Cork
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses of Cork, see Cork (disambiguation). Cork City redirects here, for the football club, see Cork City FC
Template:Infobox Irish Place Cork (Corcaigh in Irish) is the second city of the Republic of Ireland. The principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city of the province of Munster, it is situated slightly inland from the southern coast proper, located at Template:Coor dm.
The River Lee flows through the city, an island in the river forming the main part of the city centre just before the Lee flows into Lough Mahon and thence to Cork Harbour, one of the world's largest natural harbours. The city is a major Irish seaport — with quays and docks sited along the broad waterway of the Lee on the city's East side. The city proper has a population of 123,062; this increases to 186,239 if the suburbs of the city in the Cork County Council area are included. The county (excluding city) has a population of 326,767 (CSO 2002). In the "Cork Area Strategic Plan", it states that the 2000 population of Metropolitan Cork stands at approximately 251,510. The city (including suburbs) is the third largest city on the island of Ireland (after Dublin and Belfast) and second largest in the Republic of Ireland (after Dublin).
The city's name is derived from an Irish word corcach meaning "marshy place", referring to its situation on the River Lee. Cork has a reputation for independence dating from 1491, when some townsmen tried to overthrow the king of England, but more recently referring to its participation in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. This has given Cork the nickname of "the Rebel County". It is not unusual for Corkonians to refer to Cork as the "true capital of Ireland".
Contents |
History
Image:Cork river lee.jpg Main article: History of Cork
Cork's city charter was granted by King John in 1185. However, Cork has its beginnings in a much earlier monastic settlement, founded by St Finbar in the sixth century. Over the centuries, much of the city was rebuilt, time and again, after numerous fires and attacks by Vikings or Norsemen. The city was at one time fully walled, and several sections and gates remain. The title of Mayor of Cork was established by royal charter in 1318, and the title was changed to Lord Mayor in 1900. The centre of Cork was gutted by fires started by the Black and Tans in the War of Independence, part of the British government policy of reprisals at the time; it was also the site of some fierce fighting between Irish guerrilla leaders and British forces. During the Irish Civil War, Cork was for a time held by anti-Treaty forces, until it was retaken by the pro-Treaty National Army in an attack from the sea.Image:Patricks bridge cork.jpg
Railway heritage
Cork city was one of the most rail oriented cities in Ireland. It has boasted a total of perhaps 8 stations at various times. The main route, still much the same today, is that from Dublin. Originally terminating on the city's outskirts at Blackpool, the Glanmire tunnel now connects it to the city centre terminus (nowadays actually a through station) of Kent Station. The town of Cóbh, on Great Island, east of the city, is also connected — though the route originally had its own terminus perpendicular to the current station. This also connected to the East Cork seaside town of Youghal, until the 1980s.
Other rail routes terminating or traversing Cork city were the Cork, Blackrock and Passage railway, lines to Macroom and Blarney, as well as the famous Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway connecting Bantry, Skibbereen, Clonakilty and many other West Cork towns. West Cork trains terminated at Albert Quay, across the river from Kent Station (though an on-street rail 'system' connected the two for rolling stock and cargo movement).
All that remains of the once-extensive public transport system is the line to Dublin (also serving Mallow, County Kerry and Limerick) and that to Cobh. The only rail projects currently under consideration are an enhanced suburban service along the current lines, and a connection towards Youghal (probably only as far as Midleton).
Tramway Heritage
There are no tram services operating in Cork although the Cork Area Strategic Development Plan suggests it as one among a number of solutions for dealing with traffic congestion in Cork. Historically, there have been two tram networks in operation in Cork.
A proposal to develop a horse-drawn tram was made by an American, George Francis Train, in the 1860s. His plan was to link the city's railway termini with horse-drawn trams. These ideas were put into practice in 1872 by the Cork Tramway Company. However, the company ceased trading in 1875 after Cork Corporation refused permission to extend the line.
In December 1898, an electric tram system began operating in the city. The routes were: Blackpool-Douglas, Summerhill-Sunday's Well and Tivoli-Blackrock. The gauge of the tramway was two feet, eleven and a half inches (90.2cm). This was designed to be the same gauge as the Muskerry Railway, although the two never shared traffic.
Increased usage of cars and buses in the 1920s led to a reduction in the numbers using the trams. The final day of operation of the trams was supposed to be March 31 1931. However, after a few weeks of closure, it was realised that the Irish Omnibus Company did not have enough capacity to cope with demand. The trams started running again in April, 1931. This was only a temporary measure though and the final tram in Cork ran on September 30 1931.
