Michael Moynihan: New year and new beginnings as the bells of Shandon ring in 2023

From the birthday of Sylvester Mahony to a disco contretemps centuries later, there's no end to the antics in Cork on Dec 31

Shandon and the North Cathedral, as they are informally known, prominent on Cork's skyline after a flurry of snow in 2010. The two churches have towered over the city for centuries. Picture: Larry Cummins

New Year’s Eve soon, eh? Another one down. I'm not sure what your own plans are for the night — whether you have a long evening of festivities in store, for instance.

(I can recall a December 31 many years ago when I stepped — heavily — on a woman’s foot in a late-night hostelry; when she reacted angrily her male companion said, ‘It’s New Year’s Eve in a disco, what did you expect?’ Which rather defused the situation all round.)