Cork
“Oh, my life
Is changing every day
In every possible way.”
So far, two cities have unexpectedly captured our hearts: Worcester, England and Cork, Ireland. Beautiful, clean, and friendly—we wish we had more time to explore the shops and sites of each. Above, the River Lee runs through Cork, lending a wonderful ambience to the cityscape.
St Anne's Church, built in 1722, is one of Cork’s oldest churches.
Though sophisticated in its design and extremely large by the standards of the day, the church’s clock apparently failed to keep the same time on each of its four faces, leading locals to dub it "The Four-Faced Liar," a joke also made in reference to a clock outside Birmingham, England, among others.
The golden weather vein is graced not with a rooster, but a giant salmon, indicating the importance of the fishing industry of the River Lee to the citizenry of two centuries ago. Nine feet high, the Fish of Shandon has long remained one of the most familiar features on the Cork landscape.
But what makes this church truly unique is, they actually allow the public to play the church bells! The Shandon Bells have had poems and songs written about them.
On the second floor there are 8 ropes for the 8 bells. The bells are fixed, so when you pull the rope, you move the clapper that hits the bell, rather than swinging the bell.
The numbered bells have different tones, so pulling the cables in a particular order plays a song.
The song options provided were Amazing Grace, Frère Jacques, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and the Top Gun theme. I chose Amazing Grace—just seemed the most appropriate for church bells.
The stairs to the third and fourth floors get quite narrow.
Then you climb up into the belfry, where the 6 tons of bells ring out.
Fortunately, they provide “ear defenders.” 🤭
One more flight of even tinier stairs to reach the balcony.
After 132 stairs you’re rewarded with a panoramic view of beautiful Cork.
The alter
Thought the Cork Old Folks Friendly Association was hilarious!
The St Vincent Footbridge over the River Lee.
Cool houses on Sunday’s Well Rd (a cool street name) at Rope Walk (the likewise cool name for the narrow alleyway behind the houses).
These amazing doors, found all along the wall, are actually back gates for the large homes that front the parallel street. The huge back gardens lead to these gates.
Department of Music, University College Cork.
The Cork City Gaol (pronounced “jail”), a magnificent castle-like building which once housed 19th century prisoners. I wish I had time to visit, but here’s a quick video tour. It looks pretty cool inside…maybe I should have gone inside after all. 😢
Daly’s Bridge is the suspension bridge better known by locals as “Shaky Bridge.”
Its colloquial name derives from the lively movement of the deck under pedestrian loading. The bridge opened in 1927 to replace an earlier ferry crossing at the same location across River Lee.
It remains the only suspension bridge in Cork City and is the only surviving bridge of its type in Ireland. It's included on the Record of Protected Structures, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, and is considered a significant contributor to the architectural heritage of the city.
What a view!
Art in Fitzgerald’s Park.
Father Matthew Memorial Fountain in the center of Fitzgerald’s Park.
A heron surveys the scene from the fountain.
On the Gaol Bridge over the River Lee, looking at the entrance to University College Cork.
University College Cork Main Quad
Two gigantic sequoias in the center of campus.
On campus, The Honan Chapel (also known as The Chapel of St Fin Barr).
The mosaic floor is highly unusual for a church. The plaque reads: “Consciously evoking the golden age of Irish Christianity in its distinctive Hiberno-Romanesque style, the Chapel epitomizes the spirit of Celtic Revival at the heart of the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.”
“Every aspect of its design, including historical, architectural, and liturgical was meticulously researched and expressed by master craftspeople in the details of the building, its stained-glass windows, furnishings, altar plate, and vestments.”
The Chapel is now a protected structure, listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
St Finn Barre’s Cathedral is situated on a site where worship has been offered since 606 AD. Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral is the finest example of French Neo-Gothic Cathedral architecture in Ireland and one of the most coherent in Western Europe. Designed by William Burges the Cathedral boasts over 1,500 stone and wood carvings, spectacular stained glass windows, marble features, and floor mosaics crafted by Italian craftsmen. The historic “Pit Organ” is the only one of its kind in Ireland.
These may be some of the coolest rain spout “gargoyles” I’ve seen yet; each appear to be wild beasts with angels.
A horse with an angel underneath, clinging to the horse’s right front leg. (I say angel because there appears to be a wing at the right side.)
A goat, a fish, and a fallen torch?
There are six doors on the western entrance, a pair under three elaborately carved archways. Each archway is covered with carved images from end to end.
The central archway has what appears to me to be the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids from Matthew 25.
