Inhabitants of the People’s Republic have a great many reasons to be smug these days. Not only has their beloved city become an international favourite among the travel nerds at Lonely Planet, but it’s fast becoming the most desirable holiday spot in the country, with attractions like the English Market and the bustling Jewish quarter charming the pants off of trendy adventurers from all corners of the globe.

Cork is also home to one of the most easily-imitatable accents in the world, but that one’s not such a big hit with the locals (sorry, lads!) What’s really got our hearts all aflutter of late is the sheer volume of exceptional music pumping out of the Rebel County, helped along by what must be a record number of outdoor music festivals and fueled by the choon-thirsty Corkonian spirit. With new acts springing up every other week and enough venues, clubs and creatives (music video factory Feel Good Lost Films in particular springs to mind) to keep them very busy indeed, there’s never been a more tempting time to hop on the train and head South.
In terms of gigs, the Summer of 2012 looks to be Cork’s busiest yet, with Live At The Marquee boasting its usual stellar line-up, plus footie fun to boot; T With The Maggies, Julie Felix, Mundy and Gemma Hayes among the Cork Folk Festival star turns and boutique newcomer The Island Jam welcoming the likes of Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Eric Bell, Royseven and The Republic Of Loose. And that’s just the music. Cork city is home to some of the quaintest pubs, quirkiest stores and most drool-worthy restaurants on the entire island, so if you do find yourself heading towards the Lee for a show, there’s lots to get up to!
We’ve put together a list of some of our favourite spots, but we figured the only way to really do the place justice was to also draft in a native for a guide to the sights and sounds of the city – Toby Kaar’s fascinating virtual tour appears overpage. Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find our dummy-proof 12-Step guide to Cork, an interview with RedFM DJ Victor Barry, Bill O’Herlihy in the Mad Hatter’s Box and a run-down of some of the most exciting new acts emerging from the city’s lively music scene.
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FESTIVALS

Ocean To City Festival
Cork Harbour, June 1 to 10
oceantocity.com

2012 marks the eighth year for Ocean To City, the buzzing, 10-day maritime extravaganza that’s fast becoming the highlight of the county’s Summer calendar. Ireland’s largest rowing race and maritime festival kicks off on June 1, inviting members of the public to traverse the city by kayak, and get on-board a sea safari trip around Cork Harbour. The festival also includes lots of free family-friendly entertainment, including live music, boatbuilding demonstrations, boat harbour trips, free events at CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork Harbour Summer School, an Irish food and craft market and much more. The festival’s crowning glory is An Rás Mór, a 15-nautical mile dash from Crosshaven through Cork Harbour, via Cobh, Monkstown, Passage and Blackrock to the finish line at Lapps Quay in Cork’s city centre. An expected 400 Irish and International rowers will compete in a diverse range of vessels including currachs, Irish coastal rowing boats, Bantry Bay longboats, kayaks, Cornish pilot gigs and Chinese Dragonboats.

Live At The Marquee
Monaghan Road. June 7 - July 7

Now in its eighth year, Cork’s Live At The Marquee has seen a star-studded array of international and Irish acts play to almost half a million music fans. In 2012, the Marquee hosts performances from Justice (June 7), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (8), Imelda May (9), The Specials (11), The Coronas (15), Christy Moore and Declan Sinnott (23), Jedward (24, 30), Dara O Briain (28, 29), Jessie J (July 1, 3), Olly Murs (4, 5) and Steps (6). There are also some treats in store for footie fans with Ireland’s Euro 2012 games against Croatia (June 10); Spain (14); and Italy (18) being shown live on the big screen, with stilt walkers, clowns, acrobats, face painters, balloon modelers, gourmet food and live music adding to the party atmosphere. www.ticketmaster.ie.

The Island Jam
Cuskinny Court. June 30 - July 1
theislandjam.com

Cork’s brand spanking new boutique music festival pops its cherry this month with performances from Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Royseven, Republic of Loose, The Walls, Crow Black Chicken, Preston Reed, Bipolar Empire, The Empire Lights and Eric Bell. Set in the pretty seaside town of Cobh, The Island Jam celebrates the best of Irish rock, with a few international names thrown in for good measure. Organisers have hinted that more acts have yet to be added to the bill, so keep an eye on theislandjam.com to find out who!

