I recently went along to the launch of the Elysian Tower, Cork and Ireland's tallest building. Over the years of its construction, I have photographed its 'putting together'. I probably like everyone had mixed emotions about it. I was excited about

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The Lee scheme was the last of the large-scale hydroelectric projects to be built, following the Shannon, Erne and Liffey schemes. For the politicians and policy makers, those projects were visionary. The generators that were built in the 1950s ar

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The Lee Hydro Electric Scheme is a fantastic project to research especially as many of the young people who were involved in the scheme are still young to talk about it. Yes, there are positives and negatives to the Project, which had a huge impac

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This article is a heritage news one. There are a number of community based projects I am touting over the next couple of weeks. These heritage projects I deem educational and are aimed to get people out and about and engage with Cork's rich history

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“Inniscarra Dam was busy, noisy, full of activity, very much alive. By the time I left, all the temporary staff had gone and it became a very quiet place. That was in complete contrast to when I first arrived. The Scheme was such a big deal and

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It's Monday afternoon, 4.30p.m. at Cork Bus Station. I'm waiting for a bus to take me to Waterford. The first bus is full, so I wait for the second. The place is very busy with the coming and going of people and buses to all parts of the country. T

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“The River Lee Development Project will add a total of 27MW to the generating capacity of the Electricity Supply Board’s system and will contribute a further 65 million units approximately to the annual output of the hydro-electric scheme…These s

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The more I chat to those who worked on the dam, the more one can see what I call the network of ideas - the technical thinking and science that were brought to bear on the development of the Lee Hydro Electric Scheme.

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The Lee Hydro Electric Scheme is still very much at the heart of people's memories in mid-Cork and in the wider region. This article is based on a series of interviews conducted by ESB archive staff with former and present day workers during the

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I [Jack Sheehan] was born in 1919 on Dunbar Street, Cork but my family moved shortly afterwards to Blackrock Road and were there for a good many years. I went to school in the South Monastery. I served my time with the ESB in Albert Road, where t

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Talking about the green field site of Inniscarra Dam takes me back to day one. The people at senior level on the senior civil engineering team in the ESB were Frank Clynch and Brendan Brennan, a man who was superb engineer with very high standards.

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It's difficult not to be impressed and touched by the Lee Scheme - the images of transformation, the real–life stories, the infrastructure, the work, the effort, commitment, emotion put into the project by all involved. It's always an added incen

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During the construction of the Lee Scheme, the ESB saw that the contract was getting into trouble and there was a possibility it might never be finished or that it would run well over budget. This was pointed out to the contractors, and, after much

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It's easy to lose oneself in the geographies and human histories of the Lee Valley. I sat recently at the source of the Lee in the Shehy Mountains, looking at the blurb of water protruding from the ground. At its breakthrough to the air, it begins

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In the Inniscarra Dam campsite, there was an oratory where Mass was celebrated every Sunday and holiday by priests attached to the Sacred Heart College in Cork. The hut housing the oratory, could also, by the use of parti¬tions, be used for recreat

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Workers on the Lee Scheme had to look for 'digs' in the area and stayed in every available place along the Lee valley. Many a housewife made a little extra money by keeping a few lodgers. Digs cost £2 per week as a rule. The engineering personnel w

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By 1955, approximately three-quarters of the work on the construction of the Inniscarra dam had been carried out. The power station foundations had been poured and work was in progress in the erection of the superstructure. The excavation of the ta

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Contracts for the whole of the civil construction works for the Lee hydroelectric development were in place towards the end of 1952. Work began on the construction of the dam in Inniscarra in February 1953.

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On the Lee scheme, the Dublin firm, John Paul & Co., Donnybrook, was awarded the contract to build the three bridges and the new road diversions on the Lee scheme. Founded on 1 March 1949, the founding directors were John Paul and Tommy Simmingto

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The first stage in the development of the Lee scheme was to determine the average fall and flow of the river and the general outline and nature of the valley.

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“Passenger measure you time for time is the measure of your being”.

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A few weeks ago, Our City, Our Town explored the cultural heritage of Kilblaffer graveyard near Berrings. We examined the social significance of the art and architecture of the site and how they provide insights into what life was like, the key famil

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The sign by the waterworks on the Dripsey Cork road says The beautiful Lee Valley. It invites people to partake in its beauty and the scenery and to be inspired. At this point, the viewer can stop and overlook from a height Inniscarra Reservoir. Ma

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I'm A firm believer that people make places. We all interact and carve a niche for ourselves in society. In a sense, we are all part of the spokes of the wider wheel of life. This article is about an important spoke in the wheel of life in Co Cork,

