Cork (city)

This article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses, see Cork.

Cork Corcaigh
The steeple of St Ann's Church, Shandon, widely regarded as the symbol of the city.
Flag of Cork Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  The Rebel City, Leeside
Motto(s):  Statio Bene Fida Carinis (Latin) A Safe Harbour For All Ships
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	Cork
Founded	6th century A.D.
City rights	1185 A.D.
Government
• Lord Mayor	Brian Bermingham
• Mayor's party	Fianna Fáil
Area
• City	37.3 km2 (14.4 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• City	119,143
• Density	3,194.18/km2 (8,272.9/sq mi)
• Urban	190,384
• Metro	380,000
• Demonym	Corkonian Leesider
Time zone	UTC0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Area code	(+353) 21
Car plates	C
Website	www.corkcity.ie

Cork (Template:Lang-ga ['korkɰɪɟ]) is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,143, while the addition of the suburban areas contained the county brings the total to 190,384. Metropolitan Cork has a population of approximately 274,000, while the Greater Cork area is about 380,000.

The city's name is derived from the Irish word corcach [kərˈkɑx], meaning "marshy place", referring to its situation on the River Lee. Cork has a reputation for rebelliousness dating back to the town's support of the English Pretender Perkin Warbeck in 1491 following the Wars of the Roses, and as a result of this Cork County has the nickname of "the Rebel County", and Corkonians often refer to Cork as the "real capital of Ireland" and themselves as "Rebels".

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 then to Cork Harbour, the world's second largest natural harbour, after Sydney Harbour, Australia. 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. Cork is one of the three constituent cities in the Cork-Limerick-Galway corridor with a population of 1 million people.

History

Main article: History of Cork

Patrick Street c. 1890-1900

Cork was originally a monastic settlement founded by St. Finbarr in the sixth century. However, Cork only achieved an urban character between 915 and 922 when Norseman (Viking) settlers founded a trading port. It has been proposed that, like Dublin, Cork was an important trading centre in the global Scandinavian trade network.

For much of the Middle Ages, Cork city was an outpost of Old English culture in the midst of a predominantly hostile Gaelic countryside and cut off from the English government in the Pale around Dublin. Neighbouring Gaelic and Hiberno-Norman lords extorted "Black Rent" from the citizens in order to keep them from attacking the city. The main overlords of south western Ireland were the Fitzgerald Earl of Desmond dynasty, with the lordships of the MacCarthy and Barry families abutting directly onto Cork city. The Cork municipal government was dominated by about 12-15 merchant families, whose wealth came from overseas trade with continental Europe - in particular the export of wool and hides and the import of salt, iron and wine. Of these families, only the Ronayne family were of Gaelic Irish origin.

The medieval population of Cork was about 2000 people. It suffered a severe blow in 1349 when almost half the townspeople died of bubonic plague when the Black Death arrived in the town. In 1491 Cork played a part in the English Wars of the Roses when Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English throne, landed in the city and tried to recruit support for a plot to overthrow Henry VII of England. The mayor of Cork and several important citizens went with Warbeck to England but when the rebellion collapsed they were all captured and executed. Cork's nickname of the 'rebel city' originates in these events.

A description of Cork written in 1577 speaks of the city as, "the fourth city of Ireland" that is, "so encumbered with evil neighbours, the Irish outlaws, that they are fayne to watch their gates hourly...they trust not the country adjoining [and only marry within the town] so that the whole city is linked to each other in affinity"

The city's charter was granted by King John in 1185. The title of Mayor of Cork was established by royal charter in 1318, and the title was changed to Lord Mayor in 1900 following the Knighthood of the incumbent Mayor by Queen Victoria on her visit to the City.

In the War of Independence, the centre of Cork was gutted by fires started by the British Black and Tans, and the city saw fierce fighting between Irish guerrillas and UK 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.

The city was once fully walled, and some wall sections and gates remain today.

Climate

Cork Airport, Ireland (1962-1991)
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     138     8 3     116     8 3     99     9 3     68     11 4     83     14 7     69     17 9     66     19 11     89     18 11     96     16 9     125     13 8     111     10 5     134     9 4 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.4     46 37     4.6     46 37     3.9     49 38     2.7     52 40     3.3     57 44     2.7     62 49     2.6     65 52     3.5     65 52     3.8     61 49     4.9     56 46     4.4     50 40     5.3     47 39 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

The climate of Cork, like the rest of Ireland, is mild,changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. Cork lies in Plant Hardiness zone 10. Met Éireann maintain a climatological weather station at Cork Airport, a few kilometres south of the city - it should be noted that as the airport is at an altitude of 151m (500ft); temperatures can often differ by a few degrees between the airport and the city itself. There are also smaller synoptic weather stations at University College Cork, Clover Hill and Fota Island.

