Cork Views - Irish Examiner

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CORK VIEWS

A collection of opinion and analysis articles from - and about - the Cork region by the Irish Examiner's editorial team and an ever growing band of contributors.

<p>Five years on, it is not clear if Cork City is ready to leave behind the 20th century urban design of car-choked streets, concrete jungles, private wealth and public squalor of dereliction and really start to build a 21st-century city of co-designed public luxury, thriving local communities and businesses, and clean air with an abundance of nature. File picture</p>

comment-analysis

Future Cork: Is the city ready to enter the 21st century?

Five years into our 10-year vision for the city, there has been real progress but the biggest eyesores remain, while city centre green space has been decimated, write Jude Sherry and Frank O'Connor

Gareth O'Callaghan.png

SGareth O'Callaghan: What weeks in Cork University Hospital taught me about fear, faith and survival

<p>Dr Geraldine Osborne, author of <span class="contextmenu quote">Somewhere Cold</span>, is the guest on today’s episode of the Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast. </p>

spotlight

The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: The Cork doctor who spent a year living in the Arctic

Michael Moynihan

SMichael Moynihan: Cork’s Lord Mayor embracing AI raises serious questions about leadership

Fergus Finlay: Meeting inspiring Cork people keeps bizarre world events at bay

Culture That Made Me: Mary McCarthy, director of Crawford Art Gallery, picks her touchstones

culture

Culture That Made Me: Mary McCarthy, director of Crawford Art Gallery, picks her touchstones

Clodagh Finn: The forgotten Cork woman imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps

Clodagh Finn: The forgotten Cork woman imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps

New archival discoveries reveal the story of a Cork woman held in Ravensbrück, and why remembering her matters today

Sat, 24 Jan, 2026

Michael Moynihan: Council responses show they can't see the wood for the trees

S Michael Moynihan: Council responses show they can't see the wood for the trees

Residents of Knockfree Ave in Cork are angered by council plans to cut down mature trees in their area

Thu, 22 Jan, 2026

'We have been cut off': UCC student fears for family amid Iran crackdown

'We have been cut off': UCC student fears for family amid Iran crackdown

UCC medical student Shadi Mahjoum describes fear, helplessness and heartbreak as Iran’s internet shutdown silences families

Tue, 20 Jan, 2026

Michael Moynihan: Is there a coded message in the weather forecast's choice of random suburbs?

S Michael Moynihan: Is there a coded message in the weather forecast's choice of random suburbs?

Or is there some even more subtle message being conveyed by the sequence of Cork suburbs being used? Why Mahon and then Douglas? Why Knocknaheeny and then Frankfield? Is this some kind of sublime trolling from Dublin, an attempt to sow discord in the southern capital?

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

Dump Truck at Copper Mine

When councils won’t act, communities turn to nature to get justice

Environmental law has become the last line of defence against unauthorised quarrying, writes Eugene Farrell

Wed, 14 Jan, 2026

The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: A Cork publican’s story of addiction and recovery

The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: A Cork publican’s story of addiction and recovery

He’s the face behind some of Cork’s most popular bars, but for many years, Michael Droney lived a half-life of alcohol and drug addiction

Listen | Tue, 13 Jan, 2026

Michael Moynihan: Why has the Crawford Art Gallery project ballooned from €30m to €93m?

S Michael Moynihan: Why has the Crawford Art Gallery project ballooned from €30m to €93m?

The Crawford’s redevelopment matters, but a year-long delay and tripled costs expose a deeper problem in public project planning

Thu, 08 Jan, 2026

A general view of Pairc Ui Chaoimh ahead of the game 12/5/2019

S From bad coffee to missing buses, 50 Cork things we need to fix — lovingly, loudly and now

From buses and bathrooms to scones and signage, a Corkman’s hopeful, grumpy and affectionate wishlist for the city

Thu, 01 Jan, 2026

Letters to the Editor: BusConnects won’t fix services in Glanmire

Letters to the Editor: BusConnects won’t fix services in Glanmire

'No amount of fancy bus stops and unnecessary pull-in zones is going to fix the failed services that currently exist all around the county'

