☕️ The Friday View 12/06

Hello and welcome to the Friday View; let’s get to it!

Ceol sa Chathair: The tent was up on the junction of French Church Street as it meets St Patrick's Street for the pair of violinists entertaining passers-by as part of a new daytime cultural initiative from Cork City Council's city centre committee. Every Wednesday throughout the summer months, musicians and singers will converge outside the former Ulster Bank building (near the former Moderne!). Performances will begin at 1pm and wrap up around 1:45pm for the weekly "Ceol sa Chathair". The next performance is by Cork City Council's very own choir, who recently won Workplace Choir of the Year at the Cork International Choral Festival. And who said they can only craft emails!

Council notes:

Online: The City Council took an important step forward this week by making the full council meeting available to the public after the (hours-long) meeting wraps up. Since Covid, the monthly all-council meetings, as well as other occasional meetings, have been live streamed but not archived for public viewing. Now, they have, and that's a good step forward for academics, journalists, the public, local democracy and anoraks interested in the minutiae of questions, motions and the occasional shouting matches. Also helpful is that all agenda points are categorised and shareable on the platform. The latest council meeting can be viewed here.

A Spanish invitation: Cllr Shane O’Callaghan (FG) in his motion at this month’s all-council meeting extended an invitation to the Spanish PM to visit Cork (”the greatest place in the world”) for his role in condemning Israel for its genocide in Palestine, illegal annexation of the West Bank, and illegal invasion of Lebanon and Iran. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also taken a strong position on the Trump administration’s illegal war in Iran. Taken together, Cllr O’Callaghan said the PM was alone in “partially salvaging Europe’s reputation as a bastion of international law.”

Opposing the invitation was a most exercised Cllr Noel O’Flynn (Independent), who listed a litany of controversies surrounding the Spanish PM’s administration. Cllr Tony Fitzgerald said it was not within our gift to invite the Spanish PM, calling the motion a waste of time. Cllr Albert Deasy called the motion misguided and potentially damaging to Cork. Cllr Paudie Dinneen called it “codswallop”, adding we’ve better things to be doing.

Cllr O’Callaghan, a barrister, reminded his colleagues of his right to put down motions, and their right to not hang around if they have other places to be. (The chief executive left before Cllr O’Callagan’s motion). He also said that all government administrations generate their own controversies. The motion to invite the Spanish PM was carried by 15 votes for to six against. Perhaps someday Cllrs O’Fylnn and Deasy will be able to tell PM Sánchez what they really think about him. To his face.

“Make the signs bigger”: In his supplementary question, Cllr Tony Fitzgerald asked if the City Council could make the signs bigger to ward off illegal bonfires in certain areas across the city ahead of St John's night, or "Bonna night", and ensure green spaces are not scorched. Will bigger signs work, or could they be thrown on bonfires?

New Cork City Library timeline: Cllr Niamh O'Connor (SDs) asked the Executive if there was a timeline for the opening of the new City Library, or at least a timeline for a timeline. She mentioned three years. In response, Brian Geaney said three years sounds a long time, but admitted it was a major project and undertaking. "The last thing this project needs is a false timeline," he added, Did someone say Non-Event Centre? An indicative timeline will be forthcoming.

Morrison’s Island…ahead or behind?: Cllr Kieran McCarthy asked if the flood defence scheme on Morrison’s Island is ahead of or behind the timeline. In response, Gerry O’Beirne said it was a complex scheme, as a lot of work is being taken underground. The plaza on the end of South Mall will be finished soon, with the entirety of the project completed in Q1 2027, according to O’Beirne.

Trinity Bridge, which connects the corner of George’s Quay and Copley Street with the Island, is currently being demolished. That will likely be the last major piece in the jigsaw, which has an estimated budget of €12m.

Good news for the Glasheen River: It's more like a drain in places, and as has been well documented here, the stream which runs from near the Viaduct through Bishopstown, Wilton and Togher is severely degraded and prone to flooding. Cork City Council now has the funding to conduct a comprehensive hydrology and morphology report on the river. This could impact the river and its surroundings in several ways, including identifying bottlenecks to prevent further flooding, preventing excess build-up of sediment and supporting rewilding.

Who’s afraid of IBAL?: Cllr Kenneth Collins (SF) has form in asking for Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) to remove the northside from its bi-annual state of the nation’s litter report. In the latest report, the northside jumped eight places. Cllr Collins once more asked that the northside be removed, as he said the report doesn’t reflect the efforts and improvements to make the area rubbish-free. Cllr Collins also asked that IBAL come before the council and explain its scoring process, adding that the City Council needs to be better funded. Cllrs Joe Kavanagh (FG) and Tony Fitzgerald (FF) echoed and supported those comments.

