My new book The Little book of Cork Harbour has recently been published by The History Press (2019). Cork Harbour is a beautiful region of southern Ireland. It possesses a rich complexity of natural and cultural heritage. This is a little book about the myriad of stories within the second largest natural harbour in the world. It follows on from a series of my publications on the River Lee Valley, Cork City and complements the Little Book of Cork (History Press, Ireland, 2015). It is not meant to be a full history of the harbour region but does attempt to bring some of the multitudes of historical threads under one publication. However, each thread is connected to other narratives and each thread is recorded to perhaps bring about future research on a site, person or the heritage of the wider harbour.
The book is based on many hours of fieldwork and also draws on the emerging digitised archive of newspapers from the Irish Newspaper Archive and from the digitalised Archaeological Survey of Ireland’s National Monument’s Service. Both the latter digitised sources more than ever have made reams and reams of unrecorded local history data accessible to the general public.
In Cork Harbour colourful villages provide different textures and cultural landscapes in a sort of cul-de-sac environment, with roads ending at harbours and car parks near coastal cliff faces and quaysides. The villages are scattered around the edges of the harbour, each with their own unique history, all connecting in some way to the greatness of this harbour. Walking along several junctures of fields, one can get the feeling you are at the ‘edge of memory’. There are the ruins of old structures that the tide erodes away. One gets the sense that a memory is about to get swept away by the sea, or that by walking in the footsteps trodden by writers, artists and photographers 100 years ago, one could get carried away by their curiosity.
On any good weather day, there are parts of the region where one can almost drive across its sun kissed mudflats. From the Cork-Midleton dual carriage way you get to appreciate farmer’s attempts of reclamation through the ages and the broad mudflats which serve as a home for international bird habitats. There are sections of the harbour to be viewed from the road, which seem almost forgotten. I am a big fan of the Smith Barry tower house folly, which belonged to Fota House estate and which exists on the edge of the Fota golf course.
For centuries, people have lived, worked, travelled and buried their dead around Cork’s coastal landscapes. The sea has been used a source of food, raw materials, as a means of travel and communications and as a place to build communities. Despite this, the harbour has very distinct localities and communities. Some are connected to each through recreational amenities such as rowing or boating and some exist in their own footprint with a strong sense of pride. Some areas such as Cobh and the military fortifications have been written about frequently by scholars and local historians whilst some prominent sites have no words of history or just a few sentences accorded to their development.
In the new book the section, Archaeology, Antiquities and Ancient Towers explores the myriad of archaeological finds and structures, which survive from the Stone Age to post medieval times. Five thousand years ago, people made their home on the edge of cliffs and beaches surrounding the harbour. In medieval times, they strategically built castles on the ridges overlooking the harbour.
The section, Forts and Fortifications, explores the development of an impressive set of late eighteenth-century forts and nineteenth century coastal defences. All were constructed to protect the interests of merchants and the British Navy in this large and sheltered harbour.
The section, Journeys ThroughCoastal Villages, takes the reader on an excursion across the harbour through some of the region’s colourful towns. All occupy important positions and embody histories such as native industries, old dockyards, boat construction, market spaces, whiskey making and food granary hubs. Each add their own unique identity in making the DNA of the harbour region.
The sections, Houses, Gentry and Estates and People, Place and Curiosities, respectively are at the heart of the book and highlight some of the myriad of people and personalities who have added to the cultural landscape of the harbour.
The section, Connecting a Harbour, describes the ways the harbour was connected up through the ages, whether that be through roads, bridges, steamships, ferries, or winch driven barges.
The eighth section, Tales of Shipping, attempts to showcase just a cross-section of centuries of shipping, which frequented the harbour; some were mundane acts of mooring and loading up goods and emigrants but some were eventful with stories ranging from convict ships and mutiny to shipwrecks and races against time and the tide.
The section entitled Industrial Harbour details from old brickworks, ship buildings to the Whitegate Oil refinery. Every corner of the harbour has been affected by nineteenth century and twentieth century industries.
The last section Recreation and Tourism notes that despite the industrialisation, there are many corners of the harbour where GAA and rowing can be viewed as well as older cultural nuggets such as old ballrooms and fair grounds. This for me is the appropriate section to end upon. Cork Harbour is a playground of ideas about how we approach our cultural heritage, how were remember and forget it, but most of all how much heritage there is to recover and celebrate.
The Little Book of Cork Harbour (2019) by Kieran McCarthy is published by The History Press and is available in Waterstones, Vibes and Scribes and Easons.
Upcoming Walking Tour:
Saturday 19 May 2019, Douglas and its History, meet in the carpark of Douglas Community Centre, 11am (free, duration: two hours, circuit of village, finishes nearby).
Captions:
997a. Front cover of The Little Book of Cork Harbour (The History Press, 2019) by Kieran McCarthy.
997b. Blackrock Castle, 1843 from Illustrated London News (source Cork City Library).
997c. Throwing the Dart ceremony with Mayor and officials, at the mouth of Cork Harbour, 1855 from Illustrated London News (source Cork City Library).
Independent Councillor and local election candidate Kieran McCarthy has gone poster free on poles across the south east local electoral area. Commenting “the public backlash against the use of posters in the electoral area of Cork City is vast- especially after the recent blitzing of large posters in the area. I have been particularly inspired by the work of Douglas Tidy Towns who have advocated the non-posting of posters in Douglas Village. I also have a very keen and active interest and participation in promoting the environment and heritage in the city. It is wrong on so many levels to plaster pole after pole with posters, especially with the same image”.
