Cllr Kieran McCarthy’s ‘Make a Model Boat Project’ 2014

Cllr Kieran McCarthy invites all Cork young people to participate in the fourth 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 Cork’s Lough on Sunday afternoon, 1 June 2014, 2pm. The theme is ‘legends’ and is open to interpretation. The event is being run in association with Meitheal Mara’s Ocean to City, Cork’s Maritime Festival and the Lifetime Lab. There are three categories, two for primary and one for secondary students. There are prizes for best models and the event is free to enter. Cllr McCarthy, who is heading up the event, noted “I am encouraging creation, innovation and imagination amongst our young people, which are important traits for all of us to develop”. See www.kieranmccarthy.ie under community programme for more details.

McCarthy’s Historical Walking Tour of Mahon, Sunday 11 May

On Sunday 11 May, Cllr Kieran McCarthy is conducting a historical walking tour of Mahon (free, meet 2pm, Blackrock Garda Station, Ringmahon Road, approx two hours). Cllr McCarthy noted; “Within the story of Mahon and its environs, one can write about a myriad of topics from its connection to the river and the harbour to its former mini demesne type landscape in the nineteenth century to its heart of hard working labourers and fishermen”. The tour starts by exploring the development of Dunlocha Cottages. They were developed by the Cork Rural District Council, which existed through Public Health Acts of the late 1800s, giving them authority to improve public health in the areas they represented and Labourers Acts of the late 1800s, which gave them authority to clear slum like areas and build new houses for those that needed them most.

McCarthy’s Historical Walking Tour of Ballinlough, Sunday 18 May

Cllr Kieran McCarthy will lead a historical walking tour through Ballinlough on Sunday 18 May starting at 2pm at Beaumont National Schools. The event is free and is open to all. Cllr. McCarthy noted: “Ballinlough is full of historical gems; the walk not only talks about the history of Ballinlough as an important suburb in the city’s development but also its 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.”  Ballinlough has a rich variety of heritage sites. With 360 acres, it is the second largest of the seven townlands forming the Mahon Peninsula.

Ballinlough has a deep history dating back to Bronze Age Ireland. In fact 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.