Placenames today still tell of the routes, such as Tramway Terrace in Douglas.
Climate
The average annual precipitation is 1049mm. The average maximum January temperature is 9°C (48.2°F), the average maximum July temperature is 20°C (68°F). The sunniest months, on average, are May and June, with 6 hours of sunlight daily. The wettest month, on average, is December, with 122mm of rain (or other forms of precipitation). The driest months are April and June, with 57mm of rain.
The highest temperature recorded in Cork was 29°C (84.2°F). The lowest was -9°C (15.8F) [1].
Places of interest
Image:St finbarres cathedral1.jpg Image:Shandon bells cork.jpg
There are two cathedrals in the city:
- St Mary's Cathedral, commonly called the North Cathedral, is Roman Catholic
- St Finbarre's Cathedral is Church of Ireland.
The modern Cork Opera House is one of the few such venues in Ireland.
Cork city in general boasts some good quality architecture, capable of rivalling that of Dublin or Belfast. The main street, Patrick Street, was remodelled in the years up to 2004. As the main shopping street, it boasts striking buildings along its broad avenue (much of which is given to pedestrian use). Grand Parade, another part of the route, is a tree-lined avenue, home to many offices and financial institutions. The old financial centre, is the South Mall with several banks whose interior derive from the 19th century, and are very deserving of a visit, particularly Allied Irish Banks which was once an exchange. Many of its buildings are in the Georgian style, although the modern County Hall tower is the tallest building in the Republic of Ireland. Across the river is Ireland's longest building, the Mental Hospital built in Victorian times.
Cork's most famous building, also accessible to the public, is the church tower of Shandon dominating the North side of the city, with the North and East sides faced in red sandstone, and the West and South sides in the predominant stone of the region, white limestone. The clock tower on the church is known by locals as The Four-faced Liar, as from the base of the building, each clock face appears to show a different time. The bells of Shandon may be rung by members of the public. Image:Ireland-Cork City-City Hall At Night.jpg
The City Hall, another splendid building of limestone, replaced the previous one destroyed by British forces on December 11th 1920 during the War of Independence in an event known as the "Burning of Cork" . The cost of this new building was provided by the British Government in the 1930s as a gesture of reconciliation.
Fitzgerald's Park, to the west of the city, is worth a visit — as are the grounds of University College Cork, through which the River Lee flows.
The English Market, accessible from Grand Parade, Patrick Street, Oliver Plunkett Street and Princes Street, is a covered market for fish, fruit, meat, spices and luxury foods. The origins of the market can be traced back to 1610, but the present building dates from 1786.
The cross-continent European walking route E8 trail starts at Cork, ending 4700 km away in Istanbul, Turkey.
Culture
Cork's cultural life is vibrant. Music, theatre, dance, and film all play a prominent role in city life. The Cork School of Music and the Crawford College of Art & Design provide a constant throughput of new blood, as do the active theatre components of many courses at University College Cork (UCC). Highlights include:Corcadorca Theatre Company, where Cillian Murphy (from Batman Begins) got his start; Cork Film Festival, a major supporter of the art of the short film; The Institute for Choreography and Dance, a national contemporary dance resource; the Triskel Arts Centre; Cork Jazz Festival.
Cork is slowly gaining cultural diversity, with people immigrating from all over the world, particularly from Poland and various African nations. This is reflected in the recent growth of multi-cultural restaurants and shops, including the standard fare of Chinese and Thai restaurants, and more recently a French patisserie, an Indian buffet, and a Middle Eastern kebab house. Though Cork saw significant Jewish immigration from Lithuania and Russia in the late 19th century, and though Jewish citizens such as Gerald Goldberg (several times Lord Mayor), David Marcus (novelist) and Louis Marcus (documentary maker) played important roles in 20th century Cork, the Jewish community is now almost non-existent.
Recent additions to the arts infrastructure include splendid modern additions to Cork Opera House and the Crawford Art Gallery. The new Lewis Glucksman Gallery opened in the Autumn of 2004 at UCC, was nominated for the prestigious Stirling Prize in the United Kingdom, and building is about to commence on a new €60 million School of Music building. Construction of the €50 million Brookfield UCC Medical School complex was completed in 2005.
Cork was the European Capital of Culture for 2005. One of the key projects was the Cork Caucus.
Media
Broadcast
The city's FM radio band is impressively crowded: as well as RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, Lyric FM, Radio na Gaeltachta (all run by RTÉ), and Today FM. There are also local stations such as Corks 96FM, 103FM County Sound, CUH FM, Cork Campus Radio and Red FM.
