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.

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Fergus Finlay
Fergus Finlay: Meeting inspiring Cork people keeps bizarre world events at bay
Clodagh Finn
Clodagh Finn: The forgotten Cork woman imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps
Michael Moynihan
SMichael Moynihan: Council responses show they can't see the wood for the trees
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

 Listen |
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

General Election Ireland 2020
Irish Examiner view: Dáil Éireann should not be a forum for autism misinformation
As the 'Irish Examiner' reports the testimony of parents struggling to get an education for their children with special needs, a TD stands up in the Dáil to utter unsubstantiated 'rubbish' about autism

Mon, 22 Sep, 2025

Popcorn with the headphone, a headphone plugged into the popcorn box, concept of entertainment
Letters to the Editor: Cinemas should have audio description for visually-impaired people
A reader says his query about audio description was dismissed by a Cork cinema staff member as 'a very bougie request'

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025

Nursing Home stock
Irish Examiner view: With no plan, catastrophe looms large for elderly
That the ESRI highlighted a potential future calamity in terms of our ability to effectively manage and care for our increasingly ageing population, should set alarm bells ringing

Fri, 19 Sep, 2025

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