Cork - The Rebel City — Tuljak! Travel Blog

Pick up any popular Ireland guidebook in the United States, and you might be surprised that they often have little to say about Cork, the second-largest city in the Republic of Ireland. For various reasons, most travelers ignore this historic city of nearly a quarter million. In our trusted Rick Steve’s guidebook, there was no mention of Cork, except for a cameo on a regional map. Most tourists would instead visit nearby Blarney Castle, Kinsale, or Cobh. As it happened, Brian spent a semester studying in Cork more than two decades ago. Since I had heard so much about Cork since we met, I was naturally eager to check out this place. I was keen to figure out why Cork got such a bad rap.

I have always loved a country’s second city. Whether Turku in Finland or Kaohsiung in Taiwan, there is something magical and endearing about the spirit of a perpetual underdog. Most second cities tend to have immense pride and a can-do attitude. That is undoubtedly the case in Cork. Nicknamed the “Rebel City” for much of its history, Cork reveled in its independence and being “different” from Dublin or Galway. Partly out of Cork’s insecurity, it is not unusual to spot murals or artworks exalting their importance within the country. My favorite is the one proclaiming: “Ireland is like a bottle; it will sink without a cork!” It seems like some people have a chip on their shoulder. Funny enough, a detractor on Reddit commented: “you need to get rid of the cork to enjoy the good stuff.”

A mural for the "People's Republic of Cork."

Even before our visit, Brian cautioned that Cork had a rough side. When he lived there as a student, certain parts of the city were considered off-limits. He described it as a post-industrial city and an acquired taste. With that in mind, I had low expectations for Cork. Instead, I thought it would be fun to help Brian reminisce about his college years and investigate why so few American tourists bother to visit. I refused to believe Cork is as rough and unattractive as people make it out to be.

Our preconception of Cork was quickly shattered as soon as we arrived. We stayed at The Dean Cork for three nights. This beautiful boutique hotel is situated right next to Kent Railway Station. This former industrial area was once a place where few would care to linger, but today, it is just one of Cork’s numerous urban redevelopments. The once-forgotten neighborhood is now filled with Class-A offices and event space. Like most cities, Cork experienced an urban renaissance fueled by an influx of young professionals. Brian was stunned by the transformation; it was a different city from twenty years ago.

The Dean Cork was a fine base for exploring the southeastern Ireland.

It was just a few minutes from the hotel to MacCurtain Street, one of the most popular commercial streets north of Cork’s downtown. It has beautiful brick buildings and endless rows of bustling restaurants and bars. I see no sign of the urban decay or chronic traffic jams everyone speaks of. We happened to have excellent weather during the first few hours in Cork; the city couldn’t seem more lovely. The urban energy was palpable, and we were surprised that we couldn’t get into most restaurants without a reservation. Ireland’s gastronomic scene today certainly leaves the lousy reputation of Irish food in the rearview mirror.

Parallel to MacCurtain Street is River Lee, the city's historical lifeline. Cork began as a monastic settlement founded by Saint Finbar in the sixth century and was substantially expanded by the Vikings due to its strategic locations within the estuary. Like Paris’s Île de la Cité, the historic center of Cork is an island between two River Lee channels. The island marks a vital access point to control up and down the river. Cork has one of Ireland’s best natural harbors. In the medieval period, Cork became a prominent English outpost in the region, still dominated by local Gaelic lords and barons. The residents and merchants of Cork even had to pay them protection money.

Perhaps this “living on the edge” history contributed to Cork’s rebellious streak. Cork’s first notable rebellion occurred during the War of the Roses in the late 15th century. In 1490, a young Flemish man named Perkin Warbeck arrived at Cork to work in the silk trade. At that time, Ireland and the citizens of Cork aligned with the House of York and against King Henry VII of England. Because of Warbeck’s physical resemblance to the former king and regal demeanors, the mayor of Cork encouraged him to pretend to be the long-assumed-dead son of King Edward IV, thus the claimant of the English throne. The people of Cork enthusiastically supported him and regarded him as a way to overthrow the English tyranny.

The mural, *Lovebirds*, depicts the wedding of Irish republican activists Terence and Muriel MacSwiney.

