Category Archives: Cork City Events
Myth Busting, Cork City Council & Cork City Expansion
Advertisement in Irish Examiner, taken out by Cork City Council, 16 September 2017
Blackrock Village Festival, 16 September, 2pm-6pm
The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Tony Fitzgerald has praised the work of the local community in Blackrock ahead of the inaugural Blackrock Village Festival. The Festival takes place on Saturday 16 September 2017, from 2pm to 6pm.
“It is just a short three months since the Blackrock Harbour Renewal Project was completed and formally opened”, said the Lord Mayor. ˜Cork City Council has invested over e2.5 million in upgrading the harbour and the public realm in this historic village. We are delighted to be supporting the local community in celebrating the history, the heritage and the spirit of Blackrock Village”.
The festival will include live entertainments, an open market, puppetry, boat racing and much more.
The various community stakeholders including residents and business interests have worked proactively to create this new festival.
Cllr McCarthy to stage Songs from the Heart, An Evening of Musical Theatre
Cllr McCarthy to stage Songs from the Heart, An Evening of Musical Theatre
Cllr Kieran McCarthy directs Cork City Musical Society’s “Songs From the Heart, An Evening of Musical Theatre” at the Firkin Crane on Sunday 24 September at 8pm. The Musical Director is Michael Young and the producer is Yvonne Coughlan of Red Sandstone Varied Productions. Tickets are e15 and are online at www.firkincrane.ie
This is Cork City Musical Society’s fourth outing having staged the musical Crazy For You in 2016 and Dreams of the Soul and Sweet Charity in 2015. Founded by Cllr Kieran McCarthy in 2015, it was years of performing in shows and being involved in community work that led Kieran to create the musical society.
Cllr McCarthy advocates that Cork City is vibrant in drama education, various musical genres, musical theatre and all forms of opera, all of which are brought to the Cork masses through stage schools and theatres.
“It goes without saying that a rich vein of musicality runs underneath our city, Cork’s DNA embraces the promotion and development of music as an artistic discipline to be developed and one that brings a community together to engage with and appreciate it. The city in musical theatre terms is particularly blessed by several stage schools, small and large, who promote amongst our young people creativity, skill development, education, performance, community building and audience development, and the charity of sharing their craft, amongst other important traits'”.
“Amateur musical societies are multiple in nature up and down the country. All bring their local communities together under a volunteer and charity umbrella – collaborating and bringing people together to create an outlet for people and to put drama, music and all ultimately form a key cultural vein within towns and villages'”.
“The city proudly can boast being an ongoing European Capital of Culture. Many personalities and more have done so much for music and drama education over many years in the city. All inspire and forge a sense of community, charity of heart, togetherness and education, skill building and lifelong learning approaches”.
Continuing Cllr McCarthy highlighted that Cork City Musical Society in particular “focuses on the aspect of community building and the promotion of musical theatre amongst adults and the idea of inclusivity and self-development for all who wish to engage with it”.
European Opportunity for Elizabeth Fort
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 7 September 2017
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 7 September 2017
Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project 2017-18
This year coincides with the fifteenth year of the Discover Cork: Schools’ Heritage Project. Brochures have been sent to all Cork schools. Launched again for the new school term, the Project is open to schools in Cork – at primary level to the pupils of fourth, fifth and sixth class and at post-primary from first to sixth years. There are two sub categories within the post primary section, Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate. A student may enter as an individual or as part of a group or a part of a class entry.
Co-ordinated by myself, one of the key aims of the project is to encourage students to explore, investigate and debate their local heritage (built, archaeological, cultural and natural) in a constructive, active and fun way. Projects on any aspect of Cork’s rich heritage can be submitted to an adjudication panel. Prizes are awarded for best projects and certificates are given to each participant. A cross-section of projects submitted from the last school season can be gleamed from this link on my website, www.corkheritage.ie where there are other resources, former titles and winners and entry information as well.
