FIRST IMPRESSIONS
When we arrived in Cork on Sunday and took a short walk around the area, we inadvertently headed in the opposite direction from the city center. We walked through some dull, more industrial-looking university buildings and never really got to where we wanted to be, even after we turned ourselves around. Cork, at that point, seemed a bit scruffy.
The next morning, yesterday, we had a lively tour guide named Helena, a bit of a Judy Dench look-a-like, who talked fast, walked fast, and bubbled over with lots of Irish history. With her, we got a wider tour of both the historic sites and the modern downtown and were this time impressed with what we saw and learned!
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK
Our first stop on our walking tour was the lovely quad at UC Cork. Founded in 1845, Cork is one of the three Queen’s colleges making up the National University of Ireland. The other two are in Galway and Belfast. It was quiet as most students are gone for the summer. The stately grey stone building on one side of the quad included quarters for both the bishop and the college president.
Not far from it is the modern student center and the lovely Honan Chapel completed in 1917. Our timing was fortuitous as one of the university staff came along at just the right time to unlock the chapel.
The stained glass windows inside are rich and detailed, but the standout for me was the mosaic work, River of Life, running on the floor down the central aisle. At one end were the signs of the zodiac, and at the other, a lion, tiger, and a fish among the animals depicted. The lighting can be adjusted to bathe the walls in blue or mauve light.
Also while at the university, we went into the Stone Corridor to see a display of Ogham Stones. These rectangular stones two to three feet in height were gravestones containing a coded form of the Irish language.
The words are spelled by a series of small vertical grooves in groups and placed right, left, or center on the face of the stone. These stones are approximately 1500 years old and date from before St. Patrick came to Ireland.
SAINT FIN BARRE’S CATHEDRAL
St. Fin Barre’s is a Gothic Revival cathedral with three spires or steeples. It was designed by William Burges, consecrated in 1870, and named for the patron saint of Cork. It’s an Anglican cathedral (Church of Ireland) and is built on a site which has been a place for worship since the 7th century. We did not go inside, instead studying the sculptured figures around the doors and later viewing it from a greater distance.
ELIZABETH FORT
Dating from the 17th century, Elizabeth Fort was built on high ground outside the city of Cork. Later the city grew up around it. It’s what’s known as a five star fort since it provided vantage points in five different directions in case of attack.
At one time, it was also a holding jail for women who were petty thieves or deemed of loose morals. Some of them were then transported to Australia for seven years of hard labor. There are steep steps to get to the uppermost level, but the views were worth the short climb!
MODERN CORK
Cork today has a bustling attractive downtown and, with the city’s boundaries recently expanded, counts a population of about 200,000. Apple has an office here and employs about 6,000 people. Google also has a presence. Throughout the city, you see familiar chains such as Starbucks, McDonalds, North Face, and the like. The city is broken up by several channels of the River Lee and is actually an island. A number of bridges span the various branches of the river.
On St. Patrick’s Street, the main thoroughfare, there is an impressive monument to the individuals who died in conflicts over the years, ones that occurred before the Easter Rising in 1916.
In 2004, the street was re-designed to be more pedestrian friendly and flood lights mounted on angled steel poles, intended to look like ship sails, provide a focal point. Our guide told us that people either love the lights for hate them. I’d like to see them lit at night, but didn’t have the opportunity.
After our walking tour, we had lunch outside at the casual Amicus cafe. My open-faced chicken sandwich with the proverbial chips is in the header photo.
LODGING
A word about lodging. We have been very fortunate in the hotels we’ve stayed in so far on this trip. Thank you, Audley Travel. Our favorite to date is the lovely Hayfield Manor, here in Cork. It’s about a 15 minute walk from the center of town and tucked into a residential neighborhood not too far from the university in the other direction.
It was built in the 1920’s by the Musgraves, a prosperous local merchant family. Over the years, the house became neglected. In 1995, the current owners did a massive renovation and restoration while keeping the feel of the original home. It has gracious public spaces, a grand double staircase, and, in our case, a very comfortable and spacious room. We have also enjoyed tasty cuisine at dinner and from their extensive breakfast buffet.
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved)
