To celebrate their recent move into Myross Wood House, the newly opened Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability (CECAS) has hosted West Cork’s first Sustainable Market.

The people of Leap, Union Hall and beyond were delighted to see Myross Wood House coming back to life after the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart said farewell to the landmark property last year. Young and old arrived early on a warm and sunny day to enjoy the event, which involved over 16 stalls with local West Cork makers, growers and producers who are all committed to working sustainably, and to achieving zero waste. 

With locally grown food and produce on sale, there was everything from Union Hall potatoes to handmade unique jewellery and from West Cork cheese and locally produced arts and crafts to outdoor clothing and sustainable period products. 

Castlehaven-based photographer Pete Martin of Red Door Photography was one of the stallholders: “I was delighted to support this new initiative by Green Skibbereen. My approach to photography is both ethical and sustainable and it’s great to have a close to home outlet for my work that reflects that ethos.”

Green Skibbereen Chairperson Trish Lavelle was very happy with the day. “We had an estimated 300 visitors to the event over the course of the day.  It was a real community gathering, with friends and neighbours having a cup of tea and a scone together outdoors in the sunshine, having the opportunity to buy some lovely food, crafts, flowers and plants and to learn how our local producers are working towards sustainability. 

All we had left behind at the end of the day was a bag of compostable paper cups so everyone really respected the zero waste message. We were also very lucky to have a great bunch of volunteers without whom the event could not have taken place, so we hope this will be the first of many such occasions. Keep an eye on our social media and websites for more information about future events.”

Ms Manahan opened by saying, “I had read with great interest about the interaction between the three localities, Myross Wood House, Cascais, Portugal, and Kladno, Czech Republic, earlier this year so I invited their speakers to share this experience first hand.

“Mary Robinson just last week said there is a need for frontline voices from climate vulnerable countries to be heard and the need is for communities to embrace ground up approaches to our Climate Action responses.” Ms Manahan said. “Mary Robinson reminds us regularly that our transition needs to be a just one and we mustn’t leave anyone behind in our efforts.”

Alexandra Revez, from the Environmental Research Institute, UCC, presented on ‘Innovative approaches to develop pathways to a low carbon and climate resilient future’, which drew from their research project, Reimagining 2050. UCC ERI has held many talks with Green Skibbereen and there are plans to partner again on upcoming projects. 

 “These projects, many informed by state-of-the-art research and demonstration, are key to the delivery of EU climate ambition.” Noel Casserly said, in presenting plans for Myross Wood House. “Such activities will open opportunities for business and job creation in the transition to climate resilience, as EU countries rebuild economies and refocus priorities in a post-pandemic world.”

João Dinis, Coordinator of the Urban Transition Acceleration Division, from Cascais, Portugal, spoke about their local experiences of innovative climate action solutions and citizen engagement. 

“Carbon neutrality and climate action are becoming inevitable development subjects for EU countries and their respective regional or local governments.” João said. “Coming together to work together presents a unique opportunity for climate and energy-related stakeholders across Europe to simultaneously share and learn best practices from frontrunners in our three locations.”

The third European site involved in this project was the Kladno Municipality in the Czech Republic and their sustainable and zero carbon community was presented by David Škorňa. 

““I want to live in a future where our environment and economy are in mutual balance with no harm being done to our environment or to our prosperity,” David told the audience. “We are seeking smart and resilient solutions to these problems which always have to be about people first. This event can create momentum for successfully fulfilling our path to carbon neutrality at local levels through European collaborations.” 

Ambassador Manahan closed the meeting by emphasising the Irish Governments support for these projects.  

“It’s critical to hear from local communities in Portugal, Czech and West Cork, Ireland. I encourage each and everyone of you to connect with each other and to develop these relationships which are at the heart of our European project.”

The event can be watched in full on the Green Skibbereen website at greenskibbereen.ie. 

What is Cyber Physical Design and the Internet of Things?

These are devices that connect the physical world with the cyber world. They are found in cars, phones, washing machines to name a few examples. Nearly everything that uses electricity now has sensors, processing and communication capability.

What is your role, Richard, at Nimbus?

I manage a portfoilio of about 70 applied research and development technology projects per annum for Irish and international companies. I am a graduate of Civil Engineering in UCC from over 30 years ago. I then left and worked around the globe with cutting edge technology companies and latterly with Deloitte Consulting. I joined Nimbus in 2013. Nimbus is part of CIT and has about 60 full time technology researchers. We have Software, Hardware, Artificial intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality experts.

What kind of areas of society is your research seeking to change and how will these affect society and people’s interaction with technology?

