CALLED after a contemplative order of nuns living across College Road is Cork’s St Clare’s Avenue, marking the quiet presence of the Poor Clares Monastery.

CHARLEMONT HEIGHTS is well-named, as the hillside houses have a lofty demeanour and a view over the Douglas estuary and the lights of Mahon Point.

WHAT with broadband technologies and satellite phones, it is easy to overlook the excitement — and importance — of the first transatlantic cable links.