Where Do You Want To Go Today?

The Bus Éireann Parnell Place Station here in Cork. It's fabulous to just walk in look at the board of destinations, hop on a bus and go. It's so much more laid-back than I usually think of travel -- and generally very cheap (esp. for a student like me!).

Finbarre in the Sun

A front view of St Finbarre's Cathedral on a lovely sunny day.

Blue Sunday

A shot of the southern arm of the River Lee, from Wandesford Quay (I had to look up this street name). The brightly coloured buildings in the distance are along Washington Street/Western Road -- it changes name somewhere along this area.

Lack of posting due to too much school work and not enough time to take more photos -- as the weather is gorgeous today, I hope to get some more shots and get back to posting regularly.

Lazy River

A shot of the River Lee in the city centre, near the bus station, on a calm day and at high tide.

Something Fishy

A really fun lamp post near Parnell Bridge. I'm rather fond of the expressions given to the fish.

Sráid na Croise

I really find the street signs here interesting. They're a good way to get a crash course in Irish Gaelic -- well, spelling, anyway...it really does nothing for the pronunciation. :)

A Friary on the Lee

Holy Trinity Church and Friary (the building next to the church).

The site was selected by Father Theobald Mathew and the foundation stone of the church was laid in October 1832. The church opened in 1850 and the steeple was added in 1891.
The current friary was first occupied by the Capuchins in 1884.

For more information on the church see this site -- or for a briefer history and a beautiful historical photo, go here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's a little purple flower from Fitzgerald Park to celebrate the day.

Rainy Day in Shandon

This building used to be the Cork Butter Exchange (or Butter Market, as I think of it) but now holds the Shandon Craft Centre. When its open, you can watch artist and crafters ply their trade -- and buy some of their wares. When I ventured in, since the doors were actually open, there wasn't much going on...but, then, most activity here seems to take place over the summer months.

St Anne's Church is very close by...practically across the street. In fact, this past photo was taken from the steps of the craft centre, with the columns framing the church's tower.

Fancy a Brewery?

The Beamish & Crawford Brewery is located on South Main Street. They used to be located in the heart of medieval Cork, right by the Cork jail -- although that was moved long ago -- and near an old city gate (which is also gone). Beamish & Crawford has been here since 1792; although brewing has been taking place on this site from at least 1650, maybe as far back as 1500. The brewery makes many of the beers associated with its parent company (such as Fosters and Miller), but Beamish Stout is brewed here exclusively. For more information, check out the Beamish & Crawford company history and this site, which features how to pull a pint of stout and a virtual tour of how it's brewed.

Also, sorry for the lack of updates recently. My internet was down for the better part of the weekend & then when it would work, it wouldn't show and blogger sites....

Another Winding Way

One of many little streets on the north side of the river, near St Anne's Church/Shandon Church. The streets here are really quiet and you rarely see anyone but residents going down them -- or, maybe I felt like I was the only "tourist" there.

A Pint at Journey's End

An advert today. This one can be found across the road from Kent Railway Station. In fact, the northern-bound trains (mostly the Dublin train) go through the tunnel just below the sign. Thus, "the light at the end of the tunnel" is especially apt. Murphy's stout, which is the Cork equivalent to Guinness -- and, according to Corkonians at least, is better than the Dublin-based brew, has had this advertising space for a while...I have a picture of a Murphy's advert from this same spot from the autumn of '04.

Michael's Head

In Fitzgerald Park, near the Cork Public Museum, you will find this bust of Michael Collins. Collins was a major figure in Irish history after the Easter Rising of 1916 -- especially in regards to the Anglo-Irish war (also known as the Irish War of Independence) and the Irish Civil War. He was born in County Cork -- and he was killed in the county too; surprisingly not too far from where he had grown up. Wikipedia actually has a decent article for basic information on Collins.

At the front of the statue the following is carved:
MICHAEL Ó Coileáin
1890 - 1922
DONATED
BY CON MURPHY
TO THE PEOPLE
OF CORK

Down the Green Garden Path

A lovely little sheltered path on the grounds of St Finnbarre's Cathedral. It's a nice place for a short meander -- and surprisingly quiet considering the busy streets around the cathedral.

The Beautiful Lee

A view of Cork from near the Port of Cork -- so, at the mouth of the Lee and the start of Cork Harbour. In the distance you can see how hilly Cork is when you leave the river banks.

The river would normally be much calmer than it is in the photo, but it was a very, very windy day when I took this.

Three in One

The Franciscan church on Liberty Street (behind the court house). The sign is for St. Blaise -- and the curing or blessing of throats on the 3rd; his feast day (according to Wikipedia) was on February 3rd, so this would make sense.

One of the pubs on Washington Street, all decked out with (from left to right) a Cork flag, a Muster Rugby flag, and another flag with the Cork colours of red and white. I'm sure that pub was full today, since the Wales v Ireland match was today -- & the crowd left happy, since Ireland won!

Cork Harbour, as seen from the "Prom" (Promenade, fully) in Cobh -- pronounced "Cove." Cobh is a short 25 minutes by train from Cork & it was a huge stopping point for ships until World War II -- & most famously, it was the last port of call for the Titanic before it heading across the Atlantic.

Sorry for the lack of updates this weekend. I hope these make up for it. :)

Classical Church

St. Mary's Church is a Dominican church. The Dominicans were invited by Philip de Barry in 1229 & despite the dissolution of all religious orders by Henry VIII, managed to keep a presence in the city. This church was built between 1832 and 1839, when it officially opened. It was recently renovated in 1991.

For some extra trivia, the church sits on Pope's Quay, which is named for the Widow Pope who lived in Cork city during the 18th century.