Initially, he was successful and regarded as legitimate as Duke of York by a few European courts. However, Perkin was ultimately defeated and captured by the Egnlish. After several attempts to escape from the Tower of London, he confessed his treasons and was executed along with the mayor of Cork. Despite the unsuccessful uprising, the people of Cork still celebrate him as a hero for standing up against the English tyranny. Since then, London has always regarded Cork has always been known as a rebellious city. For instance, Cork was a hotbed of Irish resistance in the Irish War of Independence.

Brown Thomas Cork Department Store was rebuilt after the Burning of Cork.

After the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambushed a few English contingents outside of Cork, the British imposed martial laws in County Kilkenny. As a reprisal, the English troops ransacked the center of Cork and burned hundreds of buildings to the ground using incendiary bombs. Known as the Burning of Cork, the sacking destroyed not only businesses and residential buildings but also the City Hall and Carnegie Library. The scale of destruction was enormous and it was one of the most well-known atrocities that took place during the Irish War of Independence.

The newly revitalized Saint Patrick's Street in central Cork.

Much of the destruction centered around Saint Patrick’s Street, Cork‘s main commercial thoroughfare. It is the artery spine through the historical island and is home to some of Cork’s grandest buildings. Many of those destroyed by the British were rebuilt after the independence, including the grand department stores like Brown Thomas Cork and Roches Stores. The grand boulevard is a testament to Cork’s commercial importance and former splendors. The overall ambiance and architecture reminded me of London’s Oxford Street, albeit at a humbler scale.

The former Roches Stores on Saint Patrick's Street.

Considerable efforts have been put into its refurbishment. The most notable modernization took place in 2004 when the Spanish designer Beth Gali was tasked with making the street more pedestrian-friendly. However, I can’t say I am the biggest fan of the over-the-top streetlights. I found these off-kilter fixtures added a lot of visual clutter to the streetscapes and they looked like they could topple over in any minute. I suppose they injected a dose of youthfulness into the city center.

The southern section of Saint Patrick’s Street made a slight turn and became another gran boulevard called Grand Parade. This used to be another channel of the river and was paved over into a parade ground with an equestrian statue of King George II at its southern terminus. After the independence, the king’s statue was replaced by the National Monument, celebrating the heroes of the Irish Revolution. In the center is a statue of the Maid of Erin, the female personification of Ireland. Interestingly, an American flag is also featured to commemorate Americans’ contribution to the liberation.

The most popular stop on the Grand Parade is the English Market, a venerated public market dated to 1788. Founded by the protestant English merchants, the market retained its name after the Irish independence to distinguish itself from the “Irish Market” on Cornmarket Street. Thanks to Cork’s access to the river and sea, trading of agricultural products and provisions had always been the city’s economic lifetime. This was particularly the case during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic War. Provisions like salted pork and butter are particularly important.

English Market’s resilience through wars and economic decline of the late 20th century. Today, it is probably Cork’s biggest tourist draw. It may not be Budapest’s Great Market Hall, but it has a great selection of local provisions and baked goods. The vaulted ceilings and indoor fountain made this a favorite spot for urban photography. English Market was one of very few “touristy” places Brian could remember from his student days in Cork. One popular spot for authentic Irish breakfast was the Farmgate Cafe, which overlooks the market’s entry court.

One noteworthy attraction in the city is the Cork Butter Exchange in the nearby Shandon neighborhood on the opposite bank of River Lee. Cork was once the largest butter exporter in the world. What made the city’s butter trade so successful was its quality control and transparency. Set up by the dairy merchants themselves, the exchange set up an independent panel of butter inspectors to grade the butter. At its peak, the inspectors would go through 3,000 wooden caskets of butter daily and grade them based on their color, flavor, and texture. It is interesting that Irish butter, such as Kerry Gold, is still coveted in the United States. Today, the former exchange building is turned into The Butter Museum, supposedly one of the most interesting museums in Cork.

As we walked around the city center, Brian couldn’t help remarking on how prosperous the city seemed compared to two decades ago. Back then, he experienced Cork differently as a college student and did not bother to do much sightseeing. Aside from occasional weekend trips, most of his time was spent either on campus or in the immediate neighborhood of his apartment on Bachelor's Quay. Naturally, we were eager to see how much of the neighborhood he could still remember or recognize. He was hoping the muscle memory might kick in as we arrived in his old neighborhood, but it proved to be more difficult than he thought.

The neighborhood around Cork Opera House and Crawford Art Gallery has been redeveloped since Brian's last visit.

