☕️The Friday View 19/06

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

Curtains on the Fifth Quarter: In the history of quarters, there has never been a fifth one, and so too it shall be for Cork’s “Fifth Quarter” – the commercial space that consisted of a couple of popular food trucks on Paul Street at Rory Gallagher Plaza.

The food trucks will be missed, but reading between the lines would suggest that they never had permission to be there. The Fifth Quarter, a self-described “vibrant, community-centric food and retail destination” which has all the panache of something your favourite AI influencer would write, announced this week on socials that the chapter had come to an end. But as with maths, and books with multiple chapters, there will be more chapters, and possibly even quarters. They’re excited. Likely not as excited as the traders who set up on the plaza and now need to find a new place to do business.

Cork City Council was keen to point out that it was not raining on anyone’s parade, but said that as the planning authority, it “has a statutory responsibility to take appropriate action where unauthorised activity is occurring.”

“At the same time, it is broadly supportive of initiatives that animate and enhance public spaces, especially in the city centre.”

Perhaps The Fifth Quarter was taking a leaf from The Marina Market and the ask-for-forgiveness-and-then-permission approach to planning. Regardless the Paul Street goths and emos have their space back.

Zack Bryan: You know who'll have trouble parking up his bike at his own gig? Zach Bryan, the country singer from Oologah, Oklahoma, who plays two nights in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, starting tonight. Ahead of the gigs, the crowd-control contractors were erecting fences around the stadium and in the neighbourhoods, and in doing so blocked the entire row of secure parking near the Marina Pond. Nice. Secure parking for bikes is thin on the ground near the stadium, and since mid-week they have been inaccessible.

We contacted management at PuC about the problem, but were told that Aiken the concert promoters were in charge of erecting the fences. Perhaps the out of town promoter could be given a bit of guidance by the local stadium?

This comes as Dublin City Council will debate a Social Democrats motion to increase bike parking at gigs and outdoor events. The motion, from Cllr Karl Stanley, reads: “The number of parking stands required to comply with the licence will be set at 2% of the total number of tickets on sale (i.e. a 20,000-person event at St Anne’s Park should have 400 bike parking spaces).”

Right now, ensuring the bike racks are kept open around Páirc Uí Chaoimh would be a good start.

Sráid an Chapaill Bhuí: The Echo reproduced a lovely story from last year’s Holly Bough which documents the transatlantic efforts behind the building of the National Monument (see above) on Grand Parade, and it contained this nugget.

In Cork, plans had been long discussed to erect a national monument beside the southern channel of the River Lee, close to the final site of the former yellow-painted statue of King George II on horseback, which had been torn down more than 40 years earlier and which gave Grand Parade its Irish name, ‘Sráid an Chapaill Bhuí’.

That explains the Irish name, which, like many place names in Ireland, bears no relation to the English name. ‘Twould be worth bringing back as the street’s primary name for the history it evokes and the colour in the name too.

Paid in full: Publican and landlord Paul Montgomery was listed in the latest Revenue “name and shame highlight” list for tax defaulters. Montgomery, who owns Clancy’s, JJ Walsh’s and, most recently, The Wilton, was ordered to pay €351,256 in total, comprising €196,237 in tax, €96,148 in interest and €58,871 in penalties. All monies were paid in full and related to under-declaration of capital gains tax and local property tax. Montgomery told The Echo it was an accounting error.

Green Rebel Marine, with offices in Cork city, Crosshaven and Limerick and founded by Pearse Flynn, was also included in the tax defaulters list. The company was ordered to pay a total of €128,557, comprising €97,253 in tax, €2,128 in interest and €29,176 in penalties, which was paid back in full.

Solicitor Colm McGuire, a partner with McGuire O’Halloran based at Lapp’s Quay, was ordered to pay a total of €160,778. The amount, which has been paid in full, was made up of €89,024 in tax, €45,047 in interest and €26,707 in penalties..