We do several things with our technology. We make processes work better in factories – what we call Industry 4.0. We develop new technologies that help protect people from cyber-attack using AI – a cyber-attack may be someone trying to hack your devices OR someone using social media to bully you. We build new technologies to detect water impurities. We build digital virtual models and feed in sensor data then can put you in this world using our AR/VR equipment. We generally strive to produce software and hardware systems to help industry and to help people with new or improved services and products.

What are the new areas for career and business opportunities?

We are seeing an explosion in the use of Applied Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence across healthcare, social media, consumer products, energy management and gaming. Clients are coming to us from all over the world. There are global shortages of AI experts and people that can see the opportunities to bring AI to areas like health, manufacturing, and food and similar sectors.

Are there one or two projects that are now up and running as businesses that you could give us examples of?

We have developed a special scanner for operating theatres to scan QR codes on all items that are implanted in people. The QR codes vary in size from 0.5mm to 15mm across and are often wrapped in plastic. We developed the hardware and the AI platform to help read the code. Another example is analysing college student’s social media text, video and pictures to help identify self-harm, depressive and abusive behaviours. Help can then be provided earlier to support the student.

How is the centre reaching out to young women to encourage more gender balance in STEM careers?

We support outreach projects across the community with a big focus on gender balance. Our annual summit – ‘Beyond IoT’ brought some of the biggest female names in technology – Lauren Knausenberger from the the US Pentagon and Sally Eaves, UN Technology Strategy Advisor – to name two great examples.

How do people – students, business owners and innovators – get involved with Nimbus?

If you are an entrepreneur or businessperson with an idea or just want to understand what is going on out there – just come and talk to us. We will then guide you through how we can develop the technology and apply for government grants. We often write the applications for you. If you are a student and want to do an internship, then talk to us and we will guide you through our internship programme.

What kind of Ireland/Cork is Nimbus working towards?

Nimbus is at the heart of putting Cork on the Global Technology Roadmap. We want to attract the best companies and ideas to Nimbus to help future-proof the regional and national technology economy.

For more information: https://www.nimbus.cit.ie/ or contact Richard.linger@cit.ie.

“The oldest purpose built theatre in Cork!
 In fact the oldest in Ireland, outside of Dublin, but this is Cork, and we don’t concern ourselves with provincial cities such as Dublin or wherever.”

It was built in April, 1897. We go outside onto MacCurtain Street, named after Tomás McCurtain, mayor of Cork, who was killed in 1920. 

“During the infamous burning of Cork city in 1920 witnesses reported seeing a group of 14 to 18 black and tans firing wildly for upwards of 20 minutes on this Street.
Patrick Street was ablaze. Two thousand Cork men, women and children were left jobless and homeless.

But not MacCurtain Street – this theatre known then as Dan Lowry’s Palace of Varieties was a favourite of the soldiers. Perhaps this street and all these old Victorian buildings stand thanks to this fine old theatre.”

We are brought back inside, into the theatre itself. It is a wonder of colour, lights and atmosphere. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Everyman Palace Theatre is done out in a Neo Byzantine, Victorian, Vaudeville era style of architecture.
 The Theatre was designed by the Architect Richard Henry Brompton from Aberdeen who spent much of his life in Japan where he designed over 30 lighthouses. He relocated to Cork for the building of Dan Lowrey’s Palace of Varieties.”

Jimmy emerges as Sandow the Strongman!

“Power personified!
 The Iconic Victorian Builder of Bodies.
 With classical Grecian musculature!
 Divinely proportioned!”

The spectacle is extraordinary. The ceiling an exotic geometry of styles borrowed. Another historical figure emerges. A familiar one to all!

“The King of Comedy, The Tramp, The Drunken Fop! The great Charlie Chaplin
!” 

Chaplin did perform in here in his earlier years, as part of a troupe. People were astounded by his physical talent. The famous Laurel and Hardy graced this stage too. Their movies and Charlie Chaplin’s were shown here regularly and drew huge numbers.
 We move upwards, after an impromptu performance inspired by the ‘dancing Tiller Girls’, into the Gods. 

“Welcome to the Gods!
 That’s what the good people of Cork named this balcony.
 Take a seat and admire the view.
 They had benches, because the Gods were for the poorer people, they couldn’t afford seats, just a little bum space on a seat.”

“This was once Cork’s major cinema.
 To give you an example of how many people would attend a popular film, in 1961 Ben Hur was shown here and over 60,000 tickets were sold on a 9 week run.” 

