Cork, Ireland (Day One)

Due to only getting in this afternoon after spending most of Saturday afternoon (and night) out with some folks to watch the England football game, and continuing to kick on after that, I’m going to post at least Day One of last weekend’s trip... (no more excuses)

Right, with the joys of cheap airfares over here and an email about a cheap deal from Ryannair, as well as a certain event being on the same weekend, it was time to head back to Ireland and visit one of the places that we drove through, but did not stop at: The City of Cork.

Cork is Ireland’s second largest city and has quite a rivalry with Dublin in their historical wrangle to be the country’s capital. It is also known as the cultural capital of Ireland. Thankfully it’s not a major tourist spot either, so it still has plenty of what makes up ‘proper traditional Ireland’ if you know what I mean.
And what better example of this than the weather when I arrived on the Saturday morning. As you can see, there’s no way you could confuse the place with somewhere like Barcelona (or Mt Bulla). Cold and drizzly it was... you know, typical Ireland. Perfect for holing up in a cozy pub somewhere with a pint of Murphy’s or Beamish, the fire going and the locals in the corner playing their instruments!
Unfortunately, it was only 8am (having only just made it onto a 6.30am flight out of London) and therefore the above was nowhere to be found.
A takeaway latté from the airport it would have to be for the ride into the City itself, and once there it was time to get out n about and explore this town.

My first stop was a few blocks from the bus station for breakfast. It really was just a matter of wandering through the alleys and streets til I found somewhere that was open. Even in that small space of time it was quite apparent that Cork is a good mix of old and new.
One full Irish breakfast later, and I was off again. The original plan was to then head up to where I was staying to check in and leave my small backpack before heading for some of the places I had earmarked in my copy of the Lonely Planet Ireland. Over breakfast, this plan was reviewed and I decided that I would swing past a few spots before heading to the hostel - it was on the other side of the river, and it’s not like my small backpack was heavy as you don’t need to pack much for the remaining two days...

I headed out along Grand Parade towards the Beamish & Crawford Brewery. They don’t drink Guinness in Cork, that’s for the Dubliners and tourists. Here it’s Murphy’s or Beamish, which are the local brews, and it has to be said that while they all look the same, these two are far nicer.
A bit early for a brew you might say? Well, they only run two tours a day - 10.30am and 12noon - and I was about to find out what the lonely planet didn’t say... only on a Tuesday and Thursday!
At least the walk along Grand Parade past the Nationalist Monument and along the south channel of the River Lee had been pleasant enough. It had also led me to see some other interesting things, like the cathedral that you may be able to make out in the distance of the pic here on the left. So, being even further from the hostel and with my intended plan scuppered I wandered down to check it out.
As I did, I passed the Red Abbey Tower, which is the only remaining part of the original abbey that still stands. Not bad for something built in the 1200’s and a good spot for the pigeons to call home by the look of it. Heading through the narrow streets of the area, I eventually made it to the building I was aiming for - St Fin Barre’s Cathedral.
Quite an impressive building, not to mention a good spot to shelter from the sudden arrival of rain. It was originally a monastery created by St Fin Barre himself in the early 600’s before evolving over the centuries into the architectural anomaly that it has now become with several additions and repairs being done under different architectural periods and styles. The two volunteers that I met on the way out past the little gift ‘corner’ (hardly a shop) were quite talkative and I’ll admit that I wasn’t too interested in trekking on in the rain. I learnt quite a bit about the area from them as well as the fact that it was Heritage Weekend in Cork, so that many of the city’s historical places would be open when they normally wouldn’t be. A free pamphlet with the guff on all thirty four places complete with map and 5 different walks that linked them was soon in my possession. The discovery that it was also possible to see much of the surrounding countryside by horseback was one to put into the information bank as well.

