All About Cork: €15m walk-bike scheme to connect Glanmire to Cork

A ‘transformative’ €15m walking-and-cycling scheme connecting the city centre to Glanmire has been agreed by Cork City Council.

Following a public consultation, the finalised plans were unanimously approved at the local authority’s full meeting on Monday, October 14.

The scheme will give new opportunities for people to walk, cycle, or scoot to work, school, and to the city centre, walk along the river, or take a bike from Kent station to Glanmire village. The ‘Glanmire to City Cycle Route (Phase 2)’ scheme is included among 35 national Pathfinder projects to be completed by 2025, and it will involve 5km of walking and cycling infrastructure, beginning at Horgan’s Quay.

It will also include a new travel bridge behind the Harbour Commissioner’s building and continue along Lower Glanmire Road and through Tivoli.

At Dunkettle, the pathway will cross the railway line, using a second bridge to join already competed walking and cycling routes to Glanmire and Little Island, providing better connectivity to the city centre.

Green Party councillor for Cork City North East, Oliver Moran, said: “This is a project that checks so many boxes. It connects the city centre to a municipal town in Glanmire and on to a major employment hub in Little Island.

“It opens lands at the rear of the Harbour Commissioner’s building and at Tivoli for development. It gives to the northside of the river something like The Marina has given to the southside.

“Being alongside the river means it’s along a flat route that’s both practical for commuters and attractive for leisure walkers,” said Mr Moran. 

“The scheme is among 35 national ‘Pathfinder’ projects intended to showcase the potential for active travel with a priority to be completed by 2025. When it is, it will form a complete route, connecting to newly finished walking and cycling routes in Glanmire and Little Island.”

Library work approved

A proposed upgrade for Mayfield Library and St Joseph’s Community Centre has been approved by Cork City councillors, with calls for funding for the work.

Cork City North East councillor Ken O’Flynn said: “I am absolutely delighted to share that the Cork City Council has officially approved the plans for the Mayfield Library!

“This is a significant step forward in our journey towards creating a revitalised library and community centre that will serve as a vibrant hub for all residents.

“This revamped space will not only enhance our access to resources, but also provide a welcoming environment for community events.”

Mr O’Flynn and his ward colleagues called for the Government to release funding.

220 children at street league

More than 220 children took to the playing pitches in the Tank Field for the annual Brian Dillon’s Street League finals and Family Fun Day.

A parade of players, led by piper Sean Murphy, headed along the Murmont Road to the venue, with a Garda escort, under the watchful eye of community gardaí Jackie White and Shane Fitzgerald. Plenty of games took place, with teams from under five up to under 11 showing talent, and promising a great future for the club.

Family entertainment, music, ice-cream, a coffee truck, and food from Dacent Munch also added to the occasion.

There were also plenty of activities for the players off the field, where they showed their penalty-taking skills in football and hurling in the games zone. The day finished with a visit from Cork senior hurler Robert Downey, who presented the medals alongside the club sponsor, Jess O’Sullivan, from AOS Security.

Library hosts art workshop

A recent children’s art workshop took place at Mayfield Library in the run-up to Halloween, led by Amelia Norman. It saw children create face masks using a range of materials - paint, papier mâché, feathers, sequins, bobbles, and glitter. The results were an array of frightening designs inspired by día de los Muertos and Oíche Shamhna, but also, less terrifyingly, by a night at the opera and the masked ball.

An exhibition called “The Art of Being Dubious” is currently showing at Mayfield Library and will be for the rest of the month. It consists of 35 pieces, and a plethora of sticker designs, by a 14-year-old who goes by the pseudonym of Dubious Squid. 

The pieces are composed variously in marker, pencil, oils, clay and lino print, and reflect themes dear to the exhibitor – manga, Garfield the Cat and personal imagination. Librarian Richard Forrest told The Echo: “The library invites submissions of art, photography and craft for exhibitions, particularly from youth groups and the young.”

Honour for widows of veterans

The Cork ONE veteran support centre at Collins Barracks, Old Youghal Road, is organising in a very special event, the Veterans’ Widows Recognition Luncheon, to honour the incredible contributions and sacrifices made by the widows of our veterans. A spokesperson for the group explained: “These remarkable women, whose husbands bravely served overseas, played a vital role in holding their families together while their spouses were away.

“From managing household responsibilities, caring for children, stretching family budgets and fulfilling the role of both mother and father during their husband’s absence. Their strength, resilience, and devotion to their families, and by extension, the service of their husbands, has been a quiet but critical contribution to our nation,” said the spokesperson.

“Now in their twilight years, it is more important than ever to recognise and celebrate the great sacrifices these women have made over the years, not just for their own families, but for the service and the community as a whole.”

The luncheon will be held over the winter, and the group are seeking to connect with as many widows as possible. This proving to be challenging as they don’t have some contact details. They are appealing to the people of Cork to spread the word.

Veterans’ widows are invited to contact Paddy Mulley on 086 8249719 or to email CorkCity@oneconnect.ie so they can include them in this luncheon.

Road to Employment course

The Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme are to run a Road to Employment course from their base in Mayfield. Suitable for anyone struggling building up the confidence to get back to education or work, the Cork City Partnership’s free six-week free taster course will support Mayfield people to get back out there.

The course promises confidence building, help preparing for interviews, personal effectiveness, manual handling and helping participants find employment options that work for them. It is commencing on Wednesday, October 23, from 10am-12pm, and will run until the last week of November.

Anyone wishing to take part can contact Patricia Cotter at 0871902848 or by emailing pcotter@partnershipcork.ie, or call into the CCP Office Mayfield at 79 Glenamoy Lawn.

Have Mayfield news to share? Contact amy.campbell@theecho.ie