Everybody wants better public transport, but not in their back garden or sports club: Taoiseach Micheál Martin was back on home soil last weekend, where he met with Bishopstown GAA. The Southside club’s grounds are on the path of the updated 20 km Cork Luas route, which connects Ballincollig with Mahon via the city centre.

Bishopstown GAA has vowed to fight the plans to the very end. Nearby, Highfield Rugby Club said the preferred route presented an “existential threat” to its future.

The latest round of public consultation closed on Friday, 12 June. Those submissions will be studied before progression to the next phase, step four of the nine-step plan, which ends with actual trams on the ground and boots in the tram.

One of the biggest changes from the Emerging Preferred Route (EPR) to the Preferred Route is in Bishopstown. From Luas Cork:

Micheál Martin acknowledged there are serious issues and, in the grand old tradition of political speak, said he would reflect on the presentations made by both clubs.

Just how serious are the issues? Neither club has as yet been asked to vacate its premises. The GAA pitch will be realigned, and the entrance reconfigured. Similarly, Highfield Rugby Club would have to put up with significant disruption while pitches are realigned and entranceways reconfigured. TII said that it will not rule out compensation, and from the detailed plans it looks like both pitches will be served by a tram and tram stop. Existential much?

Part of the bargain with living in a city is accepting that the environment changes. No doubt, the clubs will get on board the light rail, with the stop marked for the greater good.

BusDisconnects: Remember this?

The multi-billion euro BusConnects Cork investment programme was developed following extensive public consultation by the National Transport Authority (NTA). The programme will deliver 11 Sustainable Transport Corridors across Cork city, covering 90km of bus lanes

Five years on from when the 11 Sustainable Transport Corridors (STCs) were floated, the STCs remain as notional as the Event Centre, despite government approval for BusConnects Cork last October. The worse news is, there’s still no timeline for the money for the STCs.

NTA bigwigs (Anne Shaw and Hugh Creegan) were before Cork City Council’s Transport & Mobility Strategic Policy Committee this week. BusConnects, and those all-important and transformative STCs, were high on the agenda. So where are they?

The answer: three out of the 11 are on the way, and they’ll come at different stages, with Statutory Consent Applications being prepared. They’ll then be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála later this year, and depending on the outcome, construction could commence in 2028. But then again, it might not.

Also on the agenda was the 208 bus, the northside/southside public transport imbalance, bus shelters, mobility hubs, and connecting the cycle network. You can peruse the report on the Cork City Public Participation Network here.

Going down: The City Council announced this week that two of the four blocks on Noonan’s Road, near the city centre, will be demolished over the summer months. The flats were constructed in the 1960s, and in recent years campaigners have highlighted the persistent mould and rodents in some of the flats.

Thirty flats on Fort Street and Dean Street remain, for the most part, in use, according to The Echo.

San Fran calling: As everyone in San Francisco knows, the west coast city is twinned with Cork. Cue synergies. Applications are now open for the Cork San Francisco Innovation Exchange 2027, which will see two Cork businesses head stateside for learnings, mentoring, and so on. The programme is worth up to €10,000, and each winner also gets a complimentary year's membership to Cork Chamber. Applications are on the Local Enterprise Office Cork City website, open today until the end of August.

Féile Solas: June 19-21, Whiddy Island (capacity reached)

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.

Cork on a Fork: August 12-16. 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.

🎹Mongolian pianist and composer Shuteen Erdenebaatar brings her ensemble to the Triskel for the Midsummer Festival. A graduate of Munich's Musikhochschule, Erdenebaatar has been picking up awards like drivers doing 140 km/h on the motorway here have been picking up speeding fines. To stick with fast driving, her jazz renditions can run hot and fast, but they are tempered by melody. The not-yet-30 classically trained musician has her hand in many projects: her quartet, playing in Cork; Duo Lightville; and a 20-piece Chamber Jazz Orchestra. Her second album, Under the Same Stars from 2025 with Nils Kugelmann, follows the internationally acclaimed Rising Sun. Tickets €20/18. More information here.

Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday June 20, The Triskel, Tobin Street

Soundburst, as part of Cork Midsummer, will be pitching up at Fitzgerald's Park for a day of music made for and by young people. What to expect? An energetic mix of live music, DJs, spoken word, and performances from young artists, plus workshops where you can try something new. More info here.

Time, date, place: 12-5pm, Saturday June 20, Fitzgerald’s Park

🗣️Dolar Vasani will be launching her book Pink Bucket: Glyphosate and My Cancer Journey at Cork Biodiversity Hub this weekend, with a Q&A with Dr Rupa Marya, followed by a panel discussion featuring Thomas and Claire O'Connor of Manna Organic Food Store, based in Tralee. The panel will look deeper into pesticides. Free. More info here.

Time, date, place: 11am-1pm, Saturday June 20,Cork Biodiversity Hub, Powdermills Ballincollig

Alchemy on Barrack Street is holding another Gaeilge-speaking morning on Friday, 26 June. Drop by between 10 am and 1 pm for a chat as Gaeilge. All ages and all levels are welcome. If you only have a cúpla focal or none at all, you're welcome to learn some from the lovely hosts.

Time, date, place: 10am - 1pm, Alchemy cafe, 123 Barrack St

🚜Where else in Cork this weekend are you going to see Polands, Silkies, Leghorns, Indian Runners, Muscovy and Rhode Island Reds? At the Cork Summer Show, the agriculture-and-agriculture-adjacent show in Curraheen, with everything from pet dog shows to best in show for goats, sheep, pigs, cows, ponies and poultry, as well as arts and crafts, military re-enactment, tractors, trailers, bales of hay and a tug of war. Best of all, there are four free park-and-ride schemes, including Black Ash, MTU, Curraheen Greyhound Stadium and Ballincollig Shopping Centre. Tickets and more info here.

Time, date, place: 9am-6pm, Saturday June 20-Sunday June 21, Cork Showgrounds, Curraheen,

🎶Dan Walsh, the man behind the Fixity music project, will be holding court in the Rory Gallagher Mystic Library in the City Library next week as part of its 'Listen Back' series. Dan will be talking about Fixity's latest release, Assurance, and their musical world, which, as one reviewer described it, is “where grooves, rock & roll, noise, motorik, and free jazz all coexist.” Free in. All welcome.🎶

Time, date, place: 11am, Wednesday June 24, Cork City Library, Sráid an Chapaill Bhuí

🎶The great and the good of Cork (and not Cork) musicians will be gathered in Cork City Hall next Wednesday, and it won't be to talk ghost buses or parking policy, but to celebrate music and song, and specifically Jimmy Crowley. Celebrated throughout Cork (and not Cork), Jimmy is core to the musical fabric of the city, from his days in Stoker's Lodge, his countless gigs in pubs and parish halls, and his albums The Boys of Fairhill, Camphouse Ballads and much, much else. Musicians on the night include: Colm Murphy, Con Ó Drisceoil, Conal Creedon, Darragh Jamie McGann, Des Geraghty, Eoin Jordan & Anthony Ruby, and Eoin Ó Riabhaigh & Johnny Murphy. All proceeds go to the Jimmy Crowley Fund. Tickets €29, including booking fee. More info here.

Time, date, place: 7:30pm, Wednesday, June 24, Cork City Hall

🖼️Next up at MTU Gallery is The Heavenly (In)Visibles, a new body of work by Patsy Atkinson as part of her MA show, which investigates the work of American poet Mary Oliver. Atkinson's elegy to Oliver materialises the poet's deep reverence for the natural world and her gentle call to notice nature with wonder and in a contemplative way. In keeping with Oliver's creative processes, Patsy uses slow, meditative and nature-based processes, including ecoprinting, paper-making, monoprinting and plant-based natural dyeing.

Time, date, place: 10am-4pm, 23 June-1 July, 46, MTU Gallery at 46 Sráid an Chapaill Bhuí/Grand Parade

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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