With the rain subsiding and one of the pair I was speaking to bringing up local and national politics it was time to move on. Across the road was the Carrigbarre House, which is somewhat hidden, but connected with the original monastery that I’d just left. Further down the road along the other side of the cathedral, I checked out the Deanery & Gardens which were a pleasant enough spot, before coming across Elizabeth Fort. Nothing spectacular as it was only built in the early 1600’s, it has seen some action over the last few centuries and does provide an excellent view across Cork itself from the ramparts (left). These days it’s now used as a police station for the Garda as they’re called. Funnily enough, I did learn the origin of the term “brass monkeys” while here. It’s always amazing just what sorts of things you can discover in new places...

With the time now on the other side of midday, I headed back towards the River Lee’s south channel and the city centre. The objective being the inappropriately named ‘English Market’ considering the amount of love felt by the Irish towards the English. On the way to the market I passed the tourist centre, where I did pick up a large brochure on Walking and Cycling Holidays of Ireland. I also found out from two of the staff there that the brewery tour really isn’t worth it.
The market was really just a very large produce and general market that was mainly indoors and I’d say comparable in size with the Adelaide Central market. On the right you'll see one of the many entrances. My main reason for checking it out, other than just poking about, was lunch.
Another top discovery here was the chocolate stall which contained many varieties that I’d never seen before. I can now highly recommend several new manufacturers including Valrhona’s Manjari, which is from Madagascar - fantastic dark chocolate (of which my last block is currently beside me as I type)!

Across the road from the market is the Bishop Lucey Gardens and that made a top spot to sit and have the somewhat larger-than-needed lunch. Good luck for the couple of crows hanging about there as they got the last scraps of it. Almost hand feeding them by the end too - cool.
The drizzle began to return as I tossed the last scrap to them, so it was time to head to the hostel to check in and dump the bag. Unfortunately, it turned into heavy rain within a few minutes, and the nearby sports shop made for a good refuge. I ended up learning a bit about both Gaelic Football and Hurling, and discovered that I wasn’t going to be able to catch a hurling match unless it was a junior game somewhere. This was because it was the All Ireland Final in the Gaelic football and was going to be between Cork and Kerry. This also explained the mass of red and white chequered flags adorning most pubs around town.
With the rain easing back to a light drizzle, I headed on and up Main St past the Vision Centre, across the River Lee and into Shandon. Only one brief stop along the way into a bric-a-brac store. Why? Simple - something in the window caught my attention; a cat. Not your ordinary ceramic or wooden one either, but an actual cat as you can see. I like these stores anyway as you never know what you might find in them and headed inside. Within a few seconds, said cat came over to say ‘hello’ and have his ears scratched. Friendly little fella who then followed me about the store for the brief time I was there. I'll file him as "A Modern Irish Cat" right alongside the British Museum's "Modern Egyptian Cat" that you may recall from my waffles a while back.

Back on the road to the hostel and I passed by the Cork Butter Museum and the Firkin Crane Studio, which I had noted for visiting later over the weekend, and checked in at Kinlay House just down the road.
I had also passed by the Church of St Anne Shandon of who the area/suburb is named. One thing I noticed when going past was that the bells were constantly going and with no particular pattern of play or timing with the clock tower that is part of the church tower. I came back here after check-in for a look as it was on the way to where I was headed for the afternoon.
Thanks to Heritage Weekend it was free entry as well as access to the bell tower and the look out at the top. A brief wait as only a certain number could go up at a time, and I was on my way up yet another spiral staircase. A wooden one this time for something different, although that changed shortly after reaching the first level inside. It was here that I discovered the reason for the discordant bell ringing. The bell ringing was open to the public today, so with numbered charts and numbers by each rope, you could try to sound out one of the tunes on the charts. You look a bit goofy moving from one rope to the next, but stuff it, it was a bit of fun and not something you get to do every day. Upwards again after grabbing a pair of earmuffs, and it was back onto narrow stone stairwells. Past the workings of the four clock faces, which actually move at different speeds only to realign at the top of each hour (something to do with the differing woods used on each clock face and hands), and it was then into the bell chamber itself (remember the earmuffs?). Resisting the urge to swing on the bells Quasimodo style, I crept under the first bell and up the wood ladder to the next set of stairs to reach the observation level. With the clouds breaking up a bit, it did make for a great view over Cork itself - as you can see to the left.
Back down and it was on my way again along the River Lee and through the nearby roads to the Cork City Gaol.