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Enough complaining — here are 40 things to love about Cork

Michael Moynihan: Enough complaining — here are 40 things to love about Cork

If the 'New York Magazine' can publish its list of Things To Love About New York, then so can we

Thu, 18 Dec, 2025

Michael Moynihan: I was wrong — but Cork City Council still hasn’t explained the missing green space

S Michael Moynihan: I was wrong — but Cork City Council still hasn’t explained the missing green space

Michael Moynihan argues that Cork City Council’s explanation for removing a tree in Blackpool sidesteps the real issue — the unexplained loss of the surrounding green space

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Letters to the Editor: Car is king in Charleville road plans

Letters to the Editor: Car is king in Charleville road plans

'Relief roads feel somewhat 'pie in the sky' when the long-discussed N20 upgrade has remained unrealised for more than 30 years'

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visit to Ireland

Letters to the Editor: War and militarisation leave us on brink of catastrophe

The Government 'is abandoning Irish neutrality and the rule of international laws, including the UN Charter, and joining the coalitions of the willing and the killing'

Fri, 05 Dec, 2025

Motion to rename ‘Herzog Park’ to ‘Hind Rajab Park’, in Dublin

Jennifer Horgan: Herzog Park renaming debacle shows how difficult it is to think with nuance

Irish people used to be known for their ability to think in 'grey areas' and not reduce everything to a binary argument. Jennifer Horgan asks if we have now lost it

Fri, 05 Dec, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Cork still waiting for task force while our green spaces disappear

Michael Moynihan: Cork still waiting for task force while our green spaces disappear

Any reticence among our public representatives about a task force made up by the local authority is entirely justified, writes Michael Moynihan

Thu, 04 Dec, 2025

DENIS SCANNELL

‘Misguided and foolish’ Knitting Map has stood the test of time

An artwork and community project 'The Knitting Map' made a space for older working-class Irish women to make meaning, writes Jools Gilson, Professor of Creative Practice at UCC

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025

Letters to the Editor: Uisce Éireann is failing the people of Adrigole on the Beara peninsula

Letters to the Editor: Uisce Éireann is failing the people of Adrigole on the Beara peninsula

A school, homes, and businesses such as B&Bs have been affected by water interruptions in the village

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

Clodagh Finn: Women on Walls — the art of challenging the status quo

Clodagh Finn: Women on Walls — the art of challenging the status quo

An event happened on Thursday at UCC that gives us real cause for celebration, writes Clodagh Finn

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

Pensive middle-aged woman look in distance thinking

Irish Examiner view: Coercive control is as old as time — its perpetrators must be called out

Recent court cases in Cork and Wexford recount horrifying tales of coercive control. As an MEP, herself a survivor, says, such abuses 'must be treated with the seriousness they deserve'

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

Group of teenage friends sitting on bench using their mobile phones

S Michael Moynihan: Park benches can be a much hotter topic than you'd expect

From Paris to Cork, the debate over benches reveals deeper tensions about design, policing, community needs and who public spaces serve

Thu, 27 Nov, 2025

Irish Examiner view: UCC ditching CUBS centre highlights crises in third-level education

Irish Examiner view: UCC ditching CUBS centre highlights crises in third-level education

While the scrapping of the planned business school development is significant enough in itself, Mick Clifford's report also raises some key underlying issues about education funding

Mon, 24 Nov, 2025

Exam cheating rises

Letters to the Editor: We should heed AI warning in British school curriculum report

'Hildegarde Naughton, the new minister for education, would be well advised to study carefully the recently published Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report for England'

Mon, 24 Nov, 2025

CUBS project scrapped: UCC pulls plug on €17m Cork city centre business school plan

CUBS project scrapped: UCC pulls plug on €17m Cork city centre business school plan

UCC has quietly stepped back from its flagship Cork University Business School project, despite millions already spent and years of preparation

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025

UCC abandons business school: How millions in public money were spent with little to show

S UCC abandons business school: How millions in public money were spent with little to show

UCC’s halted business school plan exposes financial vulnerabilities, over-reliance on foreign student income and renewed concerns over public spending

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025

Letters to the Editor: Cork City Council should be ashamed of the Bishop Lucey Park travesty

Letters to the Editor: Cork City Council should be ashamed of the Bishop Lucey Park travesty

'In what state of mind did the Cork City councillors decide it was a good idea to pave over and gravel the only remaining green space in the city centre?'

