Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [197]
Across St Patrick’s Bridge is an equally bustling area, focused around MacCurtain St, with its own spread of pubs, restaurants and shops. East of MacCurtain St, you’ll find Kent Train Station and budget B&Bs. West of Bridge St is Shandon, which has a village atmosphere, especially in the narrow lanes around its hilltop churches.
From midway down Grand Pde, Washington St leads southwest to the university.
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INFORMATION
Bookshops
Connolly’s Bookshop ( 021-427 5366; Rory Gallagher Pl, Paul St) Great chat and masses of second-hand books.
Eason’s ( 021-427 0477; 113 St Patrick’s St; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) Lots of magazines; good stationery on the 2nd floor.
Liam Ruiséal Teo ( 021-427 0981; 49-50 Oliver Plunkett St) New and second-hand books, including plenty on Cork.
Vibes & Scribes ( 021-450 5370; 3 Bridge St; 10am-6.30pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-6.30pm Sun) Four floors of books, CDs and DVDs. Also on Lavitt’s Quay.
Waterstone’s ( 021-427 6522; 69 St Patrick’s St; 9am-7pm Mon-Thu & Sat, 9am-8pm Fri, noon-6pm Sun) Has the best travel section in the southwest.
Emergency
Mercy University Hospital ( 021-427 1971; www.muh.ie; Grenville Pl)
Internet Access
Netspresso (16 Bridge St; per hr €1; 10am-10pm) Full service.
Webworkhouse.com ( 021-427 3090; www.webworkhouse.com; 8A Winthrop St; per hr €1.50-3; 24hr) Also offers low-cost international phone calls.
Wired to the World ( 021-453 0383; www.wiredtotheworld.ie; 28 North Main St; per hr €1; 9am-midnight Mon-Sat, 10am-midnight Sun)
Left Luggage
There’s no left-luggage facility at the train station.
Cork Bus Station ( 021-450 8188; cnr Merchant’s Quay & Parnell Pl; per item for 24hr €3.50; 7.45am-7pm)
Libraries
Cork City Library ( 021-492 4900; www.corkcitylibraries.ie; 57-61 Grand Pde; 10am-5.30pm Mon-Sat)
Money
The banks on St Patrick’s St have ATMs and currency exchange. There are bureaux de change in the tourist office and at the bus station.
Post
Main post office ( 021-485 1042; Oliver Plunkett St; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Sat)
Tourist Information
Cork City Tourist Office ( 021-425 5100; www.cometocork.com; Grand Pde; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm Sun Jul-Aug, 9.15am-5pm Mon-Fri & 9.30am-4.30pm Sat Sep-Jun) Souvenir shop and information desk with plenty of brochures and books about the city and county, as well as Ordnance Survey maps. Stena Line ferries (Click here) has a desk here.
People’s Republic of Cork (www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com) Picking up on the popular nickname for this liberal-leaning city, this indie website has excellent info.
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DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
Cork cherishes its reputation as being a less hard-skinned place than Dublin, but watch out for drunken scenes around central pubs and clubs late at night.
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SIGHTS
The best sight in Cork is the city itself as you wander its streets. Note that the once hugely popular former Beamish & Crawford Brewery was closed by owners Heineken in 2009. The fate of the beautiful half-timbered headhouse is uncertain.
Crawford Municipal Art Gallery
Cork’s public gallery ( 021-490 7855; www.crawfordartgallery.com; Emmet Pl; admission free; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) houses a small but excellent permanent collection, featuring works by Irish artists, such as Jack Yeats and Seán Keating. Look out for Keating’s Men of the South (1921), a fine piece of historical romanticism depicting members of the North Cork Battalion of the IRA.
The Sculpture Galleries contain snow-white plaster casts of Roman and Greek statues, given to King George IV by the pope in 1822. George didn’t like the present and stuck the sculptures in the cellar until someone suggested that Cork might appreciate them.
The downstairs exhibition hall hosts superior temporary displays.
St Finbarre’s Cathedral
Spiky spires, gurning gargoyles and rich sculpture make up the exterior of Cork’s Protestant cathedral ( 021-496 3387; www.cathedral.cork.anglican.org; Bishop