Cork is also home to two television stations; RTÉ Cork broadcasts from its television centre in Fr. Matthew Street in the city centre and South Coast TV also broadcasts from Cork, providing a regional television station for the South of Ireland. Cork is home to the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet.
Cork is also home to one of Ireland's main national newspapers, the Irish Examiner (formerly the Cork Examiner) with its headquarters situated in Academy Street in the city centre. It also prints the famous Evening Echo, which for decades has been connected to the Echo Boys, who were poor and often homeless children from the 1930s and 1940s that had the job of selling the newspaper. Today, the shouts of the vendors selling the Echo can still be heard all over the city. Other local newspapers are also printed in the city, but are less well known.
Retail
The retail trade in Cork City is developing quickly with a mix of both modern, state of the art shopping centres and family owned local shops providing unique and often hand-made crafts. Department Stores can cater for all budgets, with expensive boutiques for one end of the market with many high street stores also available. Shopping centres are all over the suburbs in places such as Blackpool, Douglas, Wilton and Mahon Point to name just a few. Others are available in the city centre, with plans and excavation work on-going for the development of two more large malls, expanding the capacity of the city centre, to rival that of the suburbs. Cork's main shopping street is St. Patrick St. and is the most expensive street in the country per sq. metre after Dublin's Grafton Street. Other shopping areas in the city centre include Oliver Plunkett St. and Grand Parade. Cork is also home to some of the country's leading department stores with the foundations of shops such as Dunnes Stores and Roches Stores being layed in Cork City.
Industry
Cork City is at the heart of industry in the south of Ireland. Its main area of industry is pharmaceuticals, with Pfizer Inc. and Swiss company Novartis being big employers in the region. The most famous product of the Cork pharmaceutical industry is Viagra. Cork is also the European headquarters of Apple Computer where their desktop computers are manufactured and their European call centre is hosted. It is also home to the Murphy's Irish Stout brewery and the Beamish and Crawford brewery which have been in the city for generations. And for many years, Cork was the home to Ford Motor Company, which manufactured cars in the docklands area before the plant was closed. Henry Ford's grandfather was from Cork, which was a main reason for opening up the manufacturing facility in Cork. But technology has replaced the old manufacturing businesses of the 1970s and 1980s, with people now working in the many I.T. centres of the city. Much of Cork's economic success is due to a few main reasons, such as transport and a well educated workforce. Cork's deep harbour allows ships of any size to enter, bringing trade and easy import/export of products. Cork International Airport also allows easy access to continental Europe and Kent Station in the city centre provides good rail links for domestic trade. The City of Cork is home to one university and many colleges that provide a skilled and trained workforce. Also, Cork's suburbs have a number of modern industrial estates, with good road links and modern telecommunications to attract both local and foreign investment from Europe, the United States, and Japan. More recently Amazon.com, the online retailer, have set up in Cork Airport Business Park along with Motorola.
Twinned Cities
Cork City Corporation began its first twin/sister city programme with Coventry in 1969. Since then, Cork has developed links with several other cities in the areas of culture, education, tourism, science and economics:
|
|
Transportation
Air
- Main article: Cork International Airport
Cork Airport is one of Ireland's main airports and gateway to the South of Ireland. It is situated on the south side of Cork City in an area known as Ballygarvan. More than 10 scheduled airlines fly to over 50 destinations with over 50 flights a day. The airport continues to grow and a total of 2.730 million passengers used the airport in 2005, which makes it the second busiest airport in Ireland. The airport is currently building a second terminal that will be able to handle up to three million passengers annually, and allows for a pier extension which will boost capacity to 5 million. The airport plays a vital role in the development of Cork City, County and other surrounding areas and increased services to mainland Europe continue to develop. However, the national policy of requiring transatlantic flights to stop in Shannon in addition to Cork Airport's relatively short runway have hampered efforts to develop transatlantic services. Recent controversy regarding the new Cork terminal has come to the forefront, with a massive €180 million debt preceding the opening of the terminal, and the threat of low cost airlines such as Ryanair leaving due to increased costs of operating through the new terminal.