Temperatures below 0 °C or above 30 °C are rare, though not unheard of. Cork Airport records an average of 1194.4mm of precipitation annually, most of which is rain - hail, sleet and snow are rare. The airport records an average of 8 days of hail and 16 days of snow or sleet a year; though it only records lying snow for 6 days of the year. There are 151 'rainy' days a year (over 1 mm of rainfall), of which there are 75 days with 'heavy rain' (over 5 mm).

Cork is also a generally foggy city, with an average of 100 days of fog a year - most common during mornings at times of high pressure or else during winter. Despite this, however, Cork is also one of Ireland's sunniest cities, with an average of 3.8 hours of sunshine every day and only having 69 days where there is no 'recordable sunshine', mostly during and around winter.

Like the rest of Ireland, Cork is consistently humid, with humidity usually ranging between 70% and 100% every day. There are only 4 days where thunder is recorded during the year on average as well, mostly during late summer and early autumn.

Culture

The Glucksman Gallery at UCC.

Music, theatre, dance, film and poetry all play a prominent role in Cork city life. The Cork School of Music and the Crawford College of Art and 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, of which Cillian Murphy was a troupe member prior to Hollywood fame; 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; the Cork Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA). The Everyman Palace Theatre and the Granary Theatre both play host to large amounts of dramatic plays throughout the year. Cork is home to the RTÉ Vanbrugh String Quartet, and to many musical acts, including John Spillane, The Frank And Walters, Sultans Of Ping, and the late Rory Gallagher. Singer songwriter Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas also both hail from Cork. The opera singers Cara O'Sullivan, Mary Hegarty, Brendan Collins, and Sam McElroy are also Cork born. The short story writers Frank O'Connor and Sean O'Faoláin hailed from Cork. Contemporary writers of national and international status include Thomas McCarthy, Gerry Murphy (poet), and novelist and poet William Wall. There is a thriving literary community centring on The Munster Literature Centre and the Triskel Arts Centre.

The English Market, Cork

Cork has been gaining cultural diversity for many years as a result of immigration, from Western Europe (particularly France and Spain) in the mid to late nineties, and more recently from Eastern European countries such Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and various African and Asian nations. This is reflected in the recent growth of multi-cultural restaurants and shops, including specialist shops for East-European or Middle-Eastern food, Chinese and Thai restaurants, French patisseries, Indian buffets, and Middle Eastern kebab houses. Cork saw significant Jewish immigration from Lithuania and Russia in the late 19th century. 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. Today, the Jewish community is relatively small in population, although the city still has a Jewish quarter and local synagogue. Cork also features various Christian churches, as well as a mosque. Some Catholic masses around the city are said in Polish, Filipino, Lithuanian, Romanian and other languages , in addition to the traditional Latin and local Irish and English languages.

Recent additions to the arts infrastructure include modern additions to Cork Opera House and the Crawford Municipal 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 the building of a new €60 million School of Music was completed in September 2007. Construction of the €50 million Brookfield UCC Medical School complex was completed in 2005.

Cork was the European Capital of Culture for 2005.

There is a rivalry between Cork and Dublin , similar to the rivalry between London and Manchester, but Corkonians will sometimes view themselves as different from much the rest of Ireland, and refer to themselves as "rebels" (The county is known as the Rebel County). This distinctly Corkonian view has in recent years manifested itself in humorous references to the region as The People's Republic of Cork. Citizens of the True Capital adorn themselves with t-shirts and other items which celebrate The People's Republic of Cork, printed in various languages such as English, Irish, Polish, Spanish and Italian. The Cork bicolour is flown at public and civic buildings (including city's main courthouse, bus station, railway station and major department stores). It is flown along with the Irish tricolour, or on its own.

Statue of Fr. Matthew - a Patrick Street landmark

Traditions

The city has many local traditions in food and customs. Traditional Cork foods include crubeens, tripe and drisheen.

