We’re right up there with the best of them
F SCOTT Fitzgerald was right when he famously observed: “The rich are different to you and I.” Standing on the penthouse balcony of The Elysian, on a dazzlingly bright January morning, the title of the 1986 rock anthem, ‘The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades’, also seemed appropriate. While The Elysian does not have the same architectural impact as London’s Shard, which opens tomorrow, the stunning vistas of Cork City, from this 17-storey tower, have no peers. There are eye-popping views, to all points of the compass from the balconies — across the River Lee, the docklands, the western suburbs, the lower harbour and thousands of houses dotted into the distance, like Lego.
The landscape made me recall many an episode of my life in 20 years in the city — Munster finals at Pairc Uí Caoimh, Midsummer Festivals in Fitzgerald Park, lazy summer evenings in UCC, and many a well-oiled night of great conversation in bars around Pana and the Coalquay. Named after the mythological Elysian Fields and their heavenly sanctuary, this iconic Cork landmark is Ireland’s tallest building, with 211 apartments, complete with high-speed lifts from the car park in the basement.
