I don’t have much to say about St. Finbarr’s Bridge as it was completed in 1999 and it is not visually attractive.
Saint Finbar, Finbarr, Finnbar, or Finnbarr, in Irish Fionnbharra, very often abbreviated to Barra, (c. 550–25 September 623) was Bishop of Cork and abbot of a monastery in what is now the city of Cork, Ireland. He is patron saint of the city and of the Diocese of Cork. His feast day is 25 September.
There are five Irish saints named Finnbarr. One scholar has theorized that the Cork saint is identical with Finnian of Moville, a teacher of Colm Cille.
Scotland has place names that refer to Saint Finnbarr, perhaps due to devotion to him having been carried there by disciples. One such place is the Gaelic-speaking island of Barra, where there is a ruined church called Cille Bharra (Church of Finnbarr). Tradition identifies that Finnbarr with the Cork saint, but it has been argued that he was Scottish.
Because this street is always clogged with traffic it is difficult to photograph it but this time there was little or no traffic but the rain was very heavy.
Only weeks before my visit Cork’s famous Rock Bar, Fred Zeppelins, reopened its doors on Parliament Street after 102 weeks. Fred Zeppelins, originally Jack Dins, is on a site that has had a pub for over 100 years. There is a bar downstairs with a powerful sound-system. Upstairs is one of Cork’s smallest live music venues Heavy Metal and Hard Rock bands.
Next door there is/was Foottappers, a traditional shoe repairs shop, but it never was in good condition to say the least and I could not when I first saw it, back in May 2011, determine if it is an active business or not … I suspected that it might have been back then. According to Google Foot Tappers is Temporarily closed.
Parliament Bridge was built in 1806 and it is described a single-arch limestone bridge, 1806; with cut limestone balustrade, fine voussoirs and modillion cornice; reconstructed and repaired, 1992. Span is a recorded 65’6”, with an overall width of 44′, having an 8′ path to either side.
South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital is based on the Old Blackrock Road but due to a lack of time I did not explore the full length of the road, even though I visited both ends, but if all goes well I will visit again in the not too distant future. The lack of time was because I was trying to find the McCarthy Monument on Blackrock Road. I managed to walk by the monument without seeing it and I actually photographed a building beside it.
The South Infirmary was established by a catholic charity and officially opened in 1762. Meanwhile the Victoria Hospital for Women and Children, which had been established by a protestant charity and opened at Union Quay in September 1874, moved to Pope’s Quay October in October 1876 and then re-located to a site adjacent site to the South Infirmary in September 1885. The two hospitals officially merged as the South Infirmary-Victoria Hospital in 1988. After a name change to South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital in 2005, the hospital expanded with three new operating theatres being completed in 2012.
WINDMILL ROAD AND THE REPARATION CONVENT CONNECTING SOUTH SUMMERHILL TO HIGH STREET
This was my first time to photograph Windmill Road which is in the Turner’s Cross area of Cork City.
The main feature is a large convent and church complex that currently appears to be in poor condition. Before my visit I was aware of the convent but I had difficult discovering its name or history but I eventually established that it was known as the Reparation Convent or the Convent of Marie Reparatrice. Note – The Sisters of Marie Reparatrice are an International community of vowed women religious serving in 23 countries.
All the external walls are painted green as is much of the street. The complex or site is officially described as a former chapel with six-bay side elevations and gabled entrance porch, built c. 1885, now in use as health care offices. This former convent chapel formed part of a group of religious related buildings with the adjoining former convent to the east. They played a significant role in the social development of the city. Though no longer in use as a chapel, the building retains much of it’s original form and is enhanced by the retention of interesting features and materials, such as the ashlar limestone dressings, pointed arch openings, cast-iron finials and slate roof, while the stained glass windows add artistic interest to the building.
I searched planning applications for the area and came across the following description: The site comprises approximately 0.53 ha, bounded with high stone walls along both, High Street on the northern site boundary and Windmill Road on the southern boundary. Adjacent to the western boundary are the grounds and buildings of the former Reparation Convent. The site contains one large detached dwelling house and extensive garden area with mature trees along its periphery. The site is gently sloping upwards in southern direction.
The area is part of the inner suburbs of Cork City, within the administrative area of Cork City South Central. The city centre is within 10 min walking distance. The Douglas Street neighbourhood and its services.
This out of date sign is located on Windmill Road in Cork City. It is out of date by about twenty years because of the £ symbol (€1 = 0.787564 IEP)
The county is known as the rebel county, a name given to it by King Henry VII of England for its support, in a futile attempt at a rebellion in 1491, of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York.
The euro banknotes and coins were introduced in Ireland on 1 January 2002, after a transitional period of three years when the euro was the official currency but only existed as ‘book money’. The dual circulation period – when both the Irish pound and the euro had legal tender status – ended on 9 February 2002.
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