Cork Day - Oct 16th 2013

29th Jan 2013

The amazing longevity of the Ballyhea protest, the HMV and Vita Cortex sit-ins and the recent invasion of City Council chambers by anti-property tax protestors is getting the message out there that the Rebel County is becoming very restless with Ireland and its mealy mouthed ways when it comes to justice.

Ballyhea’s chief organiser Diarmuid O’Flynn appeared on Vincent Browne’s TV3 show recently. His lengthy experience explaining the reasons for the continuing protest has made him a master of the topic and his increasing ability to smartly articulate the practical reasons that the Anglo Irish Bank bailout in particular is sickeningly unjust has not gone unnoticed by those of us who might, at times, prefer to bury our heads in the sand. 

Real rebels in Ballyhea with Diarmuid O'Flynn (centre)

After listening to Mr. O’Flynn it is hard to see the whimpish Dublin government as anything but a bunch of junior B hurlers trying to bluff their way around Croke Park on All-Ireland final day against the all star opposition of Europe who completely dominate their opposition. 

It’s great that a Cork village is leading the cries for justice – just like the former workers at HMV and Vita Cortex showed that they won’t lie down in the face of big business trying to pull a fast one on them. Those Corkonians send out an important message about the Rebel County. 

We learned this week that spoof ‘check points’ at the county bounds where drivers without a murrayeah Cork Visa will be asked to contribute to a Cork charities bucket as part of the Rebel Week celebrations in late October. As well as a good hoot it is getting the message out there about Cork’s interest in going it alone too.

When asked to speak to the country about Cork Day Cllr. Laura McGonigle performed well on Newstalk this week getting that delicate mix of ballhoppy Cork humour and hints about Cork’s inclination for independence just right. It is the mark of a real Corkonian if you can make grandiose statements about Cork that us locals understand as humour but that non-Corkonians view as unfettered arrogance.
 

PROC on border patrol. For more see this link

Unfortunately she broke the spell by revealing that the time of year of ‘International Cork Day’, if not the entire notion of it, is driven by commercial interests. It’s a season when retail businesses in the city need a boost we were told - even though Cork Day will be sandwiched a fortnight either side of the Cork Folk and Cork Jazz Festivals.

You could forgive her though – her party, Fine Gael, are in power and Cork Day taps into that edict handed down from Dublin: The Gathering. The primary reason for this very heavily marketed series of events is to give the tourism sector a shot in the arm - a genuine welcome is in second place.

A fancy new website has been created for the event - click here although you would have thought they could have include the cúpla focal

Be very clear that this is not because we want to welcome the Cork diaspora home but because we want their bobs in our tills, their big American bums in hotel beds and their tongues in our drisheen.
 
That shouldn’t stop us enjoying it though and no festival can take place without being able to pay its bills but like every true Corkonian we’ll be watching with interest as plans unfold.

Politicians, business associations and local PR companies (we note a Dublin PR company have been hired for Rebel Week) can be unmercifully transparent when trumpeting the benefits of cultural events in Cork - the tone can be distasteful and councillors squeezing out ‘that was my idea’ into every second sentence is cringing. 

Wonder where McGonigle got the idea for the Cork passport now...

On our music forum many users often cite the very successful European Capital of Culture project that saw Patrick Street being shut down to traffic for a day in 2005 with mini stages, sound systems, performers and DJs playing music all day to enthusiastic crowds.

They talk about it because it made them feel good and not because it put grade in their pockets. The fact that tons of non-commercially driven but highly acclaimed events like this happened in that particular year was ironic in a way. The Celtic Tiger was at its peak in 2005 but culture and enjoyment took precedence over coin and Cork people appreciated that. It seems it is the other way around now.

We at the People’s Republic are delighted that there will be a Cork Day or Rebel Week or whatever – any opportunity to sound the clarion of Cork’s greatness should never be turned down - but let’s hope those involved in organising it have sufficient traces of the ‘cop on’ gene in their DNA to make it genuine as oppose to an excuse to get people into town to spend their spondoolies and a told-you-so to throw on a flyer for the local elections next year.

That cop on gene should come as standard if you’re a true Corkonian.