Cork City is my home. I’ve lived here for 8 years now, and I’ve developed a love for the place, rain and all. It’s a beautiful city – yes, it has it’s faults too, but for it’s small size, it’s filled with lots of history and beautiful buildings. A few times a year, it gets to show off all the wonderful cultural things this little city holds dear. On 19th August, the 12th annual Cork Heritage Open Day, is one such day of showing off. If you’re looking for something fun to do with the family this weekend, you’re sure to find something you’ll love here.
Many of the buildings taking part in this year’s Cork Heritage Open Day are not usually accessible to the general public, including The Masonic Hall on Tuckey Street and Heineken Ireland (Murphy’s Brewery) on Leitrim Street. New heritage gems on the 2017 programme include the recently renovated Nano Nagle Place on Douglas Street and University College Cork’s Crawford Observatory.
There will also be an exciting programme of free guided tours, including a walking tour by Marcus Connaughton of the favourite Cork haunts of legendary musician Rory Gallagher. A ‘Looking Up’ Heritage competition will take place throughout the day, encouraging people to glance upwards to the unique architectural elements atop of Cork’s historical buildings. This is something I particularly love about Cork – everywhere you look, if you look up there is stunning architecture and something interesting to see. Even a quick scan of the upper levels of Patrick Street will show you just how much you miss on a day to day basis.
As well as individual buildings being opened up for the day, the people behind Cork Heritage Open Day have drafted up maps of walks for every interest. These maps have places of interest opened up for the day marked, which is set to be really handy on the day. There are also instructions regarding opening hours and accessibility there too. Find the suggested routes here.
Included in the list of fun events on the day, people are also invited to sample soup made for Quaker Soup Kitchens during the Famine; hear a talk on the history of the City Bridges with Antoin O’Callaghan; and find out more about the Navvies, the men who built the railways in Cork, in a talk by Patrick Walsh. There will be family friendly activities such as the much-loved Coal Quay Festival on Cornmarket Street and a fun-filled Medieval Day at Elizabeth Fort. These are all free, however most require ticketing which you can get through the website.
Cork Heritage Open Day is organised by Cork City Council as part of Heritage Week in partnership with the Heritage Council and is proudly supported by media sponsors Evening Echo and Cork’s 96FM. Cork Heritage Open Day will mark the start of Cork events for National Heritage Week, running from 19-27 August. For a full list of events see www.corkheritageopenday.ie or pick up a brochure at Cork City Library or Cork City Tourist Information Office on Grand Parade.
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For more things to do with the family in Cork, check out my other suggestions here.
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