HOUSES in Cork’s Sidney Park are embedded in the city’s veins of sandstone, rising in serried ranks from the side of St Patrick’s Hill up towards the grounds of the former St Patrick’s Hospital. And top of the pile is Knockmahon.

Katie Taylor will make her first appearance in Cork tomorrow night in her penultimate bout in Ireland before she jets off for the 2012 World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, where she’ll be hoping to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.