Accent and dialect

The Cork accent has a tone which sets it apart from neighbouring counties. Characteristics include:

• The consonant sound θ (represented by the digraph th) is rarely pronounced.
• Redundant use of the words "like" or "so" to terminate a sentence: e.g. "I don't know him at all, like"
• Use of the words "boy" (often pronounced "by") and girl, to address each other, even into adulthood, e.g. "Come here to me, boy"
• Patterns of tone and intonation rise and fall often, in a way different from other Irish accents, with the overall tone tending to be more high-pitched than the standard Irish accent (In a similar way to the South Wales accent).
• There is a similarity between the Cork accent and the Liverpudlian ('Scouser') accent in north-west England - owing to the high rate of immigration to Liverpool (especially the Bootle area) from Cork.

English spoken in Cork has a large number of dialect words that are peculiar to the city and environs. Unlike standard Hiberno-English, most of these words originate not from the Irish language, but through other languages Cork's inhabitants encountered at home and abroad. These include "feen", "beor" and "stella" meaning man, woman, and young woman (derogatory), and "langer" (vulgar) used to describe a penis or an undesirable person. The latter has been gained notoriety throughout Ireland thanks to various comedy skits, notably Gift Grub, and has become strongly associated with the Cork accent. The whiny high pitched nature of the accent is said to be attribuated to the hills in the city.

Media

Broadcast

The city's FM radio band features RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, Lyric FM, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Today FM, and Newstalk. There are also local stations such as Cork's Red FM, Cork's 96FM, 103FM County Sound, CUH FM, Cork Campus Radio and Christian radio station Life FM. Cork has also been home to pirate radio stations, most notably South Coast Radio and ERI in the 1980s. Today some small inconsistent pirates prevail but because of a recent clampdown by Ireland's communications regulator, Comreg, a number of higher profile pirate stations were closed during 2005-2006. A number of neighbouring counties radio stations can be heard in parts of Cork City including Radio Kerry and WLR FM.

RTÉ Cork has television and radio studios, and production facilities at its centre in Father Matthew Street in the city centre.

Print

Cork is home to one of Ireland's main national newspapers, the Irish Examiner (formerly the Cork Examiner). The Examiner's headquarters are situated on Lapp's Quay in the city centre, and were originally located on Academy Street. It also prints the Evening Echo, which for decades has been connected to the Echo Boys, who were poor and often homeless children who sold the newspaper. Today, the shouts of the vendors selling the Echo can still be heard in various parts of the city centre. The biggest free newspaper and one of the biggest in the country is the Cork Independent which was formerly known as Inside Cork.

Places of interest

The angel of the Resurrection Cathedral of St. Finbar

Church of Ireland - Cork; two principal cathedrals: the St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Finbarr's Cathedral. The first, catholic, was built in 1808. The second, a Protestant, is the most famous and impressive of the two and is built on the foundations of an earlier cathedral: the work began in 1862 and ended in 1879 under the direction of architect William Burges. A legend tells that they join the ring of their horns with the other angels who announce the end of the world. In the early years of the new millennium, that same angel was stolen from the two horns in some unknown (it is not clear whether three or four), then the bishop made a public appeal asking them to be returned. A few night later the trumpets, but also compared this act remained anonymous. To commemorate this fact, Anthony Ruby immortalized the scene by painting a picture that is now kept in the living room of the bishop.

The urban structure is generally very pleasant and has absolutely nothing to envy to other major cities of Dublin, Belfast and Limerick. The St. Patrick Street has been remodeled several times until 2004 and hosts interesting buildings, as well as appear as a center of shopping very pleasant. Il1850 was obtained by filling a dry branch of the River Lee, is the main street of the city, in the past for business functions, today People walk between shops, restaurants and local

The shopping area is situated in Grand Parade, however, also obtained by covering a branch channeled river (1790-1801). Skip neighborhoods Training medieval and modern city, driving along the southern arm of Lee, with a view towards the spire of St Finbarr's (a main road) and Oliver Plunkett Street. The old center is the South Mall with many banks to retain their internal structure typical of the nineteenth century.

Many of the buildings are in Cork in Georgian style, although those that compete in terms of record are the Town Hall or City Hall (one of the tallest buildings in Ireland) and the Victorian Mental Hospital (one of the longest).

The most famous building in Cork is the bell tower of Shandon in the northern part of the city: the north and east facades are in red sandstone, while the south and west in the material which predominates in the region, white limestone. The clock tower is traditionally called The four-faced liar (literally lying on four sides), because each clock is tuned to a different time from the other three. The bell can be played Shandon fee from any applicant, and since it is necessary to climb to the top of the tower, the price includes the issuance of a certificate with the obvious statement "I played the bells of Shandon."

