A soup kitchen that provides up to 2,000 dinners a week to the homeless in Cork has issued an urgent appeal for specific small tinned items that can be given out to the needy during the outbreak of Covid 19.

Members of the public who donate to homeless charities this Christmas are asked to refrain from handing in soiled duvets and underwear or blankets which have previously been used by dogs and are covered in hair.

A homeless chef who was killed on the streets of Cork said in a moving radio interview last winter that he felt unsafe on the streets and had been hospitalised three times following assaults on his person.

A homeless man in his fifties who was savagely beaten to death was a talented chef who had bravely battled alcohol addiction without losing his sense of humour or his spirit.

Earlier this month, a husband and wife and their children walked from their emergency accommodation in Little Island on the outskirts of the city to the soup kitchen on Little Hanover Street.

A homeless Cork couple walked more than 10km pushing their toddler in a toy buggy to get a hot meal.

A very special multi-course dinner in aid of two Cork charities will see four Cork Michelin-starred chefs come together, writes Joe McNamee.

There’ll be no fear of too many cooks spoiling the broth when four Michelin star winning chefs join forces later this month to raise money for two Cork homeless charities.

The Irish food industry needs to be prepared for Brexit, an awards ceremony honouring the best produce on offer north and south of the border has heard.

The Queen of Crime, the champion of Other Voices, and the driving force behind Cork’s Penny Dinners were just some of the leading lights honoured by UCC yesterday.

A volunteer who is the powerhouse behind Cork’s Penny Dinners first developed the helping gene when she realised that when her father went “missing” on Christmas morning he was actually out feeding the city’s elderly.

Alan Foley is the artistic director of Cork City Ballet, and also runs the Alan Foley Academy of Dance. He is directing the forthcoming production of Giselle at Cork Opera House, from November 10-12.

Three champions of Cork City’s poor and homeless were among those honoured with civic awards last night.

The key figure in a charity which is feeding almost 2,000 people a week has issued an impassioned plea to government to divert some of the €22m 1916 commemoration funding to help the hungry and homeless.

Cork Penny Dinners plans to make dreams come true for boys and girls whose parents cannot afford to buy them a dress or a suit for their Communion.