was rebuilt & christened on 29 September 1789.
Depiction: For over two centuries, Cork’s Crawford Art Gallery has also minded & displayed landscape views of the city-the 2nd painting is by Mr T S Roberts who also shows how important the bridge’s location was & in the background the Navigation Wall now part of Cork’s Marina Walk.
Documentation: There are several old City maps, historical articles on the bridge’s history and two books on the bridges of Cork by local historian Antoin O’Callaghan – all available to consult in local studies in Cork City Library.
Flood of 1853: In November 1853, disaster happened again when St. Patrick’s Bridge was swept away by flood. This was due to a build up of pressure at North Gate Bridge which was the only structure to remain standing whilst the flood swept over the city centre claiming several lives and destroying everything in its path.
Benson’s Design: There was much controversary over the proposed new & ultimately present day bridge, mainly because of the type of bridge to be built i.e. either stone, iron and even timber. Architect John Benson was to be the architect and he chose Joshua Hargrave, the grandson of the Hargrave that worked on the first bridge and other contractors to build the structure. In November 1859, the new St Patrick’s Bridge its foundation stone ceremony.
Disaster struck again when the bridge had to be reconstructed due to a ship which struck it. It was reconstructed again and was opened on 12 December 1861 for public traffic. From here on the Bridge remained the same and it still spans over the rushing waters of the River Lee.
Local historian Cllr Kieran McCarthy has announced that the date for the Cork City schools’ award ceremony of the Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project is Wednesday 13 March (6.45pm, Concert Hall, City Hall). A total of 18 schools in Cork City took part in the 2019 Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project, which included Schools in Ballinlough, Ballintemple, Beaumont and Douglas. Circa 750 students participated in the process with approx 170 projects books submitted on all aspects of Cork’s local history & heritage.
The Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project is in its sixteenth year and is a youth platform for students to do research and offer their opinions on important decisions being made on their heritage in their locality and how they affect the lives of people locally. The aim of the project is to allow students to explore, investigate and debate their local heritage in a constructive, active and fun way.
Co-ordinator and founder of the project, Cllr Kieran McCarthy noted that: “The project is about developing new skill sets within young people in thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage – our landmarks, our stories, our landscapes in our modern world. The project also focuses on motivating and inspiring young people, giving them an opportunity to develop leadership and self development skills, which are very important in the world we live in today”.
The City Edition of the Project is funded by Cork City Council with further sponsorship offered by Learnit Lego Education, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, Lifetime Lab and Sean Kelly of Lucky Meadows Equestrian Centre. Full results for the City edition are online on Cllr McCarthy’s heritage website, Cork Heritage
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has praised the work of the franchise teams at both Cork City Council and Cork County Council and their respective Director of Services for their trojan work in identifying electors to be transferred into the new city. A total of 62,567 voters will see their vote transfer from Cork County Council to Cork City Council in this May’s local elections.
The Final Register of Electors 2019/2020 has been published for the extended city of Cork. The total number of electors on the Register for the extended city is now 148,780 due to the city’s boundary extension which is due to come into force the month after the local and European elections. Over 15,000 people in the Douglas, Donnybrook Hill, Maryborough Hill, Mount Oval and Rochestown areas have been transferred.
Cllr McCarthy has noted that there may yet be people who are not correctly identified on the register. “I am encouraging all voters to please check their details online at checktheregister.ie or by contacting City Hall”. Members of the public can check their details online by using checktheregister.ie website. They can also contact the Register of Electors office, Cork City Council, City Hall, Cork at 4924107 or e-mail franchise@corkcity.ie”
“If they are not on the current register or have changed an address you can apply to be included in the Supplement by completing RFA2/RFA3 application forms which are available on the website – checktheregister.ie –application forms”.
“The councils’ franchise teams, which oversee voting protocol, not only had to identify the electors in the newly extended areas but they also had to re-configure the local electoral areas as the city is moving from six electoral areas to five local electoral areas. This is a very complex body of work,” Cllr McCarthy noted.
Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has confirmed his attention to run in the forthcoming local elections in May. He has once again chosen to run in the south east local electoral area of Cork City which includes the Douglas area. Theough the City boundary expansion, the south east area will extend from Albert Road through Ballinlough, Ballintemple, Blackrock, Mahon and will now take in Douglas Village, Donnybrook, Rochestown and Mount Oval districts.
First elected in 2009 Cllr McCarthy has won two terms of office in Cork City Hall on an Independent platform. He has a broad range of interests from culture and history to community development, city planning, village renewal environmental issues and regional development.
In launching his manifesto this week he outlined his vision across five policy areas- developing more recreational and amenity sites with specific interests in opening Tramore Valley Park and Marina Park in the short term, moving Cork to run again to attain the EU Green Capital award, marketing the City Centre and village renewal, local government reform and financial accountability, and continuing his suite of community projects.
Over the past ten years Cllr McCarthy has created and curated several community projects including local history programmes in local schools, a youth community talent competition, a youth Make a Model Boat project. He also founded Cork City Musical Society for adults. He also runs historical walking tours regularly across over 20 Cork City suburban sites and is the author of over 20 books on Cork’s history.
At the launch of his campaign Cllr McCarthy noted: “Over the past ten years I have gained much experience in local government. I continue to fight my corner for an effective City Hall which can answer the needs of my constituents. The boundary extension offers an exciting but challenging time for Cork. My website and social media sites showcase my work pursued and achieved over the past decade. It also sets out my stall of interests and what an Independent strong voice can offer local government plus a vision for Cork City’s future in working with local communities. Collaboration with local people is very important to me. I look to meeting people again at the doors over the next few weeks”.