City Hall The elegant City Hall Cork overlooking the River Lee in a night View on Google MapsUn another splendid example of architecture in limestone white is the City Hall mentioned above, which replaces the previous building burned in a reprisal by the British Black and Tans during the War of Independence of 1920/21. The cost of the new edifice was entirely borne by the British Government that in the thirties was concerned to rebuild it to cool the diplomatic tension between the two countries.

Fitzgerald's Park, in the western part of the city, deserves a visit as well as the fields of University College Cork, in which flows the River Lee.

St Finbarre's Cathedral

Cork features architecturally notable buildings originating from the medieval (only the Red Abbey survives from medieval Cork) to modern periods. St. Patrick's Street, a main street that has been recently remodelled, is known for the architecture of the buildings along its pedestrian-friendly route through a major shopping district. The reason for its winding along is that it originally was a channel of the River Lee that was built over on arches. The adjacent Grand Parade is a tree-lined avenue, home to offices and financial institutions. The old financial centre is the South Mall, with several banks whose interior derive from the 19th century, such as the Allied Irish Bank's which was once an exchange. Many of the city's buildings are in the Georgian style, although there are a number of examples of modern landmark structures, such as County Hall tower, which was, at 67 metres, the tallest building in the Republic of Ireland until being superseded by another Cork City building: The Elysian, a mixed commercial/residential structure which stands at 71 metres. Across the river is Ireland's longest building, formerly St. Anne's Psychiatric Institute; built in Victorian times, which has now been renovated and converted into a residential housing complex called Atkins Hall, after its architect William Atkins.

Cork's most famous building is the church tower of Shandon, which dominates the North side of the city. The North and East sides are faced in red sandstone, and the West and South sides are clad in the predominant stone of the region, white limestone. At the top sits a weather vane in the shape of an eleven-foot salmon. 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. Shandon is accessible to the public, and the bells may be rung by visitors.

Cork City Hall is illuminated at night, reflecting off the River Lee, which it fronts

The City Hall, another notable building of limestone, replaced the previous one destroyed by the Black and Tans on December 11 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 UK Government in the 1930s as a gesture of reconciliation. There are two cathedrals in the city: the Roman Catholic St Mary's Cathedral (commonly called the North Cathedral), and the Church of Ireland St Finbarre's Cathedral.

Other notable places include the Cork Opera House is one of the few modern opera houses in Ireland. Fitzgerald's Park, to the west of the city, and the grounds of University College Cork, through which the River Lee flows are also tourist destinations. 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, and the present building dates from 1786.

The English Market ( "English Market"), accessible from Grand Parade, Patrick Street, Oliver Plunkett Street and Princes Street, is famous for its high variety of fruits, fish, meat, spices and fine foods. This place will have some news from 1610, although the current buildings are no longer the old 1786.

There are also two cities in companies producing beer, Beamish and Murphy's. There is also the Heineken Ireland, which produces beer for the island.

Economy

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 (Most of which have had to close due to strong competition) . 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 can be found in many of Cork's suburbs, including Blackpool, Ballincollig, Douglas, Wilton and Mahon. Others are available in the city centre, with plans and excavation work on-going for the development of three more large malls (The Cornmarket Centre on Cornmarket Street); The Opera Avenue proposal off St. Patrick's Street/Academy Street and the Grand Parade scheme planned for the site of the former Capitol Cineplex, the first multiplex outside of Dublin in Ireland), expanding the capacity of the city centre, to rival that of the suburbs. Cork's main shopping street is St. Patrick's Street 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 the former Roches Stores being laid in Cork City.

Industry & Commerce

Murphys Stout, 1919 advert for the famous Cork brewery

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 Inc. where their high end computers are manufactured and their European call centre, R&D and AppleCare is hosted. In total, they currently employ over 1,800 staff. EMC Corporation is another large IT employer with over 1,600 staff in their 52,000 sq metre (560,000 sq. ft.) engineering, manufacturing, and technical services facility.

It is also home to the Heineken Brewery which also brews Murphy's Irish Stout and the nearby Beamish and Crawford brewery (recently taken over by Heineken) 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 West Cork, which was one of the 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.

Cork's deep harbour allows ships of any size to enter, bringing trade and easy import/export of products. Cork Airport also allows easy access to continental Europe and Kent Station in the city centre provides good rail links for domestic trade. More recently Amazon.com, the online retailer, has set up in Cork Airport Business Park.

On 6 March 2008, developers announced a 1bn euro plan to create an Atlantic Quarter in Cork's docklands area to rival that of the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin making it one of the biggest and most ambitious plans undertaken in the history of the state.