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Cork asked for a park — and got a pathway of concrete instead

S Michael Moynihan: Cork asked for a park — and got a pathway of concrete instead

Cork’s revamped Bishop Lucey Park has drawn criticism for its concrete-heavy design, lack of greenery and failure to meet climate ambitions

Thu, 20 Nov, 2025

Ringaskiddy incinerator is the wrong project, in the wrong place, for the wrong future

Ringaskiddy incinerator is the wrong project, in the wrong place, for the wrong future

I would encourage anyone interested in the rejection of the plan for an incinerator in Cork Harbour to make a submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála before the deadline of Monday, November 17, writes Labour Party senator from Cork, Laura Harmon

Fri, 14 Nov, 2025

Woman's hand holding keys

Irish Examiner view: Housing plan has to sidestep old pitfalls — for everyone's sake

The major new housing plan to be announced today is the fourth in 12 years. We hope it fares better than previous initiatives

Thu, 13 Nov, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Anything’ll do for Cork? Bishop Lucey Park reopens — but not completed

S Michael Moynihan: Anything’ll do for Cork? Bishop Lucey Park reopens — but not completed

Bishop Lucey Park reopens after a €7m, year-long revamp — but with works unfinished and questions over Cork’s ‘it’ll do’ attitude

Thu, 13 Nov, 2025

Mary Martin on boarding school life in Blackrock — and sneaking out to the cinema

Mary Martin on boarding school life in Blackrock — and sneaking out to the cinema

Mary, whose husband is Taoiseach Micheál Martin, boarded at Ursuline College in Cork 50 years ago. She headed back to her 'home away from home' as the school celebrates 200 years

Tue, 11 Nov, 2025

Primary school girls are taught during a lesson by a male teacher

Irish Examiner view: 'Voluntary' school payment practice must stop

The Department of Education told this newspaper the Education (Admissions to schools) Act 2018 'explicitly prohibits' the charging of admission and enrolment fees for admission to, or for continued enrolment in, a school

Fri, 07 Nov, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Cork needs to be a city which facilitates both the elderly and very young

S Michael Moynihan: Cork needs to be a city which facilitates both the elderly and very young

There are people for whom large pools of water on road surfaces and footpaths present significant physical challenges

Thu, 06 Nov, 2025

Irish Examiner view: Security at Ipas centres needs review

Irish Examiner view: Security at Ipas centres needs review

To terrorise innocent people in this way is almost beyond comprehension and there is little by way of consolation in the fact that the forces of law will inevitably catch up with the person responsible

Tue, 04 Nov, 2025

Sudan

Irish Examiner view: Ireland cannot look away from Sudan

To look away is a luxury. To care is a duty. To act is the minimum requirement of a civilised nation

Mon, 03 Nov, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Louvre heist to Rebel raid — would it fly on the streets of Cork?

S Michael Moynihan: Louvre heist to Rebel raid — would it fly on the streets of Cork?

Watch out Cork City Library! Mr Mayfield, Mr Near But Not Quite Douglas, Mr Northern Carrigaline and the gang are coming for Rory Gallagher

Thu, 30 Oct, 2025

Michael Moynihan: I'm a little bit worried about the new public toilets opening up in Cork

S Michael Moynihan: I'm a little bit worried about the new public toilets opening up in Cork

It’s truly unfortunate there are nowhere near the same number of public toilets in the centre of the city that there were sixty-five years ago

Thu, 16 Oct, 2025

Irish Examiner view: Garda appointment is a welcome step to tackling rural crime

Irish Examiner view: Garda appointment is a welcome step to tackling rural crime

The appointment of Fermoy-based Superintendent Michael Corbett as An Garda Síochána's rural crime lead will help reassure communities that feel vulnerable