The city centre was ranked 17 overall, or clean to European norms, as per IBAL’s categorisation.

However, Cllr Oliver Moran (Greens) welcomed the IBAL report, saying that the report put feet to the fire. “If you can’t measure something, you can’t change it.” He called for more civic amenity facilities similar to the one on the southside of the city at Tramore Valley Park, where members of the public can bring items that can be recycled or disposed of as a means to cut down on fly-tipping and illegal dumping.

Replicating the Kabin: There might never ever be a viral hit to match "The Spark" from the Kabin Crew (nearly 10m views on the Kabin's YouTube channel), the music collective working out of the container cabins near Hollyhill Library, but Cllr Fiona Kerrins (SF) in her motion called for the expansion of the Kabin model across the city. She called on the Council to conduct an assessment of areas within Cork City that would benefit from a similar youth hub model; to report back to Council with recommendations for a phased rollout of community-based creative studios inspired by the Kabin model.

Lamp that: Parliament Bridge has been getting a makeover since a car collided with a section of the bridge two years ago. The restoration project was topped off with two lamps added to the upstream arch of the bridge. We await their turning on.

Bus stop changes: As part of the pilot project to declutter St. Patrick’s Street, from next Monday, June 15, a number of bus stops will be temporarily moved. They’re not going far:

• Routes 207, 208, 209/A will use Stop 240491 outside the former Debenhams/Roches Stores building

• Routes 203, 205, 213, 214, 215 will use Stop 241721, just a few yards further north, closer to Merchant’s Quay shopping centre.

Cé hé Phádraig Uí Chunacháin? Yes, we don't know either, but Pádraig has a quay named after him/her in the city centre. You know you've made it when they're naming city quays after you.

Cork Midsummer Festival: June 12 - June 21. Across the city.

Cork Summer Show, June 20- 21, Cork Summer Show Showgrounds, Curaheen

Live At The Marquee Cork 2026, June 10 - July 18, Cork

Another Love Story, July 17-18, Ballyvollane House

West Cork Chamber Music Festival: 26 June – 5 July. Various locations.

Park runs: The free volunteer-led 5km parkruns (or walks) take place at 9:30 am every Saturday morning across three locations in the city: Ballincollig Regional Park, Tramore Valley Park and the Glen River Park (the nearest one in the county is Midleton Greenway).

On Sundays it’s over to the juniors (aged 4–14) for Junior parkrun, a 2km run at 9:30 am at Clashduv Park, St Mary’s Campus, Ballincollig Regional Park and Nursery Drive park run in Ballinlough. Full listing of all 16 park runs in Cork city and county here.

🖼️Art is engagement: It’s all about the grad shows at this time of the year, and for the next week it's the turn of students who have just wrapped up two years in the MA in Arts and Engagement at MTU's Crawford College of Art and Design. The engagement element is key: this is art created with and in the community. What does it look like? Well, in many ways it's your traditional exhibition: there's art and craft, photographs, audio and video, but the telling difference is that the community element, which is central and significant to the process and the outcome. Sandra Morrissey's paper blanket made in workshops with neurodivergent participants; Orla Burke sought out non-drivers who led her through the city to show her the quotidian landmarks on their daily trips, and what comforts and disgruntles them; Éidín Griffin travelled shy of 3,000 km to sit down with six storytellers to understand where their creativity comes from. Those conversations, walkabouts and workshops and ultimately the creativity borne from engagement are on show in the MTU Gallery at 46 Grand Parade for the next week.

Time, date, place: 10:30am -4:30pm, 12-18 June, MTU Gallery at 46 Grand Parade

🗣️In my day: When the 1926 census was released earlier this year, people flooded online to garner more details about parents and grandparents to get a glimpse of the past. David Ryan, an oral historian and genealogist, will be leading a workshop this Saturday at St Peter's on North Main Street to give you a better idea of how to search the database and gather records on ancestors, as well as other helpful resources. This is the first of a three-talk series over the next three weekends that will look at the historical treasure trove embedded in the 1926 census. Free admission. More information here.

