When in Cork
Founded in the seventh century by St Finbar, the city of Cork is a wonderful place full of character and vibrancy.
The third largest in Ireland, coming after Dublin and Belfast, the city remains today an important seaport, situated on the banks of the River Lee.
As the city has grown, it has covered the steep banks rising up from the river and the city now holds a sprawling suburban community away from the city centre. Visitors to Cork can often be confused by the river as they will find themselves constantly crossing it, which is due to the fact that it is split into two main channels running through the heart of the city.
However, this only helps to increase the beauty of the city, with a range of impressive bridges to view, as well as footpaths along the side of the river channels providing picturesque views of the city and its lifeblood.
Many of Cork's main streets are now built over former channels of the River Lee, which historically has been the lifeblood of the city and remains an important part of its prosperity to this day. Along the South Mall in particular, it is easy to spot the large gateways at street level, which used to be entrances to boathouses when the waters used to flow along this channel.
One of the main advantages of Cork is the fact that it has retained a relatively small city centre, but contains all the amenities of a large urban area. As such, travellers arriving in the city can usually find all that they want in a small space, making it easy on the walking boots! There is a wide variety of top shops in the city, while the various historical attractions are also at its heart, meaning that visitors can shop and sightsee without having to travel far to do so.
The cathedral is named after the city's founder, St Finbar, who established a monastery on the site of the current cathedral, which prospered thanks to its location on the River Lee and near the Irish Sea.
Since the seventh century founding of the monastery, Cork has gone from strength to strength thanks to its position and its importance as a major port of call for thousands of merchants, seafarers and visitors over the centuries.
Cork received an important honour in 2005 when it became European Capital of Culture. This city is already a cultural centre of southern Ireland, but the impact of the title bestowed on it has given a new lease of life to the area. A variety of events and festivities took place throughout the year to celebrate the honour and it has helped to reinvigorate the cultural pride of not only the city of Cork but the entire county.
County Cork is also one of the most scenic parts to be found anywhere in the British Isles. With beautiful and sometimes rugged coastlines, as well as breathtaking mountains, this area has almost everything a traveller looking for action and adventure could wish for.
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Introduction
