Ireland's Rebel City offers a delicious deep dive into the past
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:
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'No problem. Can't miss me. I'm wearing a bright yellow cape.'
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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.
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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.'
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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.
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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.
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'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.''
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Cork has a wealth of locally-produced food, beef, dairy and vegetables from the surrounding countryside and seafood from nearby fishing towns.
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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.
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'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.
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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.
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