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Cork Docklands

CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY

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I PHOTOGRAPHED THE AREA AND NEARBY IN JULY 2022

The Custom House is currently undergoing a major redevelopment. The plans include the construction of a new 34-story hotel tower, a distillery, and a covered courtyard. The development is [was] expected to be completed in 2024.

This is a great location for photography as it is possible to photograph Kennedy Quay and Penrose Quay from here.

As is normal it rained for the duration of my visit to Cork in July 2022 and the city had yet to recover from Covid-19 restrictions.

There are on average 204 “rainy” days a year (over 0.2 millimetres (0.008 in) of rainfall), of which there are 73 days with “heavy rain” (over 5 millimetres (0.2 in))

The proposed tower block at Custom House Quay in Cork is a €150 million development that would include a 34-storey hotel, a distillery, a maritime centre, and accessible quayside plazas. The hotel would be Ireland’s tallest building, at 140 meters (450 feet) tall. The development is being proposed by Tower Holdings Group, and it has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála.

The development is located on a site that is currently occupied by the Port of Cork offices and a disused stone warehouse. The plan is to demolish the Port of Cork offices and incorporate the warehouse into the new development. The hotel would be located on the top of the tower, and it would have 241 bedrooms. The distillery would be located on the ground floor of the tower, and it would produce a range of Irish whiskies. The maritime centre would be located on the waterfront, and it would provide exhibits and educational programs about Cork’s maritime history. The quayside plazas would provide open space for public use.

The proposed tower block has been met with mixed reactions. Some people have welcomed the development as a catalyst for the regeneration of Cork’s docklands. Others have expressed concerns about the height of the building and its impact on the city’s skyline. The development is still in the early stages, and it is not yet clear when construction will begin.

Here are some additional details about the proposed tower block:

  • The hotel would be a five-star hotel with a range of amenities, including a spa, a swimming pool, and a rooftop bar.
  • The distillery would produce a range of Irish whiskies, including single malt, blended, and flavoured whiskies.
  • The maritime centre would provide exhibits and educational programs about Cork’s maritime history.
  • The quayside plazas would provide open space for public use, including a pedestrian walkway, a bicycle path, and a public park.

CORK CUSTOM HOUSE JULY 2022

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CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY

The Custom House is located at the eastern extremity of Cork City’s centre island, where the north and south branches of the River Lee reconverge.

The Custom House is an early 19th-century building in Cork, Ireland. Originally developed as a custom house and opened in 1818, the Cork Harbour Commissioners (later reorganised as the Port of Cork Company) took over the building in 1904. The Port of Cork Company vacated the building in early 2021. The Custom House is, together with a number of other buildings on the same site, listed by Cork City Council on its Record of Protected Structures.

The main building is a two-storey three-bay structure over vaults. The facade is in Cork grey limestone: the top two thirds are of dressed ashlar and the lower part is rusticated. At street level there are three recessed arcades with round arches.

The committee room (boardroom) is a wood panelled room with pale cream and gold wallpaper and patterned ceiling. The Custom House also holds a collection of maritime art owned by the Port of Cork Company.

Other buildings on the Custom House site include bonded warehouses (protected structure PS163), and the Revenue Building (protected structure PS818), both also built in 1814.

As of 2021, the Harbour Commissioners had vacated the building, and a number of developments were proposed for the site. Aspects of the proposed developments, including the proposal to “largely demolish the Revenue Building” (a protected structure on the Custom House Quay site), have been the subject of some opposition, including by the Irish Georgian Society and An Taisce Corcaigh.

MONAHAN ROAD IN THE DOCKLANDS AREA OF CORK CITY

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PHOTOGRAPHED 12 MAY 2022 PUBLISHED 17 JUNE 2023

I decided to reprocess this and other photographs from my 2022 visit to Cork using three AI apps that I am currently beta testing.

When I visited Cork City in May 2022 it had not fully recovered from Covid-19 restrictions and the weather was not the best (as is always the case when I visit).

Because of transport problems I did a lot of walking and got to see places that I had not intended to visit. I had no intention of photographing Monahan Road but I got lost when I got off a bus at the wrong stop. Also, my iPhone froze and I could not get it to reboot and had to wait for the battery to exhaust.

Monahan Road is an established commercial location with a mixture of warehousing, industrial and office uses in the area. The South City Link Road (N27) is 1Km to the west and provides access to all main arterial routes via the South Ring Road (N40). Cork City centre is within c.1.3 kms. Nearby occupiers include Cleve Quarter & Business Park, Monahan Road Business Park, Tellengana House, Lawley House and the CORE building.

In June 2017 demolition work has begun on the former Munster Agricultural Society buildings in the Cork Showgrounds to make way for the new Marina Park.

The Munster Agricultural Society Showgrounds was based Monahans Road. The detached nine-bay double-height viewing stand was an interesting survivor from the early years. Cork Corporation provided the land as a permanent home for the showground and the Society spent £5,300 laying out the grounds and building the necessary structures. The showground opened in 1892 and this building probably dated to that time. Its well proportioned late Victorian pavilion style contrasted with the later buildings on the site, as did its generous proportions and carefully designed and executed timber detailing.

The Marina Park will surround the redeveloped Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium and all-weather pitch stretching from Monahan Road and Centre Park road towards Blackrock village.

The first phase of the new park cost €7m and cover the area west of the stadium between Monahan Road and the Atlantic Pond.

This was my first time to use GEO-Tagging and I also more-or-less limited myself to using a Sigma 24-105 lens as it was weather resistant.

Note: On 31 March 2022 the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 ended. This gave the Minister for Health the power to make regulations and introduce measures to slow down the spread of the virus.

THE BELLA VITA SAILING FROM KENNEDY QUAY IN CORK

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THIS IS NOT MY YACHT

These images date from May 2022 but I decided to reprocess them using two different AI applications that I am beta testing.

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.”

R&H COMPLEX ON KENNEDY QUAY

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PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2022

These images date from May 2022 but I decided to reprocess them using two different AI applications that I am beta testing

R & H Hall has been the leading supplier to the Irish feed industry of grain and non-grain feed ingredients since 1839.

The tall structure in my photographs has a visual significance beyond its intrinsic utilitarian design as a result of its visibility from many parts of the city. It serves through its height and scale to define the remaining commercial docks area of the city from some distance.

Grain store building, c. 1945, part of R. & H. Hall complex. Mass concrete walls with pilaster detail and flat roof. Metal windows to ground and first floor and to all floors on east elevation.

I visited Cork City in may 2022 and the city had not fully recovered from Covid-19 restrictions and the weather was not the best. When I visited the docklands the general are was bleak and somewhat lonely and much of what to see was in poor condition.

This was my first time to use GEO-Tagging and I also more-or-less limited myself to using a Sigma 24-105 lens as it was weather resistant.

Note: On 31 March 2022 the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 ended. This gave the Minister for Health the power to make regulations and introduce measures to slow down the spread of the virus.

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