I went to secondary school in this building for six years.
As well as going to and from school, I would have passed the building regularly going into town as it was one of the available routes. For the past nine years, I have passed nearly every day – at least once a day. Yet it was only last November that I spotted this lovely detail. It appears to be quite simple. Most things are when you know what you are doing. A symmetrical cut at the external corner of a stone provides a revelation – a lovely butterfly, even if it took me forty years to spot it. Some time ago, I learned of the origins of the placename and expression “Irishtown” from author/playwright, Cónal Creedon. Cónal published his Second City Trilogy under the name Irishtown Press which demanded of me to ask the question. When I did ask, I learned. Cork was originally a walled city based around North and South Main Streets. There were gates at either end with bridges over the river – North Gate Bridge (Griffith Bridge) and South Gate Bridge. The native Irish were not permitted or able to reside within the walled city and so created a community outside – not too far away, but outside. In Cork, the native Irish created an enclave close to Shandon. This place became known as Irishtown, the town of the Irish. I knew of an Irishtown in Dublin, close to Ringsend. Logainm advises that there are 20 such places in the country. This morning, I had a very pleasant couple of hours around Limerick. As well as seeing the location of the old wall of Irishtown, I discovered that there was also an Englishtown. Upto then, I had assumed that the walled town or city was called Dublin, Cork, Limerick or wherever and the outside area called Irishtown.
Logainm lists 7 Englishtowns in the island of Ireland – but its location for the Limerick one differs from the location of this sign.
Limerick’s Life does provide some interesting history on the bridge between Irishtown and Englishtown. I repeat, it is a bad day when one does not learn something new. I think it is great when I spot something unusual on a building – something that the many who pass by regularly do not appear to notice.
I love that every building has many stories. It is so true that owners are only custodians of so many buildings. The buildings will outlive most owners. But many stories about the buildings are lost over time. Anyone who has used an online Local Authority Planning system or the online Land Registry system, LandDirect, would have seen that the each property is separately identified and can be cross referenced with ownership details or planning applications. I would love if the Heritage, Conservation and Arts Officers in Local Authorities were able to use a similar mapping system to record information relating to the building. This would not just be limited to previous owners or occupiers but any nugget of historical, construction or artistic information – maybe there was War of Independence connection; possibly Frank O’Connor mentioned it in a story; maybe James Joyce’s father pawned his false teeth there; or, maybe Gerry Murphy mentioned it in a poem. Every building has a treasure trove of stories that are calling out to be collated. I think it would be great if that treasure was available. On the 15th October, I was delighted to see the shopfront of Leonie Lyons Opticians on Bridge Street temporarily amended to reflect the first shop of Barry’s Tea.
Urru of Bandon had a special lunch available later that day but we were heading on to Mallow. It would have been great to attend the recognising of history. Prior to that morning, I did not know the building was the start of the Barry’s Tea empire. I do now, but those who did not pass Bridge Street that weekend missed that nugget. Since then, the Guy’s Directory of 1916 throws up some anomalies in that it lists Barry’s Tea at 11 Bridge St and 7 Princes Street – whereas Leonie Lyons is at 7 Bridge Street. The tweet from Barry’s Tea does show the address as 7 Bridge Street so maybe Guys misprinted. On the basis of three digit telephone numbers, it looks like there was less than 1,000 telephone numbers in Cork in 1916. Apologies if today’s blog has been a bit of a ramble rolling into a rant but the connections that could be made with such little nuggets could be brilliant. My curiosity levels were raised in Westport over the Christmas holidays. I spotted this chamber cover in the footpath, or alternatively the sidewalk, when we spent a very pleasant couple of days in Co. Mayo. I had never heard of the Irish American Oil Company Limited until it stared back up at me from the path. The Companies Registration Office advises that it was founded in 1951 and dissolved in 1990 – having filed last accounts in 1980.
Well, maybe not a thousand – a thousand is a lot for a ten year old.
Ninety six years ago, Terence MacSwiney died after 74 days on hunger strike.
I spotted quite a few tweets and blogs to record this anniversary this morning. Reason enough to update the blog page with images of the Seamus Murphy bust of the former Lord Mayor of Cork, and some artwork that I have seen in the recent past. Looking at it all together, there is a lot out there to prompt one to remember Tenerce MacSwiney
I very much like the idea of bringing metal or even street furniture into the garden as a feature. I still hope for a phone box – and a letter box. I was jealous of JV’s Cannon Bath. I do have a hopper, a yellow fire hydrant ‘H’ sign and recently got the top of an old bus stop when CIE were installing the new design bus stops. I think that they improve the garden – not everyone agrees but they definitely provide a discussion topic. The most recent acquisition is a church pew – an adequately sized location is the current hurdle. When in Kerry during the summer, my envy increased a few levels when I spotted what I assume to be a railway line marker. The Inchicore Works from 1899 for the Great Southern & Western Railway – absolutely lovely and guaranteed to start a discussion. An absolute beauty – in the eyes of this beholder.
Cork still manages to throw up a surprise or two…
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