The population of Cork was only about 100,000. We all peer down wondering if we can imagine what it must have been like back then. 

We move through the theatre, the dressing rooms, all set up for the night ahead, back down to the foyer where the bar, sadly, is closed. Damien and Jimmy regale us with one last song before we go back out into the day’s light and noise. 

I should do this more often. I should go to the theatre more often. The Everyman’s tour guide/actor troupe includes some of Cork’s finest: Rosie O’Regan, Ciara Morrin, Ciaran MacCartain, Jimmy Bray and Damien Punch.  Is there anything more magical than actors performing in front of us? Promises, promises! I’ll be back though. This magic has got into me.

The Odd Couple by Neil Simon runs at the Everyman Theatre on MacCurtain Street until August 17. Not such an odd couple – theatre and this beautiful city on the Lee. The Everyman dreams about us all and invites us in to that most primal and elemental of the arts – the theatre, our theatre – alive today in Cork, in the flesh, and true to the inquiring and expressive spirit of this life. Brendan McCormack meets up with Aidan O’Shea, one of the founders, in the Met Bar for coffee. Outside, the Victorian Quarter is alive with life and the street is alive with Act 1 of a day in the life of Cork City.  

A pharmacist by day, Aidan has been actor, play director and scene carrier for the past 50 years, as the Everyman moved through Cork City on its colourful and theatrical journey to its present location on McCurtain Street.

“As a wide-eyed teenager in Cork in the mid 1950s, I revelled in all of these wonders, and in the transforming power of art. By that I mean the way in which art seeks out beauty, colour, harmony and ecstasy, making the mundane sublime and unforgettable.”

“People who were teachers, office workers, pharmacists or lawyers by day became actors, directors and designers at night.”

Little Theatre, CCYMS (Cork Catholic Young Men’s Society), Castle Street – 1962

“Everyman built up a loyal support base at CCYMS from 1963-72, featuring plays by Pinter, Becket, Jean Anouilh, George Bernard Shaw, Federico Garcia Lorca, Ibsen and Chekhov. Many of these modern classics were first productions in Cork. This also was a period fertile with new and exciting plays,” says Aidan.

‘It is the very mark of the spirit of rebellion to crave for happiness in this life’
Ibsen, Ghosts.

“When I revisited the 1965-66 programme, I realised that I acted in Ibsen’s Ghosts and in Denis Johnston’s Dreaming Dust, based on the life of Jonathan Swift. In addition, I directed Summertime by Italian playwright Ugo Betti and Albert Camus’ wonderful Caligula. I was 22-years-old at the time!

“Of course, not everything on stage went to plan. During the production of Caligula, based on the life of the dissolute Roman emperor, we wanted to convey that the emperor was also worshipped as a God. So we decided to have a votive flame burning in homage to the God/emperor. This was achieved by an ingenious contraption consisting of a drum of bottled gas under the imperial throne, some rubber tubing taped to the stage floor and a decorative stand surmounted by a bowl. All went well until the second night, when a senator paying homage to Caligula trod heavily on the rubber hose, quenching the flame. None of the actors noticed, but those off-stage heard the hissing sound of gas under pressure emerging from the bowl. PANIC STATIONS ENSUED!! A minor character was tugged offstage, armed with lighting taper and pushed back on to reignite the flame. Backstage staff cowered as the taper was applied. A dramatic plume of flame shot up, startling even the God/emperor. Fortunately, the plume subsided without igniting the entire cast. We breathed once again.”

‘But – I cannot make a choice. I have my own sorrow, but I suffer with him, too; I share his pain. I understand all – that is my trouble.’
Camus, Caligula

The success of this new theatre outgrew this first location and a new venue had to be found. 

“A committee was formed under the chairmanship of local industrialist Liam St. John Devlin, and including architect James Barry, surveyor Hugh Coveney, and Everyman directors Dan Donovan, John O’Shea and Seán Ó Tuama,” explains Aidan.

The result of their search was that an agreement was reached with the Capuchin Friars to lease and renovate Father Mathew Hall as a new base for Everyman.

Father Mathew Hall, Father Mathew Street – 1972

Throughout the warm summer of 1972, a volunteer army worked for Everyman to redecorate and recondition the 420-seat theatre. A public appeal raised £12,000 for the effort. On November 1, 1972, The Everyman Playhouse was officially opened by film actress Angela Lansbury. The opening show was Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man directed by John O’Shea.