The Elysian under construction in December 2007

Cork County Hall

Utilities

The headquarters of Bord Gáis Éireann, the Irish Gas Board, are on Gasworks Road, Cork.

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:

1969 - Coventry, England, UK 1982 - Rennes, Brittany, France 1984 - San Francisco, California, U.S.

1988 - Cologne, Germany 1994 - Swansea, Wales, UK 2005 - Shanghai, People's Republic of China

Twinning with Shanghai has led to controversy, as the Green Party called on Cork's local, national and European elected representatives to withdraw the city's twinning with Shanghai due to reports of human rights violations in China. Since then, parties from both Cork and Shanghai have visited their counterparts on trade related missions. Cork later got a twinning with Kaliningrad, in Russia. [1]

Transportation

Air

Main article: Cork Airport

Cork Airport is one of Ireland's main airports and it is a 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.

Bus

Public bus services within the city are provided by the national bus operator Bus Éireann. City routes are numbered from 1 through to 19 and connect the city centre to the principal suburbs, colleges, shopping centres and places of interest. There are also two city bus routes that provide orbital services across the Northern and Southern districts of the city respectively.

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. Suburban services also include shuttles to Cork Airport, and a park and ride facility in the south suburbs.

Long distance buses depart from the bus terminal in Parnell Place to destinations throughout Ireland. Hourly services run to Killarney/Tralee, Waterford and Shannon Airport/Limerick/Galway and there are six services daily to Dublin. There is also a daily Eurolines bus service that connects Cork to Victoria Coach Station in London via South Wales and Bristol.

Ferry

The Cross River Ferry, from Rushbrooke to Passage West, links the R624 to R610. This service is useful when trying to avoid traffic congestion in Jack Lynch tunnel and Dunkettle area. Cork Ferry port is situated at Ringaskiddy, 16 km SE via the N28. A direct sea link is available to Roscoff (France) with Brittany Ferries. A long-established link with Swansea in Wales is currently out of service but is programmed to resume in late May/early June 2009. A connecting bus service is available from the ferryport to the city centre. Plans for a water taxi service are being finalised to provide traffic free connections for both commuters and tourists alike.

Road

The Cork area has seen improvements in road 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 N25 South Ring Road with the opening of the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the River Lee being the most significant addition. The Kinsale Road flyover opened in August 2006 to remove a major bottleneck for traffic heading to the Airport or Killarney. Also in the 1990s work progressed on the Cork to Midleton dual carriageway and the N8 Glanmire bypass dual carriageway. Other projects completed 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 2003. City Centre road improvements include the Patrick St. project which reconstructed the street with a pedestrian focus.

St. Patrick's Bridge

The M8 Rathcormac to Fermoy tolled motorway bypass (17.5 kilometres) opened in October 2006.

Rail

Railway and tramway heritage

Planned Cork Suburban Railway

Cork was one of the most rail oriented cities in Ireland, featuring 8 stations at various times. The main route, still much the same today, is from Dublin. Originally terminating on the city's outskirts at Blackpool, the Glanmire tunnel connects it to the city centre terminus of Kent Station. Now a through station, the line through Kent connects the town of Cóbh east of the city. This also connected to the seaside town of Youghal, until the 1980s.

Other rail routes terminating or traversing Cork city were the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway, a line to Macroom, the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway to Blarney, Coachford and Donoughmore, as well as the 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 and that to Cobh.

Within the city there have been two tram networks in operation. A proposal to develop a horse-drawn tram (linking the city's railway termini) was made by American George Francis Train in the 1860s, and implemented 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 on the Blackpool-Douglas, Summerhill-Sunday's Well and Tivoli-Blackrock routes. The gauge of the tramway was (90.2cm) (2' 11½"), and designed to be the same as the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway. Increased usage of cars and buses in the 1920s led to a reduction in the use of trams, which discontinued operations permanently on September 30, 1931. Place names today still tell of the routes, such as Tramway Terrace in Douglas.

Current routes

National

Cork's Kent Station is the main train station in the city. From here, services run to all over Ireland - often via Dublin or Limerick Junction. The main line from Cork to Dublin, which is Ireland's busiest rail line, has hourly departures and a number of connecting services. InterCity services are also available to Kerry, with direct services to Killarney and Tralee, or indirectly via Mallow.

