Growing up in Cork – Memories & Histories

Cork City Events, Cork History, Uncategorized

 

I organised a successful afternoon of talks on Cork’s rich history last Saturday. It was an initiative that followed on from two other talks given by me last week as part of the Lifelong Learning Festival – a talk on St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Turners Cross Community Centre and a talk in Scoil Aiseiri Chriost BNS.

It is widely known that growing up in Cork is a unique experience to all involved. Cork is an ancient city with a rich history and provides rich memories for all its citizens. The motto of the Lifelong Learning Festival is to investigate, participate and celebrate. Building on those traits, the Lifetime Lab on Lee Road and I were proud to present an afternoon of talks, chat and music bringing a cross section of Cork’s finest historians and ‘caretakers’ of Cork’s past to speak about the city’s history and memories as only they know how. I deem heritage a very important tool in the building of a sense of place and pride in our communities.

Speakers included: Ronnie Herlihy (topic: Jerome Collins), Gerry White (topic: Cork’s Military Memories), Tom Foley, (topic: Blackpool Memories), Richard T. Cooke, (topic: Musical memories), Cliona O’Carroll and Mary O’Driscoll from the Northside Folklore Project, Nora O’Donovan (topic: West Cork memories) and Tim O’Brien (topic: Trams of Cork).

 Late Victorian architecture

Blackrock Pier Clean-up

Uncategorized, Ward Events
There was great community spirit in the clean-up of Blackrock pier last Sunday morning. Kieran McCarthy, local independent candidate, led an enthusiastic group of participants from Blackrock and Ballintemple to clean and clear the rubbish. In total 30 bags were filled.
Kieran McCarthy stated that; “Blackrock village has such potential to be a vibrant economic amenity for the local residents and the city. Much has been achieved in the area but much more can be done. The clean-up initiative is about encouraging community participation and making a difference in a real way to our environment.”
Kieran McCarthy leading the clean-upKieran, Jayne & Charlie at the clean-up
Participants in the clean-up of Blackrock Pier

Community Meetings

Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized, Ward Events

Local election candidate Kieran McCarthy is outraged at the fact that Cork City Council has failed to adequately include the Ballinlough and Blackrock area in the Draft Cork Strategic Development Plan 2009-2015.  The Independent Candidate has learned that while Cork City Council have made some reference to the area in the plan, it has not addressed some of the key developments in the area.

centre-park-road-sept-2007

Most disappointing according to the candidate for the south east ward is the Council’s failure to adequately make provision for the development of the burgeoning suburbs which he believes are critical to the health of the whole constituency. In the last development plan (2004-2009) which finishes this year only one third of the thirty initiatives planned for the south east of the city were carried out. This time round Mr. McCarthy notes that Ballinlough and Blackrock areas with a stock of circa 5,000 households are not highlighted in the suburban strategy section of the plan. While the plan does make some reference to the docklands, he is concerned by the fact that if that development does not come together, the overall area will gain very little from the development plan.

Kieran McCarthy noted: “Cork City Council’s failure to include Ballinlough and Blackrock will have detrimental consequences for the areas. The plan does not make adequate provison for employment needs, social services, community facilities and community life. The Council talks alot about sustainability but I don’t see what is sustainable about the plan for Ballinlough and Blackrock”.

To address the lack of planning  and to make a community submission to the City Council, Mr. McCarthy is holding two community meetings; the first in Blackrock Castle on Monday 6 April at 7.30p.m. and the second in Blackrock Hurling club on Tuesday 7 April at 7.30p.m. The event is free and residents in Ballinlough and Blackrock are welcome and encouraged to attend to help Mr. McCarthy make a community submission to the City development plan.

Mr. McCarthy can be contacted at 087 655 3389 for further details.

The Marina Walk

Campaign Launch

Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized

Kieran McCarthy launched his campaign in The Orchard Bar, Ballinlough road. The reception was well received by the public and invited guests. The launch marks the beginning of an  intensive canvassing campaign, along with a number of other events to raise public awareness. Details of these events to follow.

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Deirdre, Katherine & Mary with Kieran
Sinead & Sarah at launch
Sinead & Sarah at launch

Welcome!

Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Kieran McCarthy and I am running as an Independent Candidate in Cork City in the upcoming local elections. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what my vision is for our community and what I hope to achieve for the area if elected.kieran-river-lee

As a geographer, historian and teacher, I have listened to and studied the stories of hundreds of people who have made Cork their home; learning about their successes and struggles. As we enter into these current uncertain times, many of these stories are becoming all the more relevant and I believe that we can use this knowledge from the past to rebuild a prosperous future.

These times call for action and change. A new generation of young community leaders can lay a strong foundation for the growth and transformation of our society. The challenges we face are real, however,together we can face our future confidently and with hope. A change is possible.

