KINGSLEY PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE AND NEARBY ACROSS THE LEE NORTH CHANNEL NEAR THE KINGSLEY HOTEL
[UPDATE] Not long after I uploaded this series of images I was contacted by a person who zoomed in on a notice in one photograph which indicated that the bridge was sponsored by the Kingsley Hotel in May 2009. They also mentioned that the Kingsley was forced to close because serious of flood damage in November 2009. It reopened under different ownership in July 2014].[]
According to various guides there are ten bridges spanning the North Channel of the River Lee in Cork but it would appear that I have used one that is not on any of the lists.
When I visited the area in 2017 A gentleman that I met on the trail mentioned that I might see an a coypu and I had no idea what he was talking about. Later, on my return to the hotel, I checked online and found the following “The public has being asked to report sightings of any coypus, sometimes mistaken for otters, after one was spotted in or near the River Lee near the Lee Fields in Cork City recently”. I never did find out what happened to the coypu.
Adjacent to The Kingsley Hotel there is walkway along the banks of The River Lee. There is a footbridge which appears on Google Maps as the “Kingsley Bridge”. But I cannot find any information relating to this bridge and cannot confirm the name … maybe it has a different name?
The bridge is interest as it allows one to visit an interesting memorial to Brian Quillingan [I will publish photographs of the sculpture later] and then walk on past the Missionaries Of The Sacred Heart to the Mardyke Pavillion.
The Lee flows from the lake of Gougane Barra as a fast-paced torrent, but by the town of Ballingeary it eases and flows into Lough Allua. Departing the lough, running east, it again becomes a rapid flow before running into The Gearagh, and Carrigadrohid feeder reservoirs, and then into the large Inniscarra reservoir created by Inniscarra Dam. Moving on, it flows down from the dam, in normal conditions a gentle river until it comes to Ballincollig Weir in Ballincollig Park; here it is dangerous to swimmers when in high water.
The Lee then flows into the city under Inniscarra Bridge and flows parallel to the Carrigrohane road. Along this section gauges monitor the water levels from the Inniscarra Dam. The river flows over the Lee weir and then is split into the north and south channels at a sluice (it historically occupied the city area as a maze of channels). This area is popular for recreation, kayaking and fishing. The two channels join again at the Cork docks and enter the extensive estuary and harbour, south of Glanmire, passing either side of Great Island (Cobh lies on the south coast) to fill the outer harbour, and reaching the open sea between Whitegate and Crosshaven.
City area tributaries include the combined Maglin (from Ballincollig) and Curraheen (occasionally Curragheen) Rivers, capturing the Glasheen River also and joining at the western end of the UCC complex, and the Kiln River (sometimes Bride River) which joins by the Christy Ring Bridge in the city centre, a little west of St. Patrick’s Bridge (formed in turn from a Bride River and the Kilnap or Glennamought River, later joined by the Glen River).
The Mardyke is an area in Cork city, on the northern half of the long western part of the island formed by the two channels of the River Lee near the city centre. It was historically left as open space, because the land along the north channel of the river is prone to flooding. From east to west these open spaces are: Presentation Brothers College, a boy’s secondary school; the Mardyke ground of Cork County Cricket Club; Fitzgerald Park, which includes Cork Public Museum; Sunday’s Well Lawn Tennis Club; and the athletic grounds of University College Cork.
The original dyke was constructed in 1719 by Edward Webber, the city clerk, who owned what were then marshy islands west of the walled city. He drained and landscaped the area, building a dyke topped by a straight promenade leading to a redbrick teahouse in Dutch style. The area became fashionable and the promenade was dubbed the Red House Walk or Meer Dyke Walk after the Meer Dyke in Amsterdam. Dutch influence was strong among the Protestant Ascendancy in the decades after the Williamite War in Ireland. After Webber’s death the land was bought and further developed by future mayor James Morrison. The route of the promenade corresponds to the modern streets Dyke Parade and Mardyke Walk.
The Mardyke is mentioned in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: “The leaves of the trees along the Mardyke were astir and whispering in the sunlight. A team of cricketers passed, agile young men in flannels and blazers, one of them carrying the long green wicket bag.”
In the early 20th century, the then Lord Mayor of Cork Edward Fitzgerald, proposed that a large public exhibition be held in Cork in the Mardyke area. 44 acres of Mardyke parkland were hence set aside as the site of the 1902 Cork International Exhibition. The central section of the Mardyke exhibition site (approximately 12 acres) is now known as Fitzgerald’s Park, and includes the Cork Public Museum and a large children’s play area. The area of the park is joined to Sunday’s Well across the River Lee by Daly’s bridge (a pedestrian suspension bridge known locally as the “Shakey Bridge”).