Suburban

The Cork Suburban Rail system also departs from Kent Station and provides connections to parts of Metropolitan Cork including Little Island, Mallow, Fota and Cobh. These lines provides transport for thousands of commuters to the city every day. The east of the city is also a scenic route connecting several islands in Cork harbour with the city centre. In November 2005, the government announced the reopening of the railway line between Glounthaune and Midleton as part of the country's 10 year development plan. As part of the plan, new stations were announced for Carrigtohill on the Midleton branch and at Kilbarry, Monard and Blarney on the Dublin line. The Midleton branch is scheduled to be reopened in 2009.

Education

Quadrangle at UCC - Irish University of the Year 2005–2006

Main article: Education in Cork

Cork is an important educational centre 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) was named Irish "Institute of Technology of the Year" in 2006–2007 and offers a variety of third level courses in Mathematics, Computing and IT, Business, Humanities and Engineering (Mechanical, Electronic, Electrical, and Chemical). The National Maritime College of Ireland also located in Cork and is the only college in Ireland in which Nautical Studies and Marine Engineering can be undertaken. CIT also incorporates the Cork School of Music and Crawford College of Art and Design as constituent schools. 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 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.

See also: Category:Secondary schools in County Cork

Sport

See also: List of Cork people - Sports

Gaelic football, hurling and association football are popular sporting pastimes for Corkonians.

Gaelic games

Main article: Cork GAA

Hurling is the most popular spectator sport in the city, and has a strong identity with city and county - with Cork winning 30 All-Ireland Championships and leading the table of Camogie Championship wins. Football is also popular, and Cork has won 6 Gaelic football titles. There are many Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in Cork City, including St. Finbarr's, Glen Rovers, Erins Own and Nemo Rangers. The main public venues are Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Páirc Uí Rinn (named after Christy Ring).

Association football

Main article: Football League of Ireland in Cork city

Cork City F.C. are the largest association football team in Cork, and have seen much success in recent years. In 2005, they won the Eircom League and the FAI Cup in 2007, with their latest success in the Setanta Sports Cup in 2008. They also have the highest attendance figures on the island of Ireland. Association football is also played by amateur and school clubs across the city, as well as in "five-a-side" style leagues.

Rugby

Rugby is played at various levels, from school to senior league level. There are two first division clubs in Cork city. Cork Constitution (3 time All Ireland League Champions) play their home games in Ballintemple and Dolphin R.F.C. play at home in Musgrave Park. Other notable rugby clubs in the city include, Highfield, Sunday's Well and UCC. At schools level, Christian Brothers College and Presentation Brothers College are two of the country's better known rugby nurseries.

The River Lee flows through the city in two channels and forms a central island

Munster Rugby plays half of its home matches in the Celtic League at Musgrave Park in Ballyphehane. In the past Heineken Cup matches have also been played at Musgrave Park but now, due to capacity issues these are now played at Thomond Park in Limerick. In May 2006 and again in May 2008 Munster became the Heineken Cup Champions, with many players hailing from Cork city and county.

Water sports

There are a variety of watersports in Cork, including rowing and sailing. There are five rowing clubs training on the river Lee. Naomhóga Chorcaí is a rowing club whose members row traditional naomhóga on the Lee in occasional competitions. The Ocean to City race, held in 2005 and again in 2007, saw teams and boats from many local and visiting clubs race for 24 km (15 mi) from Crosshaven to Cork city centre. The decision to move the National Rowing Center to Inniscarra has boosted numbers involved in the sport. Cork's maritime sailing heritage is maintained through its sailing clubs. The Royal Cork Yacht Club located in Crosshaven (outside the city) is the world's oldest yacht club, and Cork Week is a notable sailing event.

File:Corkracing.jpg

Cork Racing - Formula Ford

Other sports

There are Cork clubs active nationally in basketball (Neptune and UCC Demons) and golf, pitch and putt, hockey, tennis and athletics clubs in the Cork area. Cricket has long been played in the city. The main teams are Cork County CC, situated next to the Mardyke, and Harlequins CC, located next to Cork airport. The city is also the home of road bowling, which is played in the north-side and south-west suburbs. Boxing and Martial arts, such as Karate, Muay Thai and Taekwondo, also command a high level of practise within the city. Cork Racing races in the Irish Formula Ford Championship.

File:CorkPanoramaElysian.jpg

Panorama of Cork city from the top of the Elysian Tower, Ireland's tallest building.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

Further reading

• Merchants, Mystics and Philanthropists - 350 Years of Cork Quakers Richard S. Harrison Published by Cork Monthly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 2006

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• Cork City Council site (including strategic plan and housing strategy)
• The Peoples Republic Of Cork
• Architecture of Cork
• Port of Cork
• A Dictionary of Cork Slang
• ENFO Publications - Medieval Cork