“Many others went on from this chapter of Everyman to professional theatre careers. They include international stage designer Bob Crowley, and actors Fiona Shaw, Frank Twomey, Mark O’Regan, Kieran Aherne, Frank Mackey and Pakie O’Callaghan. Vincent Hanley (now deceased) went on to be a pioneering TV presenter of MTV and Bill Hobbs is now a TV personality commenting on consumer affairs. Graham Norton appeared once in several musical shows!”

‘Production after production showed a growing knowledge of the trade, and a structure emerged showing hallmarks of genuine excellence, so that one began to feel the presence of something created out of the local bone, and potentially more significant than other theatrical enterprises.’
Mary Manning, theatre critic of Hibernia.

By the late 1980s Everyman was forced to search for yet another venue. The growth in cinema and the emergence of multiplexes worked this time in its favour. A once glorious theatre on MacCurtain Street was closed and derelict. A forgotten ghost would soon be brought back into the world.

The Cork Palace Theatre of Varieties, MacCurtain Street – 1990
“The Palace had started life on April 19, 1897, as The Cork Palace Theatre of Varieties. In his application for a theatre licence to Cork magistrates, Dan Lowrey II had promised the prettiest, the most commodious and the best equipped place of entertainment in Ireland”, says Aidan.

 Two variety shows per night were offered, and the balcony had simple wooden benches, giving a total audience capacity of 1,000. The theatre itself is spread over an irregular site described as “12 and 15 King Street and 14 and 15 Patrick’s Quay.” 

The main section of the site was a coal store owned by Alfred Dobbin of Dobbin, Ogilvie and Co., fuel, grocery and drug wholesalers. This name can still be seen on the Patrick’s Quay façade of the theatre. 

What kind of shows did the music halls offer? “A typical programme would include comic sketches and long monologues in verse mingled with light, classical and popular music, saucy patter songs, acrobatics, circus animals, magic lantern shows and popular stock characters like the drunk or the henpecked husband. Smoking, eating and drinking were allowed in the music halls. Audiences were often boisterous, heckling and joining in the chorus of well-known melodies. The greatest fun was found in suggestive but apparently innocent scripts.

“However, by the late 1980s The Palace was closed and derelict. Some of its decorative plaster and ornate boxes survived, but changing popular taste hinted at a grim future of demolition. It had a frail claim to heritage status in its faded plush and gilt. In a remarkable act of generosity, Abbey Films Ltd. sold the Palace to Everyman Playhouse Ltd. for a payment of £10,000 per annum over 12 years, a total of £120,000, interest free. This was an absolute bargain in terms of its potential as a venue for live theatre. The only stipulation was that films would not be shown.”

Once more the amateurs of the Everyman rose to the challenge, and with the help of Cork Corporation, The Heritage Council, The EU and The Arts Council, they worked for the next three years to bring theatre to Cork City again. Several plays, including The Green Fool by Patrick Kavanagh helped raise the necessary funds. 

Aidan recalls, “When I was in Dublin in the 1960s, I used visit a small bookshop on Baggot Street bridge, run by a couple of maiden aunts, and there I saw Patrick Kavanagh, the great poet, haunting the shelves. I bade him good morning, as you do, and he grunted in response. A grumpy, dishevelled man – like the Bull from JB Keane’s The Field – but he had a beautiful poetic gift. Years later when raising funds for Everyman in the late 80s, I wrote and directed an adaptation of his autobiography, The Green Fool, and they let me use it without having to pay anything. It ran and ran and we took it all over the county. It raised a huge amount when we needed it most.

“Our new theatre opened to acclaim on Monday, March 19, 1990 with a production of Myles na gCopaleen’s The Brother starring Eamon Morrissey. It was a remarkable achievement to reopen a derelict cinema as a venue for plays and musicals. The faithful restoration of the Victorian plush and gilt was a revelation, as The Palace had a very modest façade on the street. At a later date the foyer bar was restored and it displays many mementoes of the old music hall days. In 1996, Cork Corporation approved the replacement of the cast iron canopy on the street frontage. The fine stained glass detail of the canopy is by James Scanlon, making an emphatic statement that The Everyman Palace is back in business. Tribute must be paid to the voluntary directors whose audacity, tenacity and endurance launched this chapter of the Everyman story.

‘How strange a thing like that happens to a man. He dabbles in something and does not realise that it is his life.’
Patrick Kavanagh

“For me, Everyman Theatre has been a workshop of the arts, an aesthetic and social frame within the life of Cork city, and a vista on world theatre. Our lasting legacy is the 200 or so productions spread over five decades. For me, it always about that magic moment when the houselights dim and the audience falls under the spell of a live show at the Everyman. This indomitable spirit will live on.”