Liss Ard Festival
Liss Ard House, Skibbereen. August 4 - 5
lissardfestival.com

Chic’s high-energy disco celebration at Electric Picnic 2009 is lovingly remembered as one of the most thrilling performances in Irish festival history, so Corkonians are in for a real treat when the legendary New Yorkers return to Ireland for August’s Liss Ard Festival. Reprising the site of the famous Liss Ard festival from the late 1990s, which featured shows from Lou Reed, Pulp, Nick Cave, Will Oldham and John Cale, Liss Ard 2012 welcomes Toots and The Maytals, Lisa Hannigan, Bob Mould, Interference, Tieranniesaur, Rhob Cunningham, Paul Buchanan, Roy Harper and The Macrae Sisters, as well as Cork’s own Mick Flannery and the West Cork Ukulele Orchestra. Fear not – it’s going to be a phenomenal weekend...

Indiependence
Mitchelstown. August 3 - 5
indiependencefestival.com

As the name suggests, Indiependence was founded to give a leg-up to the brightest and best independent talents working the circuit. This year’s impressive line-up comprises (deep breath!) 2manydjs, British Sea Power, Feeder, Maverick Sabre, Beardyman, Scroobius Pip, Delorentos, The Japanese Popstars, Bressie, Jape, The Minutes, The Frank & Walters, Royseven, Ham Sandwich, We Cut Corners, Torann Drums, This Club, Bitches With Wolves, The Kanyu Tree, LTJ Bukem & MC Conrad, Toby Kaar, Le Galaxie, Squarehead, Fighting With Wire, Dead School, Slow Motion Heroes, Reid, Elaine Mai, King Kong Company, Daithi, Neon Wolf, The Dead Heavies, Spies, Rooftop Anthem, Gavin James, Hello Moon, The Raglans, Cars Love Girls, Girl Band, Shadowplay, Brains, Wizards Of Firetop Mountain, Axis Of and A Plastic Rose. Concerned they’re not all going to fit? Worry not. Indiependence has a very comfortable home in the 52-acre setting of Deer Farm.

Beamish Cork Folk Festival
Various venues. October 4 - 7
corkfolkfestival.com

A firm favourite with local and travelling musicians, the 33rd Cork Folk Festival runs from October 4 to 7, celebrating the best of trad, roots, blues and more. Inspired by Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, this year’s bill includes KAN, Guidewires, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, Declan O’Rourke, London Lasses And Pete Quinn, The Kilfenora Ceili Band, Serge Desaunay and Kieran Fahy and the sensational Session Americana. Performances take place in concert halls, music venues, and 30 pubs around the city alongside instrument-specific concerts in fiddle, flute, pipes, accordion and more. Elsewhere, traditional band and song competitions invite patrons to show their skills, while the world-renowned Ceili Mór acts as the festival’s closing ceremony on the Grand Parade.

LIVE MUSIC

Cork Opera House
Emmet Place. Tel. 021 427 0022
corkoperahouse.ie

Thd Cork Opera House has had a theatre on its premises since 1855. These days, the 1,000-seat venue serves the city and surrounding region as a municipal theatre, offering audiences a world class programme of events across all disciplines in the performing arts. Musical guests over the years have included some seriously big names, including Morrissey, Ryan Adams and U2, while 2012 welcomes performances from acts of all ages and genres, with The Dubliners, Katie Kim and Hidden Highways all due to tread the boards. Currently sitting pretty on the Opera House programme is a very tasty-looking show by Danish indie rockers Efterklang on September 15. To celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the ABSOLUT Fringe Festival, the group will perform with the Major Lift Orchestra for what looks to be an unforgettable night of orchestral rock.

Crane Lane Theatre
Phoenix St. Tel. 021 427 8487
cranelanetheatre.ie

Crane Lane houses everything from jazz to blues to burlesque. The Phoenix St. haunt has hosted many an international luminary, with some of the South’s best bands treading the boards there. And we ain’t talking just the South of Ireland! Crane Lane has hosted some of the finest bluegrass, western swing, blues and rock & roll bands the US has to offer. The venue also regularly welcomes new and emerging acts through its doors: June’s bill includes shows by Window Seats (4), C. O’Neill & Co. (6), Neon Wolf (13), Senakah (16), Yngve And The Innocent (26) and The Bambir (27). With three bars, including the newly-opened Arthur Maynes Wine Bar, and one of the city’s best-loved beer gardens, Crane Lane is a must for any thirsty music-lover.

The Oliver Plunkett
Oliver Plunkett St. Tel. 021 422 2779
theoliverplunkett.com

Specialising in blues, jazz, rock and soul, this lively bar brings live music to Cork city seven nights a week. Every Monday, The Oliver Plunkett invites the talented, the open minded and the brave to Play for Their Pint at one of the county’s best Open Mic nights, while on Saturdays, the Lee Sessions celebrate all things trad. Meanwhile, there’s a jam-packed line-up for June and July, including performances from Aslan (June 8), Andy Dunne (July 5), Mark Geary (12) and Hermitage
Green (28).

