'A great and proud Corkonian': Tributes paid to historian Richard T. Cooke following his passing

Tributes have been paid to local historian and columnist for The Echo Richard T. Cooke, who passed away on Friday.

Fellow local historian and councillor for Cork City South East Kieran McCarthy described him as “a great and proud Corkonian” who “will be sadly missed by all who knew him, including myself.” 

He told The Echo, “when I started my research every time I’d go to the library and ask for something about the Mardyke or the Marsh or St Patrick’s street, Richard had written about it.

Mr Cooke was “part of a generation local historians passing through the city” he said, adding, “he brought a fantastic book out in the turn of the millennium called My Home By The Lee.” 

Mr Cooke wrote regular articles in The Echo about the history of Cork, with Mr McCarthy saying “people have been rediscovering his work through those articles recently – he had a massive knowledge of the city.” 

He’d branched into music as well, Mr McCarthy added, saying “he surprised many of us with his talent as a musician.

“He was involved in creating history societies in the city, creating exhibitions, running the Coal Quay Festival, organising the Celebrating Cork’s Past Exhibition and just instilling a deep love for Cork in people and getting them involved in the history of the city.

“Every time I saw him he was just full of energy – he was a really nice guy, and any of us that knew him know the city has lost something special.” Mr Cooke passed away surrounded by family in the Haematology Ward at Cork University Hospital, with his loved ones requesting donations in lieu of flowers to the Department of Haematology at the hospital.

A private family funeral will take place, with condolence cards to be sent to Coughlan's Funeral Home on Shandon Street.

He is survived by his wife Catherine, sons David, Jonathan, Declan and Darren and daughter Catherine as well as five grandchildren and a great grandchild.