David Ryan: Christchurch, Siege of Cork, Sir Henry Browne Hayes, Triskel Arts Centre,
Title
David Ryan: Christchurch, Siege of Cork, Sir Henry Browne Hayes, Triskel Arts Centre,
Subject
Cork's Built Heritage
Description
David talks about the history and use of Christchurch and the adjoining Triskel arts centre.
He describes the Siege of Cork in the 1690s when the church was badly damaged.
He relates the story of Sir Henry Browne Hayes, who kidnapped Quaker heiress Mary Pike, was transported to Australia and is buried in Christchurch.
This interview was conducted for the DVD If the Walls Could Talk.
He describes the Siege of Cork in the 1690s when the church was badly damaged.
He relates the story of Sir Henry Browne Hayes, who kidnapped Quaker heiress Mary Pike, was transported to Australia and is buried in Christchurch.
This interview was conducted for the DVD If the Walls Could Talk.
Date
17 October 2013
Identifier
CFP_SR00497_ryan_2013
Coverage
Cork City; Ireland; Built Heritage; 1770s-200Os;
Relation
If the Wall Could Talk: Stories Of Cork's Heritage Catalogue Numbers:
CFP_SR00492_herlihy_2013;
CFP_SR00493_walsh_2013;
CFP_SR00494_butler_2013;
CFP_SR00495_faris_2013;
CFP_SR00496_osullivan_2013;
CFP_SR00498_holland_2013;
CFP_SR00499_hartnett&osullivan_2013;
CFP_SR00500_mccarthy_2013;
CFP_SR00505_healy_2013;
CFP_SR00506_gleeson_2013;
CFP_SR00507_miller_2013;
CFP_SR00492_herlihy_2013;
CFP_SR00493_walsh_2013;
CFP_SR00494_butler_2013;
CFP_SR00495_faris_2013;
CFP_SR00496_osullivan_2013;
CFP_SR00498_holland_2013;
CFP_SR00499_hartnett&osullivan_2013;
CFP_SR00500_mccarthy_2013;
CFP_SR00505_healy_2013;
CFP_SR00506_gleeson_2013;
CFP_SR00507_miller_2013;
Published Material:
If the Wall Could Talk: Stories Of Cork's Heritage (2013) DVD
If the Stones Could Speak: More stories from Cork's heritage (2015) DVD
Source
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
Rights
Cork Folklore Project
Language
English
Type
Sound
Format
1 .wav File
Interviewee
Interviewer
Duration
26m 14s
Location
Triskel Christchurch, Tobin St, Cork City, Ireland.
Original Format
.wav
Bit Rate/Frequency
24bit / 48kHz
Transcription
The following is a short extract from the interview transcript, copyright of the Cork Folklore Project. If you wish to access further archival material please contact CFP, folklorearchive@gmail.com
DR Ok, well the current Christchurch building that’s ya know here at the moment it was the third building on this site to the best of our knowledge. Eh it was built in the 1720’s, we think it was 1726 when it was completed and it was a Cork architect by the name of John Coltsman who was responsible for the building. Eh the only other projects we know he was definitely involved in were the current Southgate Bridge and the Old Northgate Bridge. Now we don’t know ya know what other projects he might have been involved in because despite being from Cork we haven’t actually managed to keep much information on him. Eh now even ya know back then sure it would have looked slightly different because the original design involved a tower. Now the tower was originally meant to go up to...I think it was 176 feet, eh but when they got to 130 they realised that it just wasn’t going to work, that it just wasn’t stable, because as everyone knows the word Cork comes from the Irish ‘Corcaigh’ ‘bog or marsh’ and back then a portion of Cork was still very boggy and marshy. So the Christchurch tower started to lean and there was a saying in Cork at that time ‘all to one side like Christchurch tower’ and many of the people living along eh what was then Christchurch lane would have obviously been concerned that the tower was going to collapse and take them with it. So in the 1820’s they got rid of the tower finally. Now the current church was Anglican Church of Ireland up until it was deconsecrated in 1978 and at that time, Cork city council offered to purchase it for 20,000 pounds and they also paid decided they’d throw in another 20,000 as you did for the organ. And it was then used for the as a home for the Cork archives Institute which eventually became the Cork City and County archives who are based up in Blackpool. So they left the building in 2005 and Triskel reached an agreement with Cork City Council to take over management of it and 4.8 million Euro was spent on the restoration. Half of that came from European funding, the rest was from the city council.
DR Ok, well the current Christchurch building that’s ya know here at the moment it was the third building on this site to the best of our knowledge. Eh it was built in the 1720’s, we think it was 1726 when it was completed and it was a Cork architect by the name of John Coltsman who was responsible for the building. Eh the only other projects we know he was definitely involved in were the current Southgate Bridge and the Old Northgate Bridge. Now we don’t know ya know what other projects he might have been involved in because despite being from Cork we haven’t actually managed to keep much information on him. Eh now even ya know back then sure it would have looked slightly different because the original design involved a tower. Now the tower was originally meant to go up to...I think it was 176 feet, eh but when they got to 130 they realised that it just wasn’t going to work, that it just wasn’t stable, because as everyone knows the word Cork comes from the Irish ‘Corcaigh’ ‘bog or marsh’ and back then a portion of Cork was still very boggy and marshy. So the Christchurch tower started to lean and there was a saying in Cork at that time ‘all to one side like Christchurch tower’ and many of the people living along eh what was then Christchurch lane would have obviously been concerned that the tower was going to collapse and take them with it. So in the 1820’s they got rid of the tower finally. Now the current church was Anglican Church of Ireland up until it was deconsecrated in 1978 and at that time, Cork city council offered to purchase it for 20,000 pounds and they also paid decided they’d throw in another 20,000 as you did for the organ. And it was then used for the as a home for the Cork archives Institute which eventually became the Cork City and County archives who are based up in Blackpool. So they left the building in 2005 and Triskel reached an agreement with Cork City Council to take over management of it and 4.8 million Euro was spent on the restoration. Half of that came from European funding, the rest was from the city council.
Citation
Cork Folklore Project, “David Ryan: Christchurch, Siege of Cork, Sir Henry Browne Hayes, Triskel Arts Centre,,” accessed April 19, 2024, https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/11.