The Urban Cartographer Likes Cork

THE REAL CAPITAL CITY

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CASTELLI’S RESTAURANT AT 29 PRINCES STREET IN CORK MAY 2011

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NO LONGER IN BUSINESS

29 Princes Street, next to Cork Art Supplies, was on the market, at €275,000 back in November 2017. It was described as follows: The property comprises a mid-terraced ground floor commercial unit extending to approximately 62.78 sq m / 675 sq ft net internal area. The property has glazed shop frontage onto Princes Street and formerly traded as a restaurant. There is a generous floor to ceiling height and the unit is open plan and L-shaped in nature. The property is offered for sale by way of Private Treaty with the benefit of vacant possession. Suited to restaurant, retail or café use, subject to planning permission. The existing fixtures and fittings are not included in the sale.

Since I photographed this street back in 2011 it has been pedestrianised and it now features twelve restaurants on the street which presents the visitor with plenty of choice. I usually visit the Yuan Ming Yuan Chinese Restaurant at No 17 (the staff refer to me as Mister Camera).

ST PATRICK’S HILL IN CORK

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AS IT WAS BACK IN MAY 2011

Driving up and walking down is recommended, how you manage this is up to you.

To the best of my knowledge the majority of the houses on St Patrick’s Hill in Cork were built in the early nineteenth century and they are, in general, interesting examples of late Georgian architecture.

Today the street is promoted as an ideal film location as it is an incredibly steep hill with some classic views over the City, especially as it looks directly down to the main shopping Street of Patrick Street. The visual effect of the Hill cannot be overstated for film makers an photographers and it also has some fine period buildings both on the hill and at the top – ‘The Ridge’ as it’s known. The top of the Hill also offers some of the best panoramic views of the City; particularly of Shandon Tower and the North Side. Driving up & walking down is recommended.

I PHOTOGRAPHED A MINIMAC IN CORK IN MAY 2011

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1972 AUSTIN MINI PICKUP

I have been advised that this 1972 Morris Mini has been worked on since I photographed it in 2011 and it is now painted red.

This is an interesting little car (pickup). It is much smaller in reality than it appears in my photographs.

Minimac is on the back but I cannot find any reference to this variation of the mini so I am assuming that it is a mini pickup. The pick-up, launched in 1961 at the same time as the original 997 Cooper, is the second rarest of the product range, with about 58,000 produced against around 49,000 Mokes and 520,000 vans. Note: Minimac appears to be a brand of rear facing infant car seat.

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout (which allowed 80% of the area of the car’s floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage) influenced a generation of car-makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th Century, behind the Ford Model T.

Mini Pick-up (1961–1983). A pick-up truck (technically a coupé utility by definition), 11 ft (3.4 m) in total length was built on the longer Mini Van platform, with an open-top rear cargo area and a tailgate. The factory specified the weight of the pick-up as less than 1,500 lb (680 kg) with a full 6 imperial gallons (27 L; 7.2 US gal) tank of fuel.

As with the van, the pick-up had stamped metal slots for airflow into the engine compartment. The Pickup was basic, although the factory brochure described a “fully equipped Mini Pick-up is also available which includes a recirculatory heater”. Passenger-side sun visor, seat belts, laminated windscreen, tilt tubes and cover were also available at extra cost. Like the van, the pick-up was renamed as the Mini 95 in 1978.

A total of 58,179 Mini pick-up models were built.

CORK TO COBH SERVICE AT KENT TRAIN STATION

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2 YEARS BEFORE THE STATION WAS BADLY DAMAGED BY A FREAK STORM

These photographs are of interest because they show the station as it was two years before the station was badly damaged by freak weather conditions.

During my visit the staff kindly gave me access to all areas.

In May 2023 I travelled by train to Kent Station and on the journey I met young lady from Austria and she was a train drive who was very excited about visiting railway stations in Ireland. She was surprised by the “big fuss” that Irish Rail staff made when she saw her special pass and realised that she was a train driver … this did not happen in other countries “especially France”.

Thursday, December 19, 2013: A “miracle escape” was how local newspapers described the mini-tornado which caused the collapse of a large section of the roof in Kent Train Station. The freak weather which ripped through the station moments after the Cork-Cobh train had left the platform at 3pm left a woman in her 20s injured. It was also reported that a large portion of the roof collapsed onto a train which was not in service, while the rest slumped onto the platform which seconds earlier had contained passengers bound for Cobh.

Back in 2011 the Cork to Cobh service could not be described as “good”. Today [May 2023] the service is much better and very usable.

The station offers direct intercity rail services to Heuston Station and stations in Kerry such as Killarney, Farranfore (for Kerry Airport) and Tralee. Cork Suburban Rail services follow the Cobh and Mallow lines. Since July 2009, a commuter line also operates to Midleton.

The station has three terminating platforms, numbered 1 to 3 (in the Cobh direction), and two through platforms, numbered 4 and 5. The only platform not directly accessible from the station concourse, platform 5, is accessed through a subway, unlike most other Irish stations, which use footbridges. Until the mid-1990s, the through platforms were numbered 5 and 6, as there had been a fourth terminating platform adjacent to platform 3; it was removed in 1984.

Since December 2005’s timetable change, the through platforms tend to get quite congested as commuter trains often come in together, clogging up limited space. Since the reopening of the Cork & Youghal Railway as far as Midleton, increased use has been made of the terminating platforms 1 to 3. There is also a loop line behind platform 5, which used to be used to facilitate moving locomotives from the end of arriving trains to the other end in preparation for departure. This line used to be a double-tracked freight, avoiding the line that enabled goods trains to bypass the passenger station. It is no longer necessary since all services to the station are operated either by railcars or by Mark 4 sets with a driving van trailer.

In 2017, the Cork to Dublin reached record usage of 3.15 million passengers, up 6.5% from 2016.

STREET ART AT THE WILLIAM CLARKE AND SON BUILDING

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ST PAUL’S AVENUE OFF LAVITT’S QUAY IN CORK

This building makes a positive contribution to the character of Cork’s much altered quays. The construction in a machine-made red brick with red brick “specials”, the gently arched openings, and the parapeted roof, all contribute to the architectural interest of the building. The character of the building is enhanced by the retention of much original fabric including timber sash windows with wrought iron guards. The inlaid signage remembers William Clarke and Son who produced tobacco products in Cork from 1830 to 1924.

William Clarke & Son was a tobacco company that was founded in 1830 at South Main Street, Cork, Ireland. In January 1924, following the formation of the Irish Free State, the United Kingdom trade of William Clarke & Son was transferred to Dublin and taken over by Ogden’s.

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