Time, date, place: 1-2pm, Saturday June 13, St Peter’s, North Main St Cork

🎶Medieval Mediterranean: One of the highlights from the first weekend of Cork Midsummer is the performance of the Idrîsî Ensemble at St Fin Barre's Cathedral. The ensemble, which takes its name from Muhammad al-Idrîsî, a famous Arab geographer and cartographer who worked at the court of King Roger II of Sicily in Palermo, are to quote themselves "obsessed with the Medieval Mediterranean". For their Midsummer show, medieval polyphony and chant will sit alongside living traditions from Corsica, Greece, Algiers and beyond, moving between intimate solo moments and immersive ensemble pieces. Tickets €28/€32 + €1 booking fee. More info here.

Time, date, place: 7pm, Saturday June 13, St. Fin Barre's Cathedral

🎭 Parade: Cork Community Art Link are back for Cork Midsummer with one of their signature parades that combines the creativity, imagination and countless hours of practice and fun from Corlann Blackpool, Cork Simon, National Learning Network, L'Arche Cork, and Joan Denise Moriarty School of Dance as it wends its way along Oliver Plunkett Street in floats, costumes and capers.

Time, date, place: 3pm, Saturday June 13, Oliver Plunkett Street.

🪴Global garden: Seed sowing, hot composting, tea ceremony… Togher Community Garden at Clashduv Park is packing it all in this coming weekend as part of its tie-up with Cork Midsummer Festival. From gardening tips to crafting with leaves and practical advice on mapping gardens, the three-hour event has loads of mini-events all within the wonderful confines of the community garden. It's also a great opportunity to learn more about the garden, get to know the members, see what they're growing and eating, and lend a hand.

Time, date, place: 11am-2pm, Saturday June 13, Clashduv Park, Togher

🎻Everybody céilí dance now: Céilí Cois Locha returns to The Lough for an hour and a half of outdoor céilí dancing, song and music every Wednesday evening from next week. With everything from the Walls of Limerick to Shoe the Donkey, it's a lovely, relaxed introduction to céilí dancing in the verdant and aquatic surroundings of The Lough. Free.

Time, date, place: 7:30pm - 9pm, from Wednesday June 17 throughout the summer, The Lough.

🍽️Eat the season: t seems like a no-brainer, but eating in line with the seasons makes sense. Except when it doesn't, and the supermarket has strawberries all year round and mangoes from the other side of the world. For EU Green Week, Cork Biodiversity Hub is holding a workshop exploring how seasonal food choices can reduce environmental impact while supporting local producers and biodiversity. Free.

Time, date, place: 10:30am – 12pm, Saturday June 13, Cork Biodiversity Hub, Ballincollig, (P31 PX67)

🎶Breathe In & Let Go: Singer and voice lecturer at MTU Cork School of Music, Laoise Leahy takes to the stage of the Triskel this weekend with the Johnny Taylor Trio for a lunchtime concert. Leahy's music flows between jazz, soul, folk and contemporary, and for Saturday's performance she will be drawing from her latest EP Breathe In & Let Go. Leahy will be joined by longtime collaborators Johnny Taylor on piano, Barry Donohue on double bass and Dominic Mullan on drums. Tickets and more info here.

Time, date, place: 1pm, Saturday June 13, The Triskel Arts Centre, Tobin St

🖼️SOFTctrl: A year on from Billie Adele's grad show at the Crawford, where she picked up the Backwater Artists Group Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary, she's back with SOFTctrl a solo show of her characteristic oil paintings at the Backwater. With broad strokes and grotesque feminine forms, Adele's figures are adorned with masks, bunny ears and much else to distort the conventional sense of feminine beauty, at least on social media, bringing it closer to the idiom of horror or sci-fi.

Time, date, place: 12 June – 17 July, Backwater Wandesford Quay

🎸Cork Rocks for Rory: Tres Hombres, The Crew, Hot Guitars and Dying Breed will take to the stage in Fitzgerald's Park to celebrate Cork's best-known guitar legend, Rory Gallagher, for a free outdoor concert. Sheena Crowley of Crowley's Music Centre is the master of ceremonies.

Time, date, place: 2pm – 6pm, Sunday 14 June, Fitzgerald’s Park

That’s it for this week’s Friday View. As always, any tips, comments, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact us at tripeanddrisheen@substack.com. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity. Get in touch. Have a lovely weekend!

🔔If you know about something to do in Cork that you’d like us to share in the Out+About sections of our Friday View newsletter (published every Friday morning), please fill in the form below. It could be an art exhibition, a film, music to go see, theatre, comedy, something delicious to go eat, a clothes swap, public lecture, a community clean-up, community gardening - anything readers could get out and do.

We’d be delighted if you could share your listings of events with us via this form and we’ll include them in the Out +About section of the Friday View.

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