As an Independent voice I intend to make a difference in our community by listening to you, by reaching out to you and serving as best as I can as city councillor. Let us build our community together. Let me be your number one choice in the local June elections for the south east area of Cork City.

Signature

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article, ‘Journeys of Faith’ Book, 5 September 2013

Cork City Events, Cork History, Improve Your Life, Kieran's Council Work, Landscapes, S.E. Ward Local History, Uncategorized, Ward Events

707a. Front cover of Kieran McCarthy's Journeys of Faith

Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,

Cork Independent,  5 September 2013

Journeys of Faith, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough, Celebrating 75 Years

 

In the past eight months I have been fortunate to interview many people in Ballinlough, my own homeplace, to produce a book to mark the 75th anniversary of the dedication of Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Located on a prominent limestone ridge, the church is a familiar, impressive and welcoming landmark in Ballinlough, a south east suburb of Cork City. The building represents one of the multiple threads of community life of the area. Indeed, it can be said that many of the original ideas for the present community infrastructure in Ballinlough, ranging from actual buildings to various sporting and social clubs had their roots amongst the people and priests who created, and in time, added to the meaning of building in the lives of the community.

At the dedication ceremony on Sunday 11 September 1938, the orator of the sermon, Fr Kieran, OFM, Cap spoke at length about the building belonging to the people and the people belonging to the church; “we are gathered and united in one living holy faith this morning in this beautiful little church, planned by Christ-like minds and built by human hands and generous hearts”. Those ideas of hope, self determination, generosity, faith, dedication, and adoration are all starting points to begin a reflection on the past 75 years.

In Our Lady of Lourdes Church, there is a faith in the sacredness of this edifice that has never been relinquished since 1938. It is a thriving and resilient place, a place of aspiration. Here is a faith founded on familiar cultural and personal Christian principles to which those in the present day are heirs; we also carry forward some of that faith and all the ideas that go with it; we continue to build and trust in our faith. The text on the 1935 foundation stone at the side of the building reminds one of this spirit of co-operation in faith and that together the clerical and lay community have brought forward the multiple meanings and memories within the building as a socially inclusive community.

The church is a celebration of re-invention and re-imagination of the faith and initiative in Free State Ireland. A sense of initiative remains constant in the character of the Ballinlough community today. The Bishop of Cork in 1938, Dr Daniel Cohalan, had an interest in harnessing new possibilities, ideas, and new skills, to reach higher and to combine them with ideas of faith. There is a power in faith, in journeying with it. It is our lasting birthright but, it is also about what we do with it. Faith does not have a financial value but, without it, people’s moral compass, personal development and journey in life would certainly be anchored in a different direction.

As its core aims, this book excavates below Ballinlough’s official histories. Its key milestones are presented but the book aims to provide insights and foster debate into the woven relationships between the church, community life, and society. What is presented is a cross-section of Ballinlough residents and those connected to the parish throughout the years. Using the themes of the spirit of co-operation and community building put forward during Fr Kieran’s sermon at the 1938 dedication ceremony, the book aspires to recover and provide a cross-section of voices and personal memories of the most memorable aspects of Ballinlough. It also tries to create a framework of the development of motivations and visions for community life. The book is divided into four parts – firstly it presents the historical framework for the construction of Ballinlough church and the nature of Cork society in the 1920s and 1930s. Secondly memories covering Ballinlough’s market garden heritage and the emergence of the area’s development in the 1930s and 1940s; secondly the book focuses on the construction of the community infrastructure in the period c.1950-c.1980; fourthly the book explores more recent memories and concludes with the perspectives of a cross-section of individuals in the Ballinlough Parish Assembly.

Over 100 people speak at length in this book about their faith, their personal connection to Ballinlough, and its sense of place and how they link to it. They speak about the layered aspects of life such as change, love, hope, uncertainty, fragility, tragedy, integrity, traditions, renewal and imagination and their role in the formation of human values. Interviewees commented on the role of the church in the past and seek to be involved in its future. All merge together to reflect on the mark made on history by Our Lady of Lourdes Church and the wider community, but also their role in the future of Ballinlough and in the wider city and region.

I will be giving a reflection on the 75th anniversary on Friday 13 September at 7.30pm in the church during the celebration mass and mission. The book launch is after this event on the same evening at 8.30pm in St Anthony’s Boys National School. All welcome. The book can be purchased for E.15 from Ballinlough parish office and sacristy from 13 September onwards.

 

Caption:

707a. Front cover of Journeys of Faith, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Ballinlough, Celebrating 75 Years by Kieran McCarthy; cover designed by Alexandria O’Donnell, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Ballinlough.