Stories from the walk
The history we stop at on the tour: the landmarks, the people and the events that made Cork. Follow a thread, or come walk it with us.
Landmarks
See all landmarks →Shandon & the Bells
The four-faced liar: two sides red sandstone, two white limestone, the colours of Cork.
The English Market
Trading since 1788. Spiced beef and the local specialities: Cork on a plate.
St Fin Barre's Cathedral
William Burges's Gothic masterpiece, raised on the ground where Cork began.
People
See all people →Michael Collins
Cork's most famous son: the man who ran a revolution, killed in an ambush at Béal na Bláth.
Terence MacSwiney
Lord Mayor, playwright, hunger striker. He died in Brixton after 74 days. The world watched.
George Boole
The self-taught Corkman whose logic runs every computer, phone and search engine today.
Events
See all events →The Vikings Arrive
Norse raiders burned the monastery, then stayed and built the port that became Cork.
The Great Famine
An Gorta Mór. Cork was the funnel: the workhouse, the quays and the coffin ships.
The Burning of Cork
The Black and Tans set fire to the city centre. St Patrick's Street burned through the night.
Beyond the City
See all beyond the city →Blarney Castle
The MacCarthy stronghold whose stone, and whose lord's smooth letters, gave English a word.
Cobh
Cove, Queenstown, Cobh: three names for the port where 2.5 million said goodbye to Ireland.
Spike Island
Monastery, 24-acre star fort, and for a few Victorian years the biggest prison on earth.
Walk this history
We start at the Counting House on South Main Street and walk you through the landmarks, people and events on this page, in the order we tell them on the ground.
Every story on this page has its own chapter in The Cork Stories Collection, ten illustrated books for €24.99.