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Displaying items by tag: Cork Docklands

The role of art and culture in re-imagining the future of port cities is the theme of an online Cork CityLabs seminar on June 7th.

In the Cork context, Cork Docklands is set to be Ireland’s largest regeneration project which will accommodate a population of around 25,000, a workforce of approximately 29,000, and a student population of more than 3,500.

Over 146 hectares of land will be developed over a 20-year period, which will see homes, schools, medical and social services, sports and recreation facilities, office space, pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, retail and two new bridges for the city.

Speakers at the third annual Cork CityLabs “Future of Port” seminar, including representatives of Espacio Open in Bilbao; and the European Bauhaus Lighthouse project, Bauhaus of the Seas Sails in Malmo.

Full event details and link to join here

 

Published in Irish Ports
Tagged under

Cork City Council and the Land Development Agency have set up a new office to oversee development of the Cork Docklands district.

And Taoiseach Micheál Martin was among those who hailed the move as “an opportunity to create a magnet for investment into Cork city” that aims to create 29,000 jobs and homes for 25,000 people.

The Irish Times reports on the new Cork City Docklands Delivery Office, which is tasked with developing almost 146 hectares of land along the city’s quays.

Among the projects it will evaluate are developments at Marina Park, the River Lee’s potential as an amenity and plans for a new transport hub at Kent Station, as well as two new bridges for the city.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Port of Cork
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#ShippingCentre -According to Irish Maritime Development Office, there is a proposal to create a world-class cluster of international shipping services orientated companies (ISSC) based in Cork Docklands.

The proposed maritime cluster would also be a major urban regeneration scheme led by a group of individual and well-established property developers who plan to provide appropriate commercial, residential, and cultural amenities within the ISSC.

Technology is the number one FDI employer with over 14,000 professionals employed in the sector in Cork city. It is evident that technology is both transforming and disrupting financial services. The central role which technology will play in finance over the next decade is demonstrated by the decision by international bank State Street to partner with University College Cork and Zhejiang University to set up a Fintech Research and Development facility in Cork.

More recently there have been several developments in the area of alternative asset management and international private equity and this is an area of tremendous potential, given the success of these initiatives.

BNY Mellon also opened a business focused on mutual fund administration in 2007. Later they were also joined by Apex Fund Services, Hedgeserv and IPES, all establishing related operations. Other small clusters have built around expertise in investments and insurance. Davy, Investec and Blackbee all having a presence while in banking Bank of Ireland and AIB both provide a full service Corporate Banking offering in the region to FDI companies.

In leasing, Ardmore Shipping Corporation, an international operator and owner of a fleet of product and chemical tankers are engaged in worldwide trade. Ardmore have their principal operations office based in Cork (see related Bantry Bay ship story). All of the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PWC) professional services firms have full offerings in the city.

With a working age population of over 400,000 within a one hour commute of the city, there is clearly large capacity for tremendous expansion. Underpinning all of this success is a favourable cost base and excellent quality of life metrics.

The new centre will bring employment, investment and a new lease of life to the Cork Docklands and will continue to grow Cork city as a new financial hub in Ireland.

 

Published in Port of Cork

#CorkDocklands - Cork’s Docklands are in line for a sprucing up with council proposals for a €6 million upgrade of its entrance, as the Evening Echo reports.

Albert Quay, Victoria Road, Albert Road and four traffic junctions would benefit from new pedestrian amenities such as a waterside plaza and cycling and public transport infrastructure under the scheme, which also aims to open two Docklands sites for housing within the next four years.

It’s expected that consultants will be appointed to the project in the new year, with designs to be finalised over the following 12 months.

The news follows plans unveiled in September for a transformation of the city’s Horgan’s Quay with offices, apartments and a new plaza adjacent to the River Lee.

Another project, Navigation Square, is being developed on the other side of lands put up for sale by the Port of Cork on Custom House Quay earlier this year.

The Evening Echo has more on the story HERE.

Published in Port of Cork
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#PortOfCork - Stakeholders in Cork Harbour have proposed bringing the mooted International Shipping Services Centre to Leeside, as the Irish Examiner reports.

Previously earmarked for Dublin Port, as discussed at the second Our Ocean Wealth summit in 2015, those plans have stalled in recent months — leaving a gap for Cork to step in and pitch Ireland’s second city as a “natural fit”, according to Port of Cork commercial manager Michael McCarthy.

That pitch was discussed at a briefing in the Port of Cork earlier this week, which gathered the IMDO, IDA Ireland and CBRE consultant Cormac Megannety, who devised the ISSC concept some years ago.

The meeting came after the news that Ireland’s shipping and transport sector is the largest contributor in turnover to the growth of the country’s ‘blue economy’, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Marine Minister Michael Creed and his predecessor, now Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, have also voiced their backing for the proposal, which has also been suggested as part of the existing €1 billion regeneration scheme for Cork’s Docklands.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Published in Port of Cork

#CorkHarbour - More than three acres of Cork docklands are coming to market, as the Irish Examiner reports.

The lands comprise a warehouse property between Monahan Road and Centre Park road east of the city centre, in an area already set for transformation between the revamped Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the new Marina Park regeneration project, adjacent to Cork City Marina by the former showgrounds.

Commercial and residential developers alike are expected to express interest in the 3.31-acre site, zoned for mixed use, and with a guide price of €1.2 million per acre.

Interest in this part of the city is growing with the imminent move of the Port of Cork downriver — and city planners are already meeting with potential buyers for the port’s historic buildings on Custom House Quay.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Published in Cork Harbour
This weekend the large German Navy salvage tug FGS Fehrmann (A1458) is on a visit to Cork City, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The 1,289 gross tonnes auxiliary vessel built in 1967 berthed yesterday at North Custom House Quay adjacent to the offices of the Port of Cork Company on the banks of the River Lee. She is one of two Type 720 'Helgoland' class tugs ordered for the German Navy.

Built by Schichau Seebeck Werft, Bremerhaven, the 68m vessel has a limited armament capability and a crew of 45. Her main role is as a safety ship for use in submarine training and is equipped for fire-fighting, icebreaking and wreck location duties.

The veteran vessel had called to Dublin Port last weekend while her stay in the southern city will end with a departure scheduled for Monday morning.

Published in Navy

Cork City Council is inviting interest in the design of a new 32 hectare park for Cork Docklands. The full details of the 'new island district' are here.

Published in Cork Harbour

Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

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