CORK is poised to open a new chapter on its heritage, past and present, this weekend. Nano Nagle Place, the unexpected oasis near the city centre, will unveil a combined bookshop, print gallery and map room.

SHANE Clarke is CEO of Nano Nagle Place, site of the former Presentation Convent in Cork city, founded by Nano Nagle in the 1750s. It has been renovated as a heritage, community and education project, and has two retail spaces, one which sells books, crafts and design and the other which sells books of historical interest. It was recently announced as one of the Retail Excellence Ireland Top 100 stores.

The music, the stress, the long hours, and, of course, the memories — Pat Conway recalls his time working at the Lobby and how he misses it, writes Ellie O’Byrne.

William Wall in conversation with Alannah Hopkin; 6.30pm, today, Nano Nagle Place (€5)

Organised annually by the Munster Literature Centre, the 17th Cork International Short Story Festival — the only one of its kind in the country and now the oldest in the world — has been taking place in Leeside all week, giving readers and writers a rare chance to revel in the pleasures of short form fiction.