Ireland's Rebel City offers a delicious deep dive into the past

Calgary Herald

15-05-2025

Article content
As we power walked through the teeming centre of Cork, late for our meeting with Angela Newman in Daunt Square and uncertain if we could even find her, my phone buzzed with a message:
Article content
Article content
'No problem. Can't miss me. I'm wearing a bright yellow cape.'
Article content
She did stick out in the crowd, not just because of the cape but the lace up bodice and woollen dress much like that of an Irishwoman from a bygone age. All part of her routine in leading us on her 'Hysterical Histories' walking tour of this storied city, the second largest in the Republic of Ireland.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Asked if the Corkonians are sensitive about being compared to Dublin, Newman answered with a grin: 'No, because we know we're better. We always thought that we were deserving of being the capital rather than them.'
Article content
Leading us down Grand Parade, past the statue of independence hero Michael Collins and the monument to Irish uprisings, Newman recounted how the city is also known as Rebel Cork; it is always the last to give up in various battles over the centuries, even if it had an unfortunate tendency to back the losing side.
Article content
Article content
Modern Cork is a handsome, vibrant university town, bisected by the picturesque River Lee, with bustling pubs and a hot restaurant scene. Even if it lost out to Dublin as the seat of the national government, it has another title it proudly claims: Ireland's food capital.
Article content
'We really do have high standards,' said Newman. 'Actually, even last week I was in London with my 14-year-old son and he was, like, 'the food here is awful.''
Article content
Cork has a wealth of locally-produced food, beef, dairy and vegetables from the surrounding countryside and seafood from nearby fishing towns.
Article content
Article content
All are on display in the English Market. Dating from 1788, it is the oldest covered market in the British Isles, aisles jammed with fishmongers laying out the catch of the day, butchers with meat from farmers down the road (including the Cork specialty, spiced beef) and cheese mongers selling a wide variety of local product.
Article content
'For a small place there is an amazing cross-section of small, artisan family run food producers, many of whom have been acknowledged on the world stage,' said Paul Lane, executive head chef at the River Lee Hotel and known as one of the best cooks in a town replete with them.
Article content
Lane has known many of the producers for decades, with delicious results on his menus in The Grill Room. My daughter and I demolished Irish fillet steaks, while my wife enjoyed locally caught Dover sole.