Students produce a project on their local area using primary and secondary sources. Each participating student within their class receives a visit and workshop in October 2017. The workshop comprises a guide to how to put a project together. Project material must be gathered in an A4/ A3 size Project book. The project may be as large as the student wishes but minimum 20 pages (text + pictures + sketches). Projects must also meet five elements. Projects must be colourful, creative, have personal opinion, imagination and gain publicity before submission. These elements form the basis of a student friendly narrative analysis approach where the student explores their project topic in an interactive and task oriented way. In particular, students are encouraged to attain material through visiting local libraries, engaging with fieldwork, interviews with local people, making models, photographing, cartoon creating, making DVDs of their area. Re-enacting can also be a feature of several projects.
For over fifteen years, the project has evolved in how students actually pursue local history. The project attempts to provide the student with a hands-on and interactive activity that is all about learning not only about heritage in your local area (in all its forms) but also about the process of learning by participating students. The project is about thinking about, understanding, appreciating and making relevant in today’s society the role of our heritage our landmarks, our oral histories, our scenery in our modern world for upcoming citizens. So, the project is about splicing together activity on issues of local history and heritage such as thinking, exploring, observing, discovering, researching, uncovering, revealing, interpreting and resolving. This year as well there is a focus on the theme – the Past in our Present.
The importance of doing a project in local history is reflected in the educational aims of the history curricula of primary and post-primary schools. Local heritage is a mould, which helps the student to become familiar with their local environment and to learn the value of it in their lives. Learning to appreciate the elements of a locality, can also give students a sense of place in their locality or a sense of identity. Hence the Project can also become a youth forum 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. I know a number of students who have been involved in the project in schools over the years who have took their interest further and have gone on to become professional tour guides, and into other related college work.
The project is open to many directions of delivery. Students are encouraged to engage with their topic -in order to make sense of it, understand and work with it. Students continue to experiment with the overall design and plan of their work. For example, and in general, students who have entered before might engage with the attaining of primary information through oral histories. The methodologies that the students create provide interesting ways to approach the study of local heritage. Students are asked to choose one of two extra methods (apart from a booklet) to represent their work. The first option is making a model whilst the second option is making a DVD. It is great to see students using modern up todate technology to present their findings. This works in broadening their view of approaching their project.
This project in the City is free to enter and is kindly funded by Cork City Council (viz the help of Niamh Twomey, Officer) and. Prizes are also provided by the Cork Civic Trust (viz the help of John X Miller), Lifetime Lab, Lee Road, Learnit Lego Education, and Sean Kelly of Lucky Meadows Equestrian Centre, Watergrasshill (www.seankellyhorse.com). There is also a County Cork edition. Overall, the Schools’ Heritage Project for the last fifteen years has attempted to build a new concerned generation of Cork people, pushing them forward, growing their self-development empowering them to connect to their world and their local heritage. Spread the word please.
Captions:
911a. Front cover of 2017-18 brochure for Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project (source: Kieran McCarthy)
911b. Page from school history project on Blackrock Castle 2017 (source: Kieran McCarthy)
Pictures, Ballinlough Summer Festival, 27 August 2017
A great day was had by all at the Ballinlough Summer Festival 2017; well done to the organisers – Ballinlough Youth Clubs Festival Committee
Pictures, Kieran’s Historical Walking Tours, National Heritage Week, August 2017
Thanks to everyone who supported the 7 walking tours for National Heritage Week. There were 500 participants on the tours across the week.
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 17 August 2017
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 17 August 2017
Cork Heritage Open Day, 19 August 2017
Another Cork heritage open day is looming. The 2017 event will take place on Saturday 19 August. For one day only, over 40 buildings open their doors free of charge for this special event. The team behind the Open Day, Cork City Council and building owners, have grouped the buildings into general themes, Steps and Steeples, Customs and Commerce, Medieval to Modern, Saints and Scholars and Life and Learning – one can walk the five trails to discover a number of buildings within these general themes. These themes remind the participant to remember how the city spreads from the marsh to the undulating hills surrounding it, how layered and storied the city’s past is, how the city has been blessed to have many scholars contributing to its development in a variety of ways and how the way of life in Cork is intertwined with a strong sense of place and ambition. For a small city, it packs a punch in its approaches to national and international interests.