In the past I had difficult photographing this sculpture, in Fitzgerald Park, because children play on it but for some reason there were very few children in the park when I visited in May 2022.
Betty Gold, a professional sculptor for more than 24 years, has worked in diverse media to create pieces that reflect her artistic focus on intensifying opposites. “I’ve always been interested in opposite ends of the spectrum, such as the contrast of my rugged, oversized, sandblasted outdoor steel sculptures with my indoor, delicate gold-leaf icon visuals.” Her works appear in more than 50 permanent installations and private collections throughout the world.
THE BELLA VITA IN CORK PORT I DO NOT OWN THIS YACHT AS IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE AT 58 MILLION EURO
My understanding is that the Bella Vita arrived in Cork on the 12th. May 2022 and departed on Friday 13th.
Built by German manufacturer Lürssen in 2010, the vessel was first owned by Paul Fireman, the founder of Reebok sportswear. Its original name was Solemates.
The current owner is Dwight Schar in 2021 who obtained it in a swap sometime in 2021.
The Bella Vita can sleep up to 12 guests in its six-cabin rooms across three decks, and comes equipped with a number of bars, a jacuzzi bathtub, sit-in shower, flat-screen televisions, a grand piano and a gym.
Dwight Schar is an American businessman. He is the founder of NVR, Inc., a Fortune 500 company that is the third-largest home builder (by revenue) in the United States. He currently serves as the company’s Executive chairman and Chairman of Executive Committee. Schar was also a minority owner of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League from 2003 to 2021, as well as the former financial chairman for the Republican National Committee.
Lürssen is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf. Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels. The company described the vessel as follows:
“A spacious luxury yacht delivered in 2010, Bella Vita features sleek, curved lines throughout. The 60-meter vessel, originally christened Solemates, was designed by Espen Øino International. Her interior by Glade Johnson uses clean right angles and strong horizontal lines, balanced by contrasting soft and sensuous natural materials like stone and wood in fluid textural patterns. Guests can enjoy warm and bright areas with ornate classical details and modern elements. Creative solutions include a partially covered gym that doubles as a discotheque at sea after sundown.”
THE CELTIC ISLE TUG BOAT AT ANDERSON QUAY LAPP’S ISLAND CORK PORT
CELTIC ISLE (IMO: 8514693) is a Tug that was built in 1986 and is sailing under the flag of Ireland. Its carrying capacity is 386 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 5.2 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 34.19 meters and her width is 10.8 meters.
Lapp’s Island was once an island in the River Lee. It is now joined with the island which forms the center of Cork City, and refers to the eastern tip of that island. The island had probably been reclaimed from swamp.
In the 18th century it was separated from the main island by a canal which roughly followed what is now Parnell Place. It was fully joined to the main island by 1832.
Custom’s House, at the eastern extremity of the island, sits on what was called the tongue of Lapps’s Island, and the modern Lapp’s Quay sits on the southern shore of Lapp’s island.
John Anderson (1747–1820) was a Scottish businessman and entrepreneur. He was a commercial agent in New York and later a business owner in Cork. His business played a pivotal role in creating infrastructure that connected Dublin to Cork. Anderson purchased land in Fermoy that was later used as a military complex.
Anderson was born into a poor family at Portland near Dumfries, Scotland and moved to Glasgow in 1784. He later settled in Cork City, at that time the major provisioning centre on the Atlantic Coast. During the American wars he earned considerable sums as a commercial agent in New York, and made extensive land purchases in the Cork area.
His Cork enterprise was based at Lapp’s Island, and his business acumen was recognised as he grew rapidly in fortune and was appointed to the city’s committee of merchants. He was made a Freeman of the city in 1787. Among his business interests was a malting and warehouse complex at Ballinacurra on Cork Harbour in partnership with John Lapp, in the 1780s. In common with many Cork merchants he was in favour of union with Great Britain in 1800. Anderson’s Quay in Cork is called after him. He married a Miss Semple and had two daughters and two sons, one of whom, James Caleb Anderson (1782–1861), was a noted experimenter with steam-driven road vehicles.
His fortunes suffered a series of reversals with the fall in the value of land after the Napoleonic Wars, and he lost over £30,000 in a Welsh mining venture. He had been conducting banking business and with the economic downturn his bank collapsed in 1816.
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