Five of them were foolish and took no extra oil for their lamps and and five were wise and took oil in jars along with their lamps. The five statues on the left are holding their lamps upright, while the five on the right are no longer holding their lamps upright, apparently out of oil.
The cities above their heads may reference Matthew 5:13-20: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shines unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Sadly, there was an event at the cathedral when I was there, so I wasn’t able to tour. Given how amazing the exterior is, it’s a real shame I wasn’t able to go inside.
Fortunately, we can take this quick video tour of the cathedral’s remarkable interior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Scv_s0NTxY
Looking over Cork from Elizabeth Fort.
A wonderful Maya Angelou quote outside Nano Nagle Place.
If Nano Nagle were alive today she would be the kind of person to win a Nobel Prize. Before her death in 1784, Nano had opened 7 schools for poor children across Cork city, founded an almshouse for poor women, and, most notably, founded the Presentation Order, who continue her education and social inclusion work today.
Born to a wealthy Catholic family in 1718, Honora Nagle was given the pet name Nano by her father. If you’re interested, you can read more about Nano here.
Nano’s gravesite at Nano Nagle Place.
The Red Abbey was a 14th-century Augustinian abbey which took its name from the reddish sandstone used in construction.
Today all that remains of the structure is the central bell tower of the abbey church, which is one of the last remaining visible structures dating to the medieval walled town of Cork.
After hours of walking all over the Cork, we had an early dinner at Thali Nepal Restaurant.
Afterward, we walked to Charlie's Bar on the River Lee on Union Quay (pronounced “Key”), to have a Murphy’s stout on tap.
From their website: “Charlies is a famous early morning Cork bar, full of character and characters. Opening every morning, except Sundays, at 7am this is the closest you’ll get to round-the-clock craic [mischievous fun; laugh] in a traditional Irish bar and its welcoming coal fire.”
Murphy's Irish Stout is a local favorite because it is brewed at the Murphy’s Brewery right here in Cork. Ironically, it is now owned and distributed by the Dutch brewer Heineken. (Not surprisingly then, Heineken is also very popular in Cork.)
Here’s a clip from inside Charlie’s Bar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FqCMEIi3fA
Murphy’s is less bitter than Guinness. It also has a more velvety, chocolatey feel and flavor. Unlike Guinness’s “300,000 bubbles,” Murphy’s says it’s not carbonated (but lists nitrogen as an ingredient?). Murphy’s is delivered "black as strong cappuccino" with only an inch of foam on top. The water of the River Lee in Cork allegedly gives Murphy's its quality. We both really enjoyed the Murphy’s!
Like Murphy’s, Beamish stout is produced at the Beamish & Crawford Brewery, also located in Cork, since 1792. (Guinness began in 1759, but Murphy’s was only recently introduced in 1989.) We have not yet tried Beamish but will report back as soon as we do!
We walked back to our car along the lively St Patrick’s Street, grateful for a wonderful day exploring Cork.
Jameson Midleton Distillery Tour Cork
On Monday (May 1) we toured the Jameson Distillery in Midleton, just east of Cork. Jameson was once based on Bow Street and the surrounding Smithfield area, including the piggery yard they absorbed, in Dublin.
In 1966 John Jameson merged with Cork Distillers and John Powers to form the Irish Distilleries Group.
In 1970, the last drops of pot still whiskey were distilled at the Jameson Distillery in Bow Street, ending nearly 200 years of whiskey production in Dublin 7.
In 1976, the Dublin whiskey distilleries of Jameson in Bow Street and in John's Lane were closed following the opening of the New Midleton Distillery by Irish Distillers outside Cork.
The Midleton Distillery now produces much of the Irish whiskey sold in Ireland under the Jameson, Midleton, Powers, Redbreast, Spot, and Paddy labels.
To this day every drop of Jameson enjoyed around the world hails from here.
The underside of the malting floor, where heat rises to dry the barley. Unlike Scottish whisky, a smokeless heat source is used.
Malting shoes to provide protection from the heated floors when the barley is drying.
The Mill House and its remarkable, and still operational, water wheel.
The massive copper wash still.
The Microdistillery.
The actual storehouse. “And now we wait.”
Jameson’s whiskey is aged in American oak bourbon barrels. This one still has the Maker’s Mark logo.
Barrels loose 2% of their volume per year to evaporation—the so called Angel’s Share.
Sláinte!
Kinsale Apartment
You can take a tour of our apartment in Kinsale, on the coast about 30 minutes south of Cork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eXB1LJfynA
It’s the morning of Tuesday, May 2, and we’re off for our next place in the Wicklow Mountians, with a stop in Waterford along the way. It’s a long drive, so wish us some of that Irish good luck! 🍀