“To those asking about if I am still running because they don’t see my poster – I am very much in the race in this local election in the south east local electoral area of Cork City – I have been canvassing for several weeks at this moment in time. I won’t get to each of the over 15,000 houses in the electoral area. but certainly, I am daily trying to break down the various districts. My manifesto is online at www.kieranmccarthy.ie which champions such aspects such as public parks, the European Green Capital programme, city centre and village regeneration, and the curation of personal community projects such as my talent competition, make a model boat project, and my historical walking tours”.
Kieran continues his suburban historical walking tour series next Saturday 18 May, 11am from Douglas Community Centre with a focus on the history of Douglas and its environs. Kieran notes: “The story of Douglas and its environs is in essence a story of experimentation, of industry and of people and social improvement; the story of one of Ireland largest sailcloth factories is a worthwhile topic to explore in terms of its aspiration in its day in the eighteenth century; that coupled with the creation of 40 or so seats or mansions and demesnes made it a place where the city’s merchants made their home it and also an interesting place to study in terms of ambition shown in the landscapes that were created and which still linger in the surrounding landscapes of Douglas.” More on Kieran’s walking tour schedule can be viewed on www.kieranmccarthy.ie.
Yes I have gone poster free; the public backlash against the use of posters in the south east local electoral area of Cork City is vast- especially after the recent blitzing of large posters in the area. I have a keen interest in promoting the environment and heritage in the city. It is wrong on so many levels to plaster pole after pole with posters, especially with the same image.
To those asking about if I am still running because they don’t see my poster – I am v much in the race in this local election in the south east local electoral area of Cork City – my interests, work and manifesto are attached – my canvass reaches week 15 this week. I won’t get to each of the 20,000 houses but certainly I am daily trying to break down the various districts.
V well done to all our finalists of McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition at the Firkin Crane, Shandon last evening (Saturday 4 May); thanks to Red Sandstone varied Productions, our hosts, mentors, judges and all the stage crew!
Douglas Road Cllr Kieran McCarthy invites all Cork young people to participate in the tenth year of McCarthy’s ‘Make a Model Boat Project’. All interested must make a model boat at home from recycled materials and bring it along for judging to the Lough on Thursday 16 May 2019, 6.30pm. The event is being run in association with Meitheal Mara and the Cork Harbour Festival. There are three categories, two for primary and one for secondary students. The theme is ‘Stories of Cork’, which is open to interpretation. There are prizes for best models and the event is free to enter. Cllr McCarthy, who is heading up the event, noted “The project is ten years old this year and over the years, all of the participants have been very creative and innovative. This youth project complements the Discover Cork Schools’ Heritage Project and McCarthy’s Community Talent Competition”. In addition, Cllr McCarthy emphasises that places like the Lough are an important part of Cork’s natural and amenity heritage. For further information and to take part, please sign up at www.corkharbourfestival.com.
The Cork Harbour Festival (1-9 June) will bring together the City, County and Harbour agencies and authorities. It connects our city and coastal communities. Combining the Ocean to City Race and Cork Harbour Open Day, there are over 50 different events in the festival for people to enjoy – both on land and on water. The festival begins Saturday 1 June, with the 28km flagship race Ocean to City – An Rás Mór. Join thousands of other visitors and watch the hundreds of participants race from Crosshaven to Blackrock to Cork City in a spectacular flotilla. Cllr McCarthy noted: “During the festival week embark on a journey to explore the beautiful Cork Harbour – from Douglas Estuary to Roches Point – and enjoy free harbour tours, sailing tasters, open days at heritage sites, and lots more; we need to link the city and areas like Blackrock and the Marina, Douglas estuary and the harbour more through branding and tourism. The geography and history of the second largest natural harbour in the world creates an enormous treasure trove, which we need to harness, celebrate and mind”.
Local historian and Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy has launched his newest book entitled TheLittle Book of Cork Harbour. Published by The History Press, UK, the book presents a myriad of stories within the second largest natural harbour in the world. This is book number 22 for Kieran and it follows on from a series of Kieran’s publications on the River Lee Valley, Cork City and complements his Little Book of Cork (History Press, Ireland, 2015). It is not meant to be a full history of the harbour region but does attempt to bring some of the multitudes of historical threads under one publication. However, each thread is connected to other narratives and each thread here is recorded to perhaps bring about future research on a site, person or the heritage of the wider harbour.
Cllr McCarthy noted: “The book is based on many hours of fieldwork and also draws on the emerging digitised archive of newspapers from the Irish Newspaper Archive and from the digitalised Archaeological Survey of Ireland’s National Monument’s Service”.
“For centuries, people have lived, worked, travelled and buried their dead around Cork’s coastal landscapes. The sea has been used a source of food, raw materials, as a means of travel and communications and as a place to build communities. Despite this, the harbour has very distinct localities and communities. Some are connected to each through recreational amenities such as rowing or boating and some exist in their own footprint with a strong sense of pride. Some areas such as Cobh and the military fortifications have been written about frequently by scholars and local historians whilst some prominent sites have no words of history or just a few sentences accorded to their development”.
In the book there are sections on, Archaeology, Antiquities and Ancient Towers, Forts and Fortifications, Journeys Through Coastal Villages, Houses, Gentry and Estates and People, Place and Curiosities, Connecting a Harbour, Tales of Shipping, Industrial Harbour and Recreation and Tourism. Cllr McCarthy notes:
“Despite the industrialisation, Cork Harbour is a playground of ideas about how we approach our cultural heritage, how were remember and forget it, but most of all how much heritage there is to recover and celebrate”.
The Little Book of Cork Harbour (2019, The History Press, UK) by Kieran McCarthy is available in Cork bookshops.