Bus
- City
Cork City's public transportation is provided by the national bus operator Bus Éireann. Routes connect the city centre to the principal suburbs, colleges, shopping centres and places of interest. There are also two city bus routes, Route Numbers 1 and 19, that provide orbital services across the Northern and Southern districts of the city respectively. Bus service has been rated by locals as poor and often unreliable. Outside of the Cork city center focused around Patrick Street, bus stops remain unlabelled and without proper schedules, leaving patrons all the more perplexed. Many bus stops have no shelters and consist simply of a solitary red pole marked only with the Bus Éireann logo. Unlike other modern European cities, there are no rear exits on the bus, forcing all passengers to enter and exit through the same front door, further exacerbating the already inefficient system. The current one-way fare as of 2006 is €1.30. Although paper tickets are issued upon payment to the bus driver, the tickets are essentially useless as transfers are not permitted and the tickets expire as soon as you step off the bus. Very infrequently, a bus inspector may ask to see your ticket, even though it is nearly impossible to board the bus without being asked to purchase a ticket or to show a bus pass.
Image:Volvo B7L Bus Eireann Cork.jpg
- Suburban
Buses to the outer suburbs, such as Ballincollig, Glanmire and Carrigaline are provided from the city's bus terminal at Parnell Place in the city centre. These suburban services include the Cork International Airport shuttle bus (Route Numbers 226 and 249). There is also a Park and Ride facility in the south suburbs, that allow easy access into the city centre. This is especially popular with students and commuters from not just the far suburbs but also the surrounding towns in County Cork.
- Long Distance
Long distance buses depart from the bus terminal in Parnell Place to destinations throughout Ireland. Hourly services run to Killarney, Waterford and Limerick/Galway and there are frequent services to Dublin. There is also a daily Eurolines bus service that connects Cork to Victoria Bus Station in London via South Wales and Bristol on an overnight sailing from Rosslare.
AirCoach (operated by First Group) also run a daily service to Dublin and Dublin Airport departing every 2 hours. Prices are between €7.00 and €10.00. Leather seats and extra legroom make the trip with AirCoach considerably more comforable compared to Bus Éireann. This service departs from St Patrick's Quay near the Metropole Hotel rather than Parnell Place Bus Terminal.
Ferry
The River Lee Ferry, serving Rushbrooke to Passage West, links the R624 to R610. This service is most beneficial when trying to avoid traffic on the Great Island (Cobh). Cork Ferryport is situated at Ringaskiddy, 16 km SE via the N28. Direct sea links are available to Roscoff (France) with Brittany Ferries and Swansea and Pembroke (Wales) with SwanseaCork Ferries. A connecting bus service is available to the city centre from the ferryport.
Road
Cork's road infrastructure compares poorly with the most of industrialised Europe in terms of design and construction standards. However, the Cork area has seen improvements in roads infrastructure in recent years, especially with regards to National Primary roads. The Cork South Link road (a dual carriageway), built in the early 1980s, linking the Kinsale road roundabout with the city centre was the first of many improvements. Shortly afterwards, the first sections of the South Ring Road (dual carriageway)were opened. Work continued through the 1990s on extending the South Ring Road with the opening of the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the River Lee being the most significant addition. Also in the 1990s work progressed on the Cork to Midleton dual carriageway and the N8 Glanmire bypass dual carriageway. Other projects at this time include the N20 Blackpool bypass and the N20 Cork to Mallow road projects. The N8 Glanmire to Watergrasshill dual carriageway bypass was opened in 2002. The N22 Ballincollig dual carriageway bypass, which links to the Western end of the Cork Southern Ring road was opened in 2004. City Centre road improvements include the Patrick St. project which reconstructed the street with a pedestrian focus. The M8 Rathcormac to Fermoy tolled motorway bypass (17.5 kilometres) is currently under construction and is scheduled to open by July, 2007.
Rail
- National
Cork's Kent Station is the main train station in the city. From here, services to all over Ireland can be reached. The main line from Cork to Dublin, which is Ireland's busiest rail line, has eight direct departures daily and a number of connecting services. Irish Rail plans to upgrade this line to an hourly service in 2006. Direct InterCity services are also available to Kerry, with direct services to Killarney and Tralee (2 daily), although most services to Kerry involve a change at Mallow.
- Suburban
The Cork City Suburban Railway also departs from Kent Station with services to the east of the city including Little Island, Fota and Cobh. This railway line provides essential transport for the thousands of commuters to the city every day from the eastern suburbs. The east of the city is also a scenic route connecting several islands in Cork harbour with the city centre. It is recommended for travel to Fota Island wildlife park, arboretum, golf club and Cobh Heritage Centre.