The Saints and Scholars route lies to the South side of the city and takes in the birth place of Frank O’Connor and the burial place of Nano Nagle and panoramic views from Elizabeth Fort. The route encompasses places of learning and places of worship finishing up at South Gate Bridge with fabulous views of the magnificent St Fin Barre’s Cathedral.
One of Cork’s most distinctive landmarks, St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral is located where Cork’s Patron Saint founded his first Church and School. It is the diocesan cathedral of the Church of Ireland and the Bishop’s residence is directly opposite the cathedral gate. St Fin Barre’s was designed by the notable architect, William Burges, who also designed the stained glass, the sculptures, the mosaics, the furniture and metal work for the interior. The foundation stone was laid in 1865 and the building was consecrated in 1870. The Cathedral is stylistically late thirteenth century pointed Gothic and is cruciform in shape. It has triple spires with portals to the west front and an abundance of external stone carved detail.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Meeting House on Summerhill South was designed by WH Hill and was purpose built in 1938 following a move from the old Meeting House in Grattan Street, which dates back to 1677. It is a simple, unadorned meeting room that is used for Quaker worship, as well as a number of community activities. The burial ground lies to the rear of the building. The plain and nearly identical grave stones are a symbol of the Quaker belief in the intrinsic equality of all. These simple headstones are representative of the form and design of Quaker grave markers and were clearly executed by skilled craftsmen.
The wonderful complex of buildings at Nano Nagle Place form a rich architectural assemblage. The triangular wedge of land upon which it sits appears in early maps of Cork. It is not clear when it came into the possession of the Nagle family. The family passed the land to Nano Nagle and when she in turn passed it to her community, the function and shape of the site were set to prevail. The oldest remaining building is the convent that Nano Nagle built for the Ursuline Sisters in 1771. Recent research has shown that many original design details remain, perhaps specified by Nano herself. The Ursuline sisters thrived here and built extensions to that original building in 1775, 1779, and 1790. When the Ursulines moved to Blackrock in 1825 the buildings passed to the Presentation Sisters.
Elizabeth Fort was first built in 1601 by Sir George Carew, the then president of Munster during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. The fort was built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city from the south. Following the death of Elizabeth in 1603, the fort was attacked by the citizens of Cork, however, when the city was re-taken, they were compelled to rebuild it at their own expense. It was replaced in 1624 by a stronger, stone fort, much of which survives today. It is reputed that improvements were also made by order of Oliver Cromwell in 1649.
Backwater Artists Group, Cork Printmakers and CIT Wandesford Quay Gallery are located on Wandesford Quay. This three-bay, four-storey warehouse was originally built circa 1840. Its first use was as a grain store, probably for the nearby distillery. It was then used as a timber yard and went on to become Coleman’s Printers. Backwater Artists Group is one of the largest artist-led studio groups in Ireland, with 29 studios and over 40 artists working from the complex. They are open to the public for Cork Heritage Day, Cork Culture Night and for guided tours, artists’ talks and exhibitions during their annual Open Studio Event, in November. There will be an exhibition of members work on view in our exhibition space.
See www.corkheritageopenday.ie for more information on the city’s great heritage open day and then followed by Heritage Week (information at www.heritage week.ie). My tours are posted at www.kieranmccarthy.ie under the walking tours section or follow my facebook page, Cork Our City, Our Town.
Captions:
908a. Stained glass window of St Finbarr, Chapel of Presentation Convent, Douglas Street (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
908b. Recent Medieval Open Day, Elizabeth Fort (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town, 10 August 2017
Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 10 August 2017
Kieran’s Heritage Week Tours, 19-26 August 2017
National Heritage Week is upon us again at the end of next week (19 – 26 August). It is going to be a busy week. For my part I have organised seven tours. These are all free and I welcome any public support for the activities outlined below. There are also brochures detailing other events that can be picked up from Cork City Hall and City libraries. If you are up the country on holidays, check out www.heritageweek.ie for the listings of national events.