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The road south from Berrings Cross takes one through Ballyanley near the site of Inniscarra Community Centre. The scenery southwards into the townlands of Magoola, Faha and Gurteen is picturesque. The land rolls up and down as it meets Inniscarra R

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Crossroads intrigue me. I'm always wondering what's down the roads I choose not to travel. However, in recent times in western Inniscarra, I find myself seeing the other roads and seeing how they are all connected up. In a sense, it seems that ea

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"We're here in Berrings for four generations. My great grandfather was Pat Ring from Codrum and Tierbeg near Macroom. They also had property in Manchester and Liverpool. The name changed from Ring to Reen through a family dispute. Pat became sec

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I met Jackie Lenihan by referral but Jackie is well known as the sacristan of Berrings Church and in a sense is the first port of call for all church-community related activities. However, Jackie also a great knowledge of the game of road bowls

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I’m a firm believer that everybody has a story to tell but as I have encountered in my own travels and meeting the people in the Lee valley, we all have different stories to tell.

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“In this graveyard [North Kilmurray] is buried a priest named Fr. Dilworth who it appears was a native of the Parish of Inniscarra. While living it is said he cured many people of some ailments and after his death and burial in Kilmurray graveyar

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"The stonework of the church was valuable and was seized upon as a ready-made quarry by neighbouring villages. The dust blew along the street and the rain washed down the earth. Weeds and grass grew among the houses and eventually over them. The

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In the Footsteps of St. Finbarre (Part 106) - In Loving Memory

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“Watch her carefully, every movement, every gesture, every little peculiarity: keep the camera whirring; for this is a film you’ll run over and over again (Gar Private from Brian Friel’s Philadelphia Here I Come)”.

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John Manning is 91 years of age and lives at Inishleena, Inniscarra adjacent the recreational amenity. Like man y other stories in the last number of weeks, his biography is part of the identity of the Lee Valley and the valley is part of who

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"The road downhill was the easy road and that was the road we took", from Sláinte Éire, favourite song of Denis O'Flynn.

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Folklore is an important aspect of any aspect and is certainly bound up with the early history of Inniscarra Parish. Much is written down but the truth of the stories will never be uncovered. However, the patron saint of Inniscarra, St. Senan and h

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There were corridors and corridors of maize. Pat walked on confident establishing a route through the crop. Despite being tall, I felt small like being in the land of giants. It was a warm balmy autumn's evening and if it had been raining the da

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To get to the paddock you must walk 100 metres up what looks like a narrow lane. It is bound on my right by a hedgerow and on my left by wire fencing adjacent a field. The trackway is worn down. The different shapes within the mud are human footp

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"There is a holy well situated not far from my house in Timothy Kelleher's field at the junction of three townlands, Magoola, Agharinagh and Dromgownagh. Formerly it was a place of great interest to the old people but, nowadays, like everything e

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One aspect that Our City, Our Town has dabbled in is the archaeology of the Lee valley, the human artifacts of a past age now long gone and all very much part of forgotten histories and memories.

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“My secondary school days were spent on the Muskerry Tram - to give it a grand name, you know there are days when I sit down here and dream of the train. I went to St Aloysius School in Cork. A crowd of us went in on the train everyday,

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As a kid growing up in the 1980s, every Christmas, I received a lego set, usually some sort of building. Each year, there was the anticipation of getting something new, something to add to my small lego town.

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The motto on the William’s Family Crest is Ensuivant La Verité or translated ‘By Following the Truth’. That title I have chosen for this article reflects the search for not just information but also the truth concerning the l

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The journey to penning this article began by investigating two unused and ruined petrol pumps at the side of the road in Lower Dripsey. They are reminders of a past enterprise but also in a sense, reminded me of archaeological monuments but of th

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“This is the story of innocent days in the life of a small community, in the days before affluence and television, a community who worked hard, made their own entertainment and generally accepted the hardships of life.

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Being the proud owner of a Honda 125 motorcycle had its advantages and weaknesses. Yes, I have felt every pothole from Gougane Barra to the City, felt the steepness of the valleyside of the Lee and was open to the changing seasons and the elemen

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Around 1966, the Cork Power Boat and Water Ski Club moved to Byrne’s Farm, Fergus from The Marina, Cork. The Club spent six years there until they moved to Farren Wood in 1972 to the site of where the National Rowing Centre is now. Seán Kennedy

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Lower Dripsey is full of interesting stories. In terms of the physical geography, it is the point where the Dripsey River meets the River Lee, which is in the form of Inniscarra Reservoir. At that particular point is the Cork Powerboat and Water Sk

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Moving from Upper to Lower Dripsey towards Cork near Griffin’s Garden Centre is Dripsey National. Schools are great sources of information in particular the way a school collects records, photos of its students and roll books. At this ju

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