Hello Pals,

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland. It’s known as “the real capita” of Ireland. A mixture of heritage and new. It’s a good location for tourism outside of Dublin as either train or bus connects. Sure, it’s got the notable famous castle of Blarney but also has so much more (the butter museum) (which was closed.)

We spent 2 nights in Cork and managed to fit quite a bit in, even if the aforementioned butter museum was closed (still mad.)

If you would like to know how I spent “two days in Cork.” click ‘read more’

In this article, you’ll find: (click to be taken there)
The Basics: How to get there.
Getting Around: Transport Options
Blarney Castle: Blarney Castle.
My Top Choices: What you should see.
My Recommendations: Where to eat & drink, What to listen to & read.
What I did: My diary entry.
Other Recommendations: Things we missed.

All my posts have a key:
⏰ Opening Hours. 📍Location 🕒Distance
💰Cost 🎫 Ticket 📝 To note. 🎒What to bring.
♿ Accessibility 🌱Vegan / Veg Options.

  TO NOTE:

THE BASICS

Getting to Cork.

🚂 Train from Dublin.

💰£21.18 -36.31
🕒 2 hours 33 minutes.
Book in advance to get cheaper tickets.

🚌 Bus from Dublin.

💰 £13 -15
🕒 3 hours
You can use websites such as CheckMyBus to see the cheapest option.
• BusBud, Aircoach & Bus Éireann are all popular companies.

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⏰ 9:00 – 5:00 pm and May – Sep 9.00am to 6.00pm
💰 €22.00
📝 Last admission is an hour before close.
♿ Free admission. Gardens are accessible, the castle is not. You can read someone’s experience here.
🚌 Take #215 Bus Cloghroe for 30 mins. Runs every 30 mins and you can use your Leap Card

Blarney Castle is over 600 years old and the foundations of the castle were done in 1446. It is the 3rd castle that resides in the location. The word Blarney was introduced into the English language by Queen Elizabeth I and is described as pleasant talk, intended to deceive without offending. Legend says you’ll be given the “gift of the gab” if you (and thousands of others) kiss the stone.

Blarney Gardens

There are 60 acres of gardens to explore. Lakes, riversides, woodlands and arboretums. Should you want to see ferms, poisonous or carnivorous plants and even magical rocks – it’s all included. With multiple paths and a few trails, i recommend wandering around.

Blarney CAstle + Stone

There are around 130-ish narrow, winding steps, eroded by the mass which take you through Blarney Castle’s remains. They guide you to rooms such as the Family Room which would have been used for entertaining guests, The Young Ladies bedroom which looks into a missing floored Priest’s Room and the Great Hall.

There are many stories about why the Blarney Stone is what it is. Whether it be a toilet (yuck), people kissing it as they are thrown to their deaths (very unlikely), a stone with magical powers that gives you the gift of eloquence or simply just a pillow once used by Jacob within the bible (okay) its appeal for a kiss has continued over the years.

Did I kiss it? Yes. (ignore the sneaky photo. sorry blarney castle i didn’t want to pay)

🥘 Muskerry Arms Bar and B&B

⏰ 09:00 – 16:00 | Closed Sat + Sun.
📍 The Square, Monacnapa, Cork
A classic Irish pub with a comfy atmosphere, and a great selection of food and drink. The staff are friendly and will recommend their daily specials. We ended our day here before catching the bus back to Cork.

Cork City Gaol

⏰ 10:00 – 17:00
📍 Convent Ave, Sunday’s Well, Cork, Ireland
💰 £11.00
♿ Partial Access – unable to go upstairs in the Gaol but majority of the exhibit is downstairs.
🚌 Take #208 Bus + walk 10-15 mins.
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The Cork City Gaol is a heritage-listed building reminiscent of Georgian-Gothic castles. Built in 1818, it accepted its first prisoner in 1824 and became a female-only prison from 1878. Those who weren’t kept in the Gaol were often shipped off to Australia (country name drop!) Closing in 1923, it became a Radio Station in 1927.

You can opt for an audioguide, but the information is the same as within the booklet included within the ticket cost. It gives an insight into what life was like for a 19th-century prisoner. Several ghosts are said to haunt the Gaol.

The walk to the Gaol is pretty hefty but the views are incredible.

Crawford Art Gallery

⏰ 10:00 – 17:00 | Sunday: 11:00 | Thursday: 20:00
📍1 Emmett Pl, Centr
♿ Wheelchair Access
💰Free
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Originally built in 1724, it holds a collection of over 3,000 works. Both historic and modern, with differing exhibitions. A small giftstore.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS

🥘 Cafe Spresso

⏰ 09:00 – 22:00 | Sunday: 10:00
📍 26 MacCurtain Street, Montenotte
🌱 vegetarian options available.
We went here every morning we were in Cork. The breakfast is quick, cheap and delicious. Each option comes with a choice of white/brown bread. You can add or subtract additional parts of the meal. While I had the classic breakfast, my pals said the polish dumplings were a great choice.

Read

The Rachael Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue ” Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.

Listen

The series investigates the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier née Bouniol (28 July 1957 – 23 December 1996), a French television producer who was murdered outside her holiday home near Toormore, Schull, County Cork, Ireland, on the night of 23 December 1996.

WHAT I DID

Arriving early after a typical bus ride, we grabbed breakfast at Cafe Spresso. We headed off to the Crawford Gallery which housed a portrait of Fiona Shaw (Mrs Dursley, Harry Potter.) As it was the period of nobody knows (Christmas – NYE) the O’Mahoey’s Markets were practically closed bar a few stands. We ended up at The Mutton Lane Inn to play a few rounds of cards and try a baby Guinness.

Baby Guinness: 1/4 shot (1 part) Irish cream, 3/4 shot (3 parts) Coffee liqueur, Black Sambuca

We still had a while before we could check into the Hotel so opted to go to the Cork City Gaol for the remainder of the afternoon. We spent our time improvising the prisoners accents and stories while wandering through. The hill and luggage didn’t mix (according to everyone else) but as we were only there for 3 days it was backpacks (and it was fine.)

We stayed at the ReZz Hotel – and while I am unsure if they’ve got the award for smallest hotel room, it must be up there. It’s a no frills – bed, tv, bathroom and small hallway. While we had no issues with the cleanliness or bedding for two nights. I did have issues with the window seal that wouldn’t shut that the most annoying. Whistling, just all night every night a faint ‘oooooooo.’ We had planned Cork perfectly, the Butter Museum was to open on the 29th December so we could go before heading back to Dublin. I checked on the 28th to find the website had updated to opening on the 30th, so we drank our sorrows away at a local Tavern; The Abbot’s Ale House.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

The Butter Museum

⏰ 11:00 – 16:00-| Closed Mon – Fri. 💰 5 Euros
♿ Accessible
Butter making demonstrations ON Saturdays at 12.00 pm.
I came to Cork for this museum and the website advised it would be open on the 29/12 until it was delayed until the 30/12. I am still pretty mad about it.

• Elizabeth Fort – view a blog post here about it.
• Cork Public Museum
• University College Cork
• Fitzgerald Park.

Have you been?
What did you see / eat / do? Was it the butter museum????
Let me know below.
As always, stay cool.
– Sarah.

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