Impressive old building this one and its history is quite involved. The tour itself is a self-tour and one where you basically have a walkman and a recorded voice telling you about each area/cell/room and also directing you where to go. Despite the (what is now old) method of the audio tour, and having to tighten the cassette tape myself so that my guide's voices stopped sounding like the chipmunks, it was quite a good tour. Topped off with decent mannequins, sound effects and even with its own ‘ghost’. I did have to look twice when I saw it, but a little camera work to look properly down the blocked off hallway and I did discover exactly what it was - funnily enough right at the same time the ‘guide’ mentions seeing something from the corner of your eye... Well, they’ve stopped doing the haunted tours of the gaol at night, so I did wonder for a moment when I first saw what was in the dark passage. Mirrors! [wink]... The place did have its very own ‘feel’ as well, so it was a bit disappointing that the haunted tours have ceased.

I left the gaol to wander the streets of this region as they’re not on the guidebook map and head towards the river, eventually making my way back to the city centre. The streets and houses truly are unique and ‘typically’ Irish. Very small village-ish and not pretentious or over the top in any way yet still impressive in places. These streets gave me that rare feeling that this would be a place that I would like to live in. But I digress...

It wasn’t long before I found a small alleyway that headed down in large flat steps and decided to head down them to see where they led. Back to the River Lee as it turned out and onto a suspension bridge known as the Shaky Bridge - it didn’t disappoint! With almost no sign of a city, except a few houses lining the river along one side between the trees, it made for a peaceful walk back towards the city itself. The riverside paths led through Fitzgerald Park (below right), past the Cork City Cricket Club and along the riverside until you made it all the way back to the city. With the sun now coming through, it made for a really nice casual walk through the riverside forestry.
Making my way down to Lancaster Quay, (and no, I’m not sure why they call it a quay considering it only goes along the southern channel of the river and has no docks), it was then a short walk past the Courthouse and other various pubs and shops to reach Washington St. This is where I was told were most of the places to go for an entertaining night out. First stop was the Raven. Simply just a bar with outdoor seating and a good place to just settle with a pint of the local Murphy’s (and later a Beamish coz you do need to try both the main local brews). Nice to put the feet up considering that by the time I make it back to the hostel for the night I will have covered just over 8miles (13+kms) not including walking through the buildings/places I visited.

Anyway, while just watching the world go by and enjoying the Murphy’s I was joined at my table by ‘Ted’ - just a local who wanted to sit outside and I had the only free chairs at my table.
After chatting or a while he went on his way, leaving me to my Beamish and deciding where to go next.
I headed along Washington St before continuing along St Patrick’s Street to the Mutton Lane Inn (on the barman’s advice). The place was packed, which isn’t hard considering its size, or lack of it. After a quick chat with the doorman, it was over the road to the laneways beyond and amongst the restaurants and cafés on offer for dinner. The restaurant I chose was a little over the price range I intended, but stuff it, I was here to enjoy myself so why not live it up a bit.
From here and after finishing the conversation with a couple from Sydney on the next table, it was back to the hostel via a night time walk along the northern channel of the River Lee. [Note: You may have noticed references to both the northern and southern channels of the River Lee - the river itself actually divides making the actual city centre an island before reuniting on the other side.] Having been up since 4am, I wasn’t really up for heading out into the night and the pubs n bars like I’d planned. Tomorrow night will do for that.
Oops!! Forgot the earplugs for snoring French women - well, one anyway...