Saturday 19 August 2017 – Historical Walking Tour of Cork City Hall with Kieran, 11am, ticketed (free, duration: 75 minutes; details at www.corkheritageopenday.ie)
Learn about the early history of Cork City Hall and Cork City Council, learn about the development of the building and visit the Lord Mayor’s Room The current structure, replaced the old City Hall, which was destroyed in the ‘burning of Cork’ in 1920. It was designed by Architects Jones and Kelly and built by the Cork Company Sisks. The foundation stone was laid by Eamonn de Valera, President of the Executive Council of the State on 9 July 1932.
Sunday, 20 August 2017, Cork Through the Ages, An introduction to the historical development of Cork City with Kieran; meet at the National Monument, Grand Parade, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
Cork City possesses a unique character derived from a combination of its plan, topography, built fabric and its location on the lowest crossing point of the river Lee as it meets the tidal estuary and the second largest natural harbour in the world. Indeed, it is also a city that is unique among other cities, it is the only one which has experienced all phases of Irish urban development, from circa 600 AD to the present day. This tour explores the city’s earliest historical phases.
Monday 21 August 2017, Blackpool: A Living Heritage, historical walking tour with Kieran; meet at the gates of North Mon School, Gerald Griffin Avenue, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
The walking tour weaves its way from the North Mon into Blackpool, Shandon and Gurranbraher highlighting nineteenth century life in this corner of Cork from education to housing to politics, to religion, to industry and to social life itself. Blackpool was the scene of industry in Cork in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for industries such as tanning through big names such as Dunn’s Tannery and distilling through families such as the Hewitts. The leather industry at one vibrant in Blackpool with no fewer than 46 tanyards at work there in 1837 giving employment to over 700 hands and tanning on average 110,000 hides annually.
Tuesday 22 August 2017, The Victorian Quarter; historical walking tour with Kieran of the area around St Patrick’s Hill – Wellington Road and McCurtain Street; meet on the Green at Audley Place, top of St Patrick’s Hill, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
This is a tour that brings the participant from the top of St Patrick’s Hill to the eastern end of McCurtain Street through Wellington Road. The tour will speak about the development of the Victorian Quarter and its hidden and beautiful architectural heritage. All are welcome and any old pictures and documents that people have of these areas, please bring along.
Thursday 24 August 2017, The City Workhouse, historical walking tour with Kieran; meet at the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
The Cork workhouse, which opened in December 1841, was an isolated place – built beyond the toll house and toll gates, which gave entry to the city and which stood just below the end of the wall of St. Finbarr’s Hospital in the vicinity of the junction of the Douglas and Ballinlough Roads. The Douglas Road workhouse was also one of the first of over 130 workhouses to be designed by the Poor Law Commissioners’ architect George Wilkinson.
Friday 25 August 2017, The Lough and its Curiosities; historical walking tour with Kieran; meet at green area at northern green of The Lough, entrance of Lough Road to The Lough; 6.45pm (free, duration: two hours)
This new walking tour circles the Lough and explores the area’s origins and histories. In such a corner of the city, stories abound ranging from duels, ice-skating, market gardening, Victorian nurseries and legend making as well as housing and church sites.
Saturday 26 August 2017, Fitzgerald’s Park: The People’s Park; historical walking tour with Kieran, meet at band stand, 1pm, note the afternoon time (free, duration: two hours)
Looking at the physical landscape of the Park, there are clues to a forgotten and not so familiar past. The entrance pillars on the Mardyke, the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, the museum, the fountain in the middle of the central pond dedicated to Fr Mathew and timber posts eroding in the river were once parts of one of Cork’s greatest historical events, the Cork International Exhibitions of 1902 and 1903. Just like the magical spell of Fitzgerald’s Park, the Mardyke exhibitions were spaces of power. Revered, imagined and real spaces were created. They were marketing strategies where the past, present and future merged. The entire event was the mastermind of Cork Lord Mayor Edward Fitzgerald, after which the park got it name.
Captions:
907a. Group on Kieran’s historical walking tour of Sunday’s Well (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
907b.Group on Kieran’s historical walking tour of the Lough (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