In November 2005, the Irish government announced the reopening of the railway line between Glounthaune (on the Cobh line) and Midleton as part of the country's 10 year development plan. New stations will be provided at Carrigtohill on the Midleton branch and at Kilbarry, Monard and Blarney on the Dublin line as part of the plan, along with the already operational Mallow station. The Midleton branch is scheduled to be reopened in 2008.
Education
Image:Uccquadrangle.jpg Cork is an important educational center in Ireland. University College Cork (UCC), a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, offers a wide variety of courses in Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Science. The university was named "Irish University of the Year" in 2003–2004 and 2005-2006 by the Sunday Times. Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) offers a variety of third level courses in Mathematics, Computing and IT, Business, and Engineering (Mechanical, Electronic, Electrical, and Chemical) and is one of the few places in Ireland where nautical studies are available. It also incorporates the Cork School of Music and Crawford College of Art & Design as constituent colleges. The Cork College of Commerce is the largest post–Leaving Certificate College in Ireland and is also the biggest provider of Vocational Preparation and Training courses in the country. Other 3rd level institutions include Griffith College Cork (incorporating Skerry's College) which has been offering courses since 1884 and various other colleges. There is also a very large community of students from abroad, especially countries where Cork has twinned cities. The largest group of foreign students comes from China, Shanghai in particular. This is due to the exchange programmes on offer for Chinese students in universities in China. Other non-nationals come from Poland, India, America and Latvia, as well as "the old E.U." countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
- See Also: Christian Brothers College, Cork
- See Also: Presentation Brothers College, Cork
Sport
Sport is intensely important to the people of Cork, with gaelic games (hurling & gaelic football) and soccer the most popular.
Gaelic games
Cork are the current All-Ireland Hurling Champions, having won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. There are many GAA clubs in Cork City, and the main public venues are Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Páirc Uí Rinn.
Soccer
The current champions of the Football League of Ireland are Cork City F.C., who play their home games at Turners Cross stadium on the southside of the city.
Rugby
Rugby Union is also popular in the city, being played at various levels, from school to senior league level. Cork Constitution (2 time All Ireland League Champions) play their home games at Ballintemple. Munster Rugby plays its home matches in the Celtic League at Musgrave Park in Ballyphehane, although its matches in the more prestigious Heineken Cup are played at Thomond Park in Limerick.
Other sports
There are also Cork clubs active nationally in basketball (Neptune) and rowing (Shandon boat club), and numerous golf, pitch and putt, hockey, tennis and athletics clubs in the city and suburbs.
The city's (and county's) maritime heritage is maintained through Cork's sailing clubs, and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven (outside the city) is the world's oldest.
- See also: List of Cork people - Sports
See also
- Metropolitan Cork
- County Cork
- West Cork
- Cork Harbour
- List of Cork people
- Fota Island
- Cork International Airport
External links
General
- Template:Wikitravel
- Cork City Council
- Cork City FC
- University College Cork
- Architecture of Cork
- Cork Institute of Technology
- Strategic Cork Guide
- Port of Cork
Culture
- Corks' community wireless network
- Cork, European Capital of Culture in 2005
- Where's Me Culture? - A Popular Cultural Initiative For 2005
- Launderette Gallery - dedicated to contemporary Irish & European art
- Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine - An article on the Capital of Culture year.
- Cork Film Centre
- Cork Film Festival
- Cork Jazz Festival
- PeoplesRepublicOfCork.com
- Corcadorca Theatre Company
- Institute for Choreography and Dance
- The Everyman Palace Theatre
- The Cork Pops Orchestra
- Live music in Cork
- What's on in Cork
- A Dictionary of Cork Slang
- Surfing in Cork
- Cork School of Culture 2005 - Coláiste Chríost Rí
- Caucus
- Granary Theatre
- Freakscene - Cork's longest running nightclub
- GayCork.com - Cork Gay Community Online
Photographs
- corkspace.com - opensource images of Cork City
- Irelandscape — Pictures of Cork and other Irish locations.
- Cork Flickr — Pictures of Cork on Flickr.
Maps
| Cities in Ireland |
| Republic of Ireland: Dublin | Cork | Limerick | Galway | Waterford | Kilkenny |
| Northern Ireland: Belfast | Derry | Armagh | Newry | Lisburn |
Template:Ireland countiesbg:Корк (град) da:Cork de:Cork eo:Cork es:Cork fi:Cork fr:Cork ga:Corcaigh he:קורק id:Cork is:Cork it:Cork lv:Korka nl:Cork (stad) pl:Corcaigh pt:Cork ru:Корк sv:Cork tpi:Cork