Thu, 16 Oct, 2025

Behind the headlines: How Cork is fighting to restore confidence in the city centre

Behind the headlines: How Cork is fighting to restore confidence in the city centre

Business leaders, gardaí, and city officials met to address safety concerns in Cork, as new measures aim to restore public confidence

Mon, 13 Oct, 2025

Irish Examiner view: Cork takes steps to make the city feel safer

Irish Examiner view: Cork takes steps to make the city feel safer

Cork Business Association meeting focused on reducing crime hears about new measures including city wardens

Mon, 13 Oct, 2025

Imasha Costa: 'I am not the reason your system is failing'

Imasha Costa: 'I am not the reason your system is failing'

Ahead of Saturday's anti-migrant protest in Cork City, 'Irish Examiner' journalist Imasha Costa describes life for immigrants in a changed Ireland

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Seeing Cillian Murphy on the 208 bus would surely improve its image

S Michael Moynihan: Seeing Cillian Murphy on the 208 bus would surely improve its image

What better way encourage people to come back to using the bus than our most famous artists hopping on

Thu, 09 Oct, 2025

Budget 2026: Childcare cost ‘is basically a second mortgage’

Budget 2026: Childcare cost ‘is basically a second mortgage’

Two mothers trying to balance their household budgets highlight two big challenges — the cost-of-living crisis and eye-watering childcare costs

Wed, 08 Oct, 2025

Fianna Fail president

Irish Examiner view: Jim Gavin crisis overshadows Budget 2026

Fianna Fáil TDs, including some in Taoiseach Micheál Martin's Cork base, criticise party's presidential election fiasco

Wed, 08 Oct, 2025

'Only for one person I think I’d be in prison': Cork filmmaker shining a light on 'broken' foster care system

'Only for one person I think I’d be in prison': Cork filmmaker shining a light on 'broken' foster care system

Seán Downey, aka Swan, is passionate about creating awareness about Ireland's foster care system and is calling for a 'complete overhaul' of the system and the outdated Childcare Act

Sun, 05 Oct, 2025

Michael Moynihan: Are Cork people the victims of an enormous prank designed to baffle the city?

S Michael Moynihan: Are Cork people the victims of an enormous prank designed to baffle the city?

Talks have been held about boosting visitor numbers to Cork. Just don't expect anything to materialise quickly

Thu, 02 Oct, 2025

Cork fish kill: No culprit for the worst environmental disaster in Ireland this century

Cork fish kill: No culprit for the worst environmental disaster in Ireland this century

A multi-agency investigation failed to find the source of, or even identify, the toxins that killed nearly 40,000 fish in the Blackwater River recently

Tue, 30 Sep, 2025

Irish Examiner view: We need monitoring tech in the wake of Blackwater fish kill disaster

Irish Examiner view: We need monitoring tech in the wake of Blackwater fish kill disaster

EPA and Inland Fisheries Ireland should heed Cork County Council's proposal on water quality monitoring

Mon, 29 Sep, 2025

Irish Examiner view: HSE-CHI merger debacle reminds us to watch out for last-minute emails

Irish Examiner view: HSE-CHI merger debacle reminds us to watch out for last-minute emails

Reading the runes in the timing of official statements and the words deployed therein has become a modern art form

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025

Patrick Horgan 7/6/2025

S Michael Moynihan: Patrick Horgan’s pitch presence was a privilege for people of Cork

Patrick Horgan’s retirement closes a glittering chapter in Cork hurling, leaving fans reflecting on brilliance, pride, and unforgettable nights

Thu, 25 Sep, 2025

A Unifil flag fluttering over Southern Lebanon

Irish Examiner view: United Nations a long way from what is required

Today, the UN looks far from the organisation once described by the second secretary general, Norwegian Trygve Lie, as having been created 'not to bring us to heaven, but to save us from hell'

Tue, 23 Sep, 2025

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