[email protected] asked: >Can I get a little advice on a September visit I have planned? I would >like to take the train from Dublin to Cork City and spend several days in You might also consider taking the bus to Cork. http://www.irishrail.ie/home/ Irish Rail http://www.buseireann.ie/site/home/ Bus Eireaan http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~aherns/march08.htm bus to Cork from trip diary 2005 >should I stay right downtown in Cork City in order to have access to >restaurants by walking? Or, would it be possible to stay at a less >expensive B&B on Western Rd. where there seems to be many? Are there >restaurants in that area? I don't want to take taxis just to eat. Western Road B&Bs are very convenient to the City Centre. There are also some nice and moderately priced restaurants along Western Rd. and even a pizza takeaway across from the entrance to the college (UCC). The best deal on Western Rd., however is the Irish youth hostel. That is where I stay in Cork City. For an extra fee they will serve you a cooked breakfast but you can cook your own meals in the members kitchen. One year, when I was in town for the Cork Film Festival in October I would stop at the supermarket in Patrick Street between screenings at the Opera House and pick up a mini baguette of French bread and a few slices of smoked salmon for the equivalent of about a dollar. I would have smoked salmon on toast for breakfast with my tea and saved a lot of money. http://www.anoige.ie/ Irish Youth Hostel Association http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~aherns/ahnws202.htm#01/11/2002 my writeup of Cork Film Festival for the BostonIrish Reporter >What is recommended in the way of local libraries to make maximum use of >my time? I would like to be able to see material that wouldn't be >available through LDS libraries. The main repositories in Cork City would be the local history room of the Cork Corporation (City) Library in the Grand Parade. They have a good collection of local material and newspapers on microfilm. Sadly, their hours are not always that good. Nearby spots to eat lunch include the cafe upstairs at the Triskell Arts Centre (down the alley next to where the Cork Archives Institute used to be on South Main St.) or the English Market across the street. The city Library only has a couple of microfilm readers for newspapers so you might want to see if you can reserve one ahead of time. Also see their run of the Journal of the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society. The Cork Archives Institute (by appointment only) has a manuscript collection that includes some estate papers and also workhouse records from the Cork Poor Law Unions. The County Library out on Model Farm Road also has newspapers and a good collection of local historical society journals. Across Western Road from the hostel is the Boole Library at UCC. They have a good collection of newspapers both bound and microfilm, but you have to pay a daily readers fee if not a student of UCC so be sure to get there early enought to get your money's worth. Also out off Western Road is the Cork City Museum, which has limited archival materials, but is a very interesting place to see some Cork history. Afterwards, walk through the gardens, over the footbridge and up the hill to the Cork City Gaol, another museum. In one of the cells you can see graffiti from some Aherns who were held there during the troubles. Here are some links for Cork. If you would like to hear more, you can download my talk on this subject at last year's FGS conference in Boston at http://www.lulu.com/content/407710 for a fee of $1.99 [disclaimer - I get 60 cents royalty on each download] Here are some of the links for Cork. If you do happen to download my FGS talk, send me an email and I will send you a copy of the syllabus pages that go with it. http://www.corkcorp.ie/ourservices/rac/archives/ Cork Archives Institute http://www.corkcorp.ie/ourservices/rac/library/ Cork City Library http://www.familia.org.uk/services/eire/cork_city.html Cork City Library Family History Resources http://www.askaboutireland.com/pilots/four/index_main.html Estate Papers of County Cork Cork County Library http://www.library.ie/public/corkco.shtml http://www.xs4all.nl/~tbreen/Journals/Cork.html Journal of the Cork Historical & Archaeological Society http://www.corkcorp.ie/maps/ Detailed Street Map of Cork City