If you are a newcomer in Cork and you are interested in knowing something more on Cork history, you can learn something in a simple and pleasant way: going around the city and visiting or admiring some of the most important buildings or places there. In fact there are in Cork city several heritage places or centres, which testify the past of the city. One of those places is the Cork City Gaol. Located in the area called Sunday’s Well, in Cork city, Cork City Gaol was built in 1824. At the beginning it was a prison for both sexes, male and female, but later it became a women’s only jail. There you could meet committed criminals, but also young boys caught stealing (often because of the hunger and the poverty), or mothers imprisoned with their babies, and the prisoner’s conditions of life inside of the jail during the nineteenth century were really wretched. In 1922 the gaol was used to house republican prisoners during the Civil War and it was the last function of the Cork Gaol, because it closed in August 1923. Finally, in the year 1927 (until the year 1950) Radio Eireann (now RTE) set up in the top floor of the Governor's House a broadcasting station: 6ck Today, in that original studio, there is the “Radio Museum Experience”. Cork City Gaol is opened to visitors 7 days per week and follows the following timetable: March - October  9.30am  - 6.00 pm, November - February 10.00 am  - 5.00 pm. (Last Admission 1 hour before closing). For further information see the web site: www.corkcitygaol.com.

Again within the city’s area, on Blackrock Road, there is the Cork Heritage Park, located on 6 acres of grounds, and the restored 19th century courtyard of Bessboro Estate.

Through the visit of this Park visitors are introduced to different aspects of Cork’s heritage, from the story of the Pike family who lived on the estate from 1820 to 1921, to the local ecology and Cork’s archaeological heritage; from the Corkmaritime heritage and the history of Cork’s fire service to the story of Cork’s transport. Within the Park there is also a photographic gallery regarding the development of train, tram and bus services in the pioneering decades of the development of public transport of Cork and regarding the seafaring history and tales of shipwreck and plunder. Guided Tours and Audio Tours are also available.

Then, an historical place and one of the most famed landmarks in Cork City is the magnificent Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, one of the Churches of Ireland, located in one of the city’s oldest areas. At the beginning in the place of the Cathedral there was a monastery, founded by Saint Fin Barre in the seventh century, but no trace remains of the early foundation, except the cemetery in which the Saint was buried. Few traces remain also of the medieval buildings: just a square stone font, some carved heads and a carved doorway (now inserted in the south boundary wall). Moreover a silver gilt chalice of 1536 and a silver chalice and patens made by the Cork Huguenot goldsmith Robert Goble in 1712 have been conserved The cathedral, as it is today, was built in 1865, based on William Burges’s French gothic style design.

Another famous Cork’s landmark is the Christian Church of St. Anne, Shandon. The name Shandon comes from the Irish “Sean Dun”, which means “Old Fort”. In fact Shandon was one of the 28 settlements in and around ancient Cork. In that area there was a medieval Church dedicated to St. Mary, which already existed in the 12th century, but it was disrupted during the siege of Cork, in 1690. In 1693 the old church was replaced by another Church, also dedicated to St. Mary. In 1722, as the population grew, another church was built: the Church of St. Anne Shandon. This church was built of two types of stone: red sandstone from the original Shandon castle which stood nearby and limestone taken from the derelict Franciscan Abbey which stood on the North Mall. This gives to the church of Shandon the characteristic double colour  red and white. Such is the Cork’s citizens’ affection for Shandon that they designated both colours to represent the City. Moreover the church of St. Anne is especially famous for its bells, recording also in the famous song "The Bells of Shandon" by Francis Sylvester Mahony. Each bell weighs six tons and to reduce vibration they were placed in a fixed position. They first rang on December 1752. Today visitors are allowed to climb to the first floor and ring the bells themselves.

A unique structure in Cork city is the Red Abbey Tower, located in Red Abbey Street, because it is the only medieval building remaining in Cork, dating from the fifteenth century. The Tower was originally part of an Augustinian friary, founded in the late 13th or early 14th century, but the structure of that Red Abbey, reused during the years for several purposes, was destroyed in a fire in 1799.
Another medieval site is what remains of the Elizabeth Fort. The Fort was built in the 16th century, during the reign of Elizabeth I, on the site of a monastic settlement, but was destroyed in 1603 by citizens of Cork in an act of defiance against King James I. Today it’s possible to see only the outer wall of the original fort, ordered to be rebuilt by Lord Mountjoy. Since 1690 it has been used as a prison and a barrack, so the street where it is located is called Barrack Street. Today there is a police station.

Just to not forget that you are in Ireland, another heritage centre that you could visit in the Cork area is The Old Midleton Distillery, located on the Main Street of Midleton town, just 18 Ks from Cork City. An important industry of distilling was there from 1825 until 1975, when a new distillery was built on an adjacent site. Then the buildings were refurbished and opened to visitors, becoming, from 1992, an Irish whiskey visitor centre called The Old Midleton Distillery, now renamed The Jameson Experience. There you can learn the story of Irish whiskey and see magnificent artefacts of the Industrial Age, such as a 20 foot water wheel, an original stationary steam engine, a steam-powered fire engine, and best of all the largest pot still in the world, with a capacity of 33,000 gallons (150,000 litres). The visitor centre is open 7 days per week, all year, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. The last tour starts at 5.00 pm (November to February tours are at 11.30, 14.30 and 16.00).

Finally there are in the close city centre two monuments concerning two important events of Cork’s and Ireland’s history. The first is the national monument called “Grand Parade”, located on the homonym street. It recalls the Irish patriots who died between 1798 and 1867. The second one is the statue of Father Theobald Matthew, apostle of Temperance (1790 – 1861), located on Saint Patrick Street. Father Matthew was known and loved in Cork for his efforts to alleviate distress during the cholera epidemic of 1832 and during the Great Famine from 1845 to1850. He was also responsible for the purchase of the botanic gardens in Ballyphehane and the establishment of St Joseph's cemetery on that site. Moreover he conducted a nation-wide campaign against alcohol. The statue was erected on 10 October 1864 and Corkonians love and adore that.

For further information see: www.corkpastandpresent.ie; www.enfo.ie/leaflets/bs31.htm; www.irishdistillers.com/about/visitorscentre.shtml; www.shandonbells.org, http://www.goireland.com/cork/monuments-in-cork-county-page1.htm.