ARTS AND CULTURE

Crowley’s Music Centre
MacCurtain St. Tel. 021 4503795
facebook.com/CrowleysMusic

Boasting a history as rich as that of the city itself (well almost!), Crowley’s Music Centre was founded in 1926 by Tadhg Crowley, a composer, player and maker of uilleann pipes and marching drums, which were shipped all over the world until his death in 1955 – and which are still sought-after by collectors today. His son Michael Crowley took over the running of the shop at the age of 14, and over the years has served countless big names in music including Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Nancy Griffith, Buster B. Jones, U2 and longtime customer Rory Gallagher, who spent many an evening as a schoolboy strumming the store’s guitars. Mick, who sadly passed away in 2012, believed in securing the right instrument for the right person, often allowing the musician to put off payment until they had been paid for their first gig. This year, things are coming full circle for Crowley’s, who are once again building their own instruments, which will be shown in-store during an exhibition for
Cork Craft Month in August. A great Cork institution.

Cork Vision Centre
North Main St. Tel. 021 427 9925
corkvisioncentre.com

Nestled in the city’s historic centre in a beautifully restored de-consecrated church, the Cork Vision Centre at St. Peter’s is one of Ireland’s top exhibition venues. This Summer’s programme includes Ground Zero 360°, a photographic retrospective by Nicola McClean. Through harrowing visuals, chilling audio clips and a unique panoramic installation, the exhibition, which runs from June 2 to July 24, evokes what New Yorkers were feeling the days that followed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. In August, the winning entries from the ever popular annual Texaco Children’s Art exhibition will be hosted at
the Centre.

ACCOMMODATION

Clarion Hotel
Lapp’s Quay. Tel. 021 422 4900
clarionhotelcorkcity.com

The award-winning Clarion Hotel is conveniently located on Lapp’s Quay overlooking Cork’s famous River Lee and facing the inspired architecture of City Hall. Just a five-minute stroll from the city’s main shopping streets, the four-star hotel is home to 198 rooms, two bars, the acclaimed Kudos restaurant overlooking the boardwalk and the fully-equipped Essence spa. A fusion of old and new architecture, the hotel has accommodated many a famous face over the years, with stars from the Live At The Marquee extravaganza checking in for a bit of post-show shut-eye.

UCC Campus
Victoria Cross. Tel. 021 481 8451
ucccampusaccommodation.com

Those on a slightly tighter budget might want to look into UCC Campus Accommodation, which is available from June 10 to August 26, while the university is on Summer vacation. A longtime favourite of festival-goers, UCC is located just ten minutes’ walk from the heart of the city. Singles, doubles, twin rooms and full apartments are all available, while catering options include B&B and Full-Board provided by Kylemore Catering.

RESTAURANTS

Café Paradiso
16 Lancaster Quay. Tel. 021 4277939.
cafeparadiso.ie

Celebrity chef Denis Cotter presides over this legendary, and brilliant, vegetarian restaurant, which never disappoints with specialties like Risotto of Roast Beetroot, Rocket & Mint that will delight even the most demanding of palettes. He’s also written two cookbooks so you can recreate Café Paradiso’s signature dishes at home. Early bird: €24.

Greene’s
48 McCurtain Street. Tel. 021 4552279.
greenesrestaurant.com

Not content with being the only restaurant in Cork with its own outdoor waterfall, Greene’s wows the foodie brigade with dishes like King Scallops on Confit of Pork Belly that use the freshest of local ingredients. Early bird: €21.50.

Ivory Tower
The Exchange Buildings, 35 Princes St. Tel. 021 4274655.
ivorytower.ie.

Another real destination restaurant, The Ivory Tower is presided over by Seamus O’Connell whose Japanese and Modern Irish Tasting Menus are an absolute joy. The latter includes Nettle & Wild Garlic Soup, Rabbit in Beamish & Prune Jelly and Ox Tongue & Cheek in Smithwicks with Pearl Barley.

SPORT

Turner’s Cross
Curragh Road. Tel 021 420 2190
corkcityfc.net

The match day atmosphere is electric at Turner’s Cross, home to Cork City FC and their insanely loyal Rebel Army fans. Up coming home games include Derry City (June 22); Bohemians (July 6); Shelbourne (July 27); and St. Patrick’s Athletic (August 10). After a somewhat nervy start, Tommy Dunne’s men have registered good league wins against Monaghan, Shels, Dundalk and UCD and showed there are plenty of goals in the side with a 6-1 Cup demolition of Athlone Town.