Thursday in Ireland: Around Cork

Thursday morning was my last day to spend in Ireland, and the weather accommodated me nicely!

After an early breakfast with Chris and his coworkers, I took a long stroll toward the tourism office to pick up some city walk maps. I went through Bishop Lucey Park to stop and appreciate an original section of the Cork City wall, dating from the 17th century. 

While I waited for the tourism office to open, I admired the Cork National Monument, unveiled on St. Patrick's Day in 1906. It commemorates the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, and 1867.

The last time I was in Ireland in 2015 I happened upon some of the signposts marking the Cork City Walks. I was really excited to find a trail of history I could easily follow, with descriptions of important places along the way. I decided to spend my last day in Cork taking one or two of the walks I hadn't yet done, starting with the historic Shandon area.

While down by the monument, I had a pretty view of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, my favorite building in Cork. 

Turning to the east, you see the impressive Holy Trinity Church towering over the river.

I started my walk and snapped a few close-ups of Sts. Peter and Paul's church, built in the mid-1800s.

Next was the Crawford Art Gallery, originally Cork's Custom House (built in 1724), where I returned later to view the exhibits.

St. Anne's Church street scene

I walked along Pope's Quay, named after the Widow Pope who, in 1718, was "given liberty" to build a quay.

This Queen Anne house dates from at least 1730 and is the oldest house in Cork.

I walked up John Redmond Street, which I found interesting because of its similarity to our last name. Turns out the former Mulgrave Street, which provided access from the Butter Exchange to the quays, was renamed after Irish Nationalist John Redmond in 1902. The building curves to follow the curvature of the street.

John Redmond House

A butter market began in the Shandon area in 1730, initally as an outdoor market. Over the following decades it became necessary to expand the Shandon butter ‌‌market due to its thriving trade, leading to the construction of premises to house an indoor market. In ‌1769, the Cork Committee of Merchants was formed and it established the Cork Butter Market. Its premises were built on the grounds of the former Shandon Castle. The market established itself as an important commercial centre for the city during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as it exported butter to four continents. The Cork Butter Exchange was regarded as the most important provider of butter in Britain and Ireland.

c. 1900

Today, a butter museum!

I smiled as I approached St. Anne's church, home of the famous Bells of Shandon, the "four-faced liar" clock, and the "goldie fish" on top. Three years ago, I visited and went to the top, ringing the bells as part of the experience. This time I walked around to the graveyard and looked at some of the gravestones so old they were almost indecipherable.

Another beautiful cathedral comes into view north of St. Anne's Church: the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne, originally dedicated in 1808.

You might notice all the ugly electric wires. The reason there are so many unsightly wires going to some of these buildings is that the buildings were built and later wired for electricity.

The view down Shandon St. toward the river

The Shandon Walk ends at St. Peter's Cork. St. Peter’s Cork is situated in the heart of the Medieval city and is Cork’s oldest church with parts of the building dating back to the 12th century.

Parts of this building are close to 900 years old. That's hard to fathom.

When I finished the walking tour, it was still late morning. I doubled back to the Crawford Art Gallery, a free art museum that had a moving exhibit by photographer Phillip Toledano called "Maybe: Life & Love." 

I had read good things about the Cafe at the Crawford, so I went in for lunch at noon. Actually, I arrived at about a quarter to noon, and I learned while in Ireland that the Irish do not serve lunch before noon. They just don't understand people like me who are ready for lunch at 11:00! I was given a table and offered some coffee while I waited for lunch time. After a delicious sandwich made with locally sourced, fresh ingredients, I hit the road and did some more souvenir shopping in the city centre.

I had so much of my day left that I decided to embark on the City Centre Island Walk.

Near the beginning of the walk, I came upon this monument, The Cenotaph, commemorating those who died in the First World War.

Another interesting sight along the way was the former Cork Library, established in 1792.

I walked past the quaint and quirky Hibernian Bar (or "Hi-B") pub, a rare second-floor establishment whose owner enforces a strict ban on mobile phones.

Cork City Hall

  

St. Patrick's Church

Trinity Presbyterian Church

Notice the famously crooked steeple on Trinity Presbyterian? 

Dunne's Stores, a department store chain

An 1864 statue of Fr. Theobald Mathew greets me as I head back toward the city centre on St. Patrick's St. 

 I finished the second "City Walk" and still had a bit of a walk back toward our hotel, the River Lee, so I decided to take the (most) scenic route past Elizabeth Fort and my beloved St. Fin Barre's Cathedral. It was my own little farewell to Cork and Ireland--until next time!

For dinner that night I requested The Electric, but we ended up in the Fish Bar portion with another Irish coworker of Chris', Shane. It was bittersweet to eat my last dinner with everyone--I was excited to get home to my kids and the warm Texas weather, but always sorry to see an amazing trip come to an end. 

  

Back in the hotel that evening, after a conversation with Chris' parents, we realized that I was in a bind when it came to my luggage situation. I had used airline points/miles to buy my ticket through British Airways from London to home, but I had to purchase a ticket on Aer Lingus out of Cork to get to London. It never occurred to me that my checked luggage might not come with me so easily, but luckily we realized it, made some phone calls, and adjusted accordingly. It was really stressful and frustrating in the moment, but everything worked out. It was kind of nice traveling home with only my camera bag and a small backpack, and relying on Chris to bring my giant, heavy bag of laundry and some souvenirs home a week later. In fact, this might be my new approach for future trips!

Thanks for following our Irish adventures. God created such a wonderful world and any chance I get to see any part of it and experience the people, the history, the food, music, culture... I'll jump at that! I may be biased but I think Ireland is almost as great as the good ol' USA. 

Cheers!

Source: http://www.corkpastandpresent.ie/places/shandon/historicbuildingsintheshandonarea/butterexchange/