The Urban Cartographer Likes Cork

NOT LONG BEFORE SUNSET I VISITED HOGAN’S QUAY

May 15, 2023 by infomatique

I USED A SONY RX0 CAMERA

The station which opened on February 2, 1893 was originally called Glanmire Road Station, but was renamed for Thomas Kent in 1966 on the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

I never liked Kent Railway station in Cork but it is much better since it has been redeveloped and reorganised. There is now a new underground pedestrian exit to Horgan’s Quay and a new internal access road to a proper transport hub from where bus services can travel directly to the city centre via the quays. In my opinion the frequency of the bus service to the city centre is not acceptable.

Horgan’s Quay, Cork, comprise a six acre mixed used development centred around the conservation of the site’s Industrial heritage. The refurbishment of the Station House now forms the centrepiece of the Residential development. The Carriage Shed will house Retail and Restaurant uses adjoining the Hotel. The Goods Shed refurbishment and restoration of the nine metre high Cork Limestone wall are integral to the development of the Office buildings.

WALKING ALONG WELLINGTON ROAD AND SIDNEY PLACE

May 15, 2023 by infomatique

IS THIS PART OF THE VICTORIAN QUARTER

Earlier in the day the hotel manager suggested that I should explore the Victorian Quarter which was the first time that I heard anyone actually use the expression. I remember reading, back in 2020, that Sinn Féin councillors complained that lumping MacCurtain Street into an imaginary district that related harmoniously with the Famine Queen was an insult to Tomás MacCurtain, a Lord Mayor after whom the street is named. He was brutally assassinated by police in 1920.

According to Google – The Victorian Quarter is an atmospheric hub of 19th-century buildings north of the River Lee, including neoclassical-style St. Patrick’s Church, with striking stained glass and religious art. Landmark redbrick railway terminal Kent Station has a steam locomotive, and Collins Barracks houses a museum on the Irish Civil War. Vintage clothing and book stores, hip bars, and music festivals give the area bohemian flavour.

THE DEAN HOTEL CORK JUST BEFORE SUNSET

May 14, 2023 by infomatique

PHOTOGRAPHED USING A SONY RX0 CAMERA

The RX0 is about the size of a matchbox so I usually carry it in my pocket every where I go incase there is something interesting to photograph. Of course one may wonder why not use a smartphone – no one is aware that I am taking photographs as I can hide it it the palm of my hand.

Unfortunately the Dean Hotel is way too expensive for me especially as I spend most of my time out photographing when I visit a city,

Set among offices in the docklands area alongside the River Lee, this trendy hotel is 4 minutes’ walk from Cork Kent train station, a 13-minute walk from the Crawford Art Gallery and 2 km from Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral.

The chic rooms have Wi-Fi, smart TVs and Nespresso machines, as well as minifridges. Family rooms add bunk beds. Suites provide sitting areas; some feature free-standing copper baths.

Amenities include a hip bar, and a fashionable rooftop restaurant with terraces and city views, plus a gym and breakfast. (What is a hip bar – should it be a hip bath?)

ST LUKE’S CHURCH OF IRELAND GRAVEYARD IN DOUGLAS COUNTY CORK

May 14, 2023 by infomatique

EXAMPLES OF OBELISKS

BIRD CARVINGS IN THIS GRAVEYARD

Obelisks became popular gravestone motifs in 19th-century Britain and Ireland due to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1801 and the occupation of Egypt. To ancient Egyptians, obelisks were petrified rays of sunlight where the sun god Ra lived. In graveyards they symbolise ancient godliness, greatness.

THE FAMILY BVRIAL PLACE OF JAMES CLERY ESQ

May 13, 2023 by infomatique

ST FINBARR’S CEMETERY CORK

I could be wrong but James Clery was a wine merchant.

The name Ua Cléirigh is considered by many to be one of the earliest surnames recorded in Ireland. In the centuries since it has been anglicised in various forms either to; O’Clery, O’Cleary, Clery, Cleary, Clary or as a full translation of the name into Clark, Clerk or Clerke, Clarke.

I often wondered why many gravestones and monuments have “v” instead of “u” but did not investigate until this week … bost buildings that encompass Roman-style architecture use the Latin alphabet, which only had 23 letters at one time, not including the letter U. The “U” sound still existed, but it was represented with the letter V.

St. Finbarr’s Cemetery in Cork, Ireland, is the city’s largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in Ireland which is still in use.

Located on the Glasheen Road, it was first opened in the 1860s. The entrance gateway was erected circa 1865, and the mortuary chapel consecrated in 1867.

Many of the early burials were of the wealthy citizens of the city. Unlike older cemeteries, St. Finbarr’s was professionally laid out with numbered pathways and wide avenues.