While he had no problem finding his old apartment, he could hardly recognize any surrounding buildings or businesses. The bar (and its building) he frequented was nowhere to be found. As it turned out several blocks of his neighborhood had been redeveloped into modern shopping arcades and department stores. His beloved bar is now replaced by an ultra-modern commercial building. To add insult to injury, the modern monstrosity seemed to be vacant for a while. Speaking with a barista at a nearby Starbucks, we learned that the city redeveloped the area around the opera house in the late 2000s to attract more people to the historic center. Its success is definitely up for debate.

During our three-day stay in Cork, Brian continued to be amazed by the number of tourists in and around the historic center. We came across numerous guided tours around town. Along Saint Patrick’s Street, several enormous touristy souvenir shops are selling all kinds of tacky Cork-related memorabilia. For him, that was nearly inconceivable twenty years ago. I suspect the city’s rising tourism profile is attributed to the proliferation of low-cost flights and the cruise industry. Since the nearby Cobh was a major cruise port, Cork is likely a popular day excursion.

Despite its sordid reputation, We found Cork to be a lively and livable city. The city may not be elegant like Paris or London, but there is a palpable sense of pride here. Our visit coincided with the GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, so Cork’s city flags were everywhere. That said, central Cork could feel a little seedy after dark, like most cities in the British Isle. Because Cork has a younger demographic, the city could get rowdy at night in areas such as Oliver Plunkett Street. I found it ironic there is a statue of Father Theobald Mathew, a noted prohibitionist nearby. I suspect Brian still had PTSD from football hooligans.

River Lee and Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral.

Since Brian did not do any any “sightseeing” when he lived in Cork, we took this opportunity to make up. Funny enough, he had not even heard of the city’s tourist landmarks. One such example is Elizabeth Fort. This 17th-century star fort was just only a minute’s walk from his old apartment, yet he did not even know of its existence. But to be fair, the fortress was only open to the public since 2014. This rather diminutive fortress saw numerous sieges, most notably during the Williamite War. It was later converted into a prison, housing many criminals before shipping them out to penal colonies in Australia.

Elizabeth Fort once held the female prisoners destined for penal colonies in Australia.

Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, belonging to the Church of Ireland, is just a stone's throw away from the fort. The impressive Neo-Gothic structure is named after Cork’s patron saint. During the height of British rule, the parliament passed a series of laws proclaiming the supremacy of the British monarchy over the church. Known as the penal laws in Ireland, it effectively neutralized the pope’s political interference in Ireland. Flexing its new-found political power, the Anglican Church constructed a grand cathedral to assert its power in Cork.

In 1862, the church commissioned the famous English architect William Burges to design the grandest church possible on the site. The young architect's design far exceeded its initial budget, but the splendidness of the design convinced the church leaders to solicit donations from prominent merchant families. Today, the church is known for its dazzling interior decorations and three impressive spires. The church also houses Ireland’s only pit church organ.

As mentioned earlier, Brian spent a few months as a University College Cork (UCC) student, so we certainly won’t pass up on an opportunity to revisit the university campus. It was just a few minutes drive west of the city center. Founded in 1845 under the auspice of Queen Victoria, UCC is one of the four constituent institutions of the National University of Ireland. The site was chosen because the locals believe Saint Finbarr set up his teaching monastery here. To this day, the university motto remains "Where Finbarr Taught, Let Munster Learn."

The "Long Hall" and the clock tower of the UCC quadrangle.

It may not be Cambridge or Princeton, but the campus of UCC was still a joy to explore. We got to explore many buildings where Brian took classes in. By all accounts, he was quite a good student and did not skip any class here. Like any study abroad experience, he can’t help wondering whether he should have spent more time outside of the classroom to explore Cork and Ireland. While we did not have time to fully take one of the regularly scheduled guided tours, I have never seen him so keen to pick up a college hoodie for himself.

The president's office looks like someplace out of *The Lord of The Rings*.

Although we spent three nights in Cork, we felt like we did not spend enough time exploring the city. We missed two famous landmarks: Cork City Gaol and Saint Anne's Church Shandon Bells & Tower. Oddly enough, we did not even bother visiting the famous Blarney Castle. What we missed was more than made up by the city’s exceptional culinary scene. We want to shout out to Elbow Lane Brew and Smoke House. We might have to return to Cork just for this restaurant. Overall, this city exceeded our expectations, and we could not have been happier with our time there.

▲

Cork - The Rebel City

Barnstorming Through Hikone Castle

Kinsale - The Irish Riveria