Firkin Crane Centre | |
Address | John Redmond St. Cork Ireland |
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Coordinates | 51°54′09″N8°28′35″W / 51.9026°N 8.4764°W |
Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) |
Capacity | 238 (Smurfit Theatre) |
Construction | |
Built | 1855 |
Rebuilt | 1992 |
Architect | John Benson |
Website | |
www |
The Firkin Crane is a non-profit arts organisation based in the protected building of the same name in the Shandon area of Cork City in Ireland. [1] [2] It is a theatre and dance centre and is a permanent base for Cork City Ballet and Crux Dance Theatre. [3] [4] [5]
The Firkin Crane building is located near the Church of St Anne, Shandon close to the Cork Butter Museum and the site of the original Cork City Butter Exchange. [6] The building was opened in August 1855, designed to a rotunda plan by Sir John Benson [7] for the Butter Exchange. The building's name derives from the "Firkin" unit (9 gallons or 80Ibs of butter) and the "Crane" weighing scale. [8] [9] Where the building currently stands is reputed to have been a possible site for a fort belonging to the MacCarthy Clan. [10] [11] The Shandon Butter Factory was housed within the Firkin Crane and the firkins were weighed up there. [12] A margarine factory (James Daly & Sons) replaced the market in 1924. This closed in 1976.
Joan Denise Moriarty created an Arts Council approved space in the building until a fire destroyed it on 6 July 1980. [13] [14] According to the Cork Examiner, Moriarty was just about to embark on an IR£400,000 campaign to renovate it. Three units from Cork Fire Brigade fought the fire. Within minutes of the fire breaking out, the structure was an inferno, with most of the building being constructed of wood which had been covered in a thick coating of grease over the years. [15] In response to the fire, Tom Donnelly, general manager of the Irish Ballet Company, said they were determined with their plans to establish there. Gardaí did not rule out the possibility that the fire may have been maliciously started. [16]
The building was rebuilt using funds from the European Economic Community Architectural Award for Ireland. On 26 April 1992, the building was re-opened by then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. It became known as the Firkin Crane Centre. [11] [17] By 2000, the Firkin Crane Dance Development Agency was in operation. [18]
According to The Encyclopedia of Ireland, by Oxford University Press, it was Ireland's only dedicated dance venue in 2000. [19]
It held the William Thompson Weekend School in 2003. [20] Ireland's first dance house, The Institute for Choreography and Dance, was based in the building, and became a founding member of the European Dancehouse Network in 2004. It continued as a centre dedicated to choreographic research until 2006. [21] [22]
Dance performances were held in the Firkin Crane in 2015 as part of Cork Culture Night. [23] In 2018, a documentary on the history of the Ford Factory in Cork was held in the building. [24] [25] It also hosted a play called Cosy, featuring an all-female cast as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival. [26]
As of 2020, it hosted bursary awards. That year, 16 year old James Berkery, a ballet dancer at the Firkin Crane was nominated for a BAFTA in the UK. [27] [28] It was received part of a €290,000 grant to arts organisations from Cork City Council that year. [29] CEO Paul McCarthy departed from the organisation, having held the position for 25 years. [30]
Sinn Féin's Thomas Gould and the Green Party's Dan Boyle have served on the Firkin Crane's voluntary Board of Directors. [31] [32]
Mallow is a town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately thirty-five kilometres north of Cork. Mallow is in the barony of Fermoy.
Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place to the rear of the Crawford Art Gallery. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and a replacement opened in 1965. With a number of additions in the early 21st century, the 1000-seat venue hosted over 100 theatre, music, opera, and comedy events in 2015.
Dan Boyle is an Irish Green Party politician and author who served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011. He was a Senator from 2007 to 2011, after being nominated by the Taoiseach. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South-Central from 2002 to 2007.
Cork, located on Ireland's south coast, is the second largest city within the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and the third largest on the island of Ireland after Dublin and Belfast. Cork City is the largest city in the province of Munster. Its history dates back to the sixth century.
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and third largest city on the island of Ireland. It is located in the Southern Region and in the province of Munster. In the 2022 census, the first following an extension to the city's boundary in 2019, the city had a population of 222,333.
Shandon is a district on the north-side of Cork city. Shandon lies north of the River Lee and North Gate Bridge, the northernmost point of the medieval city. Several landmarks of Cork's north-side are located in the area, including the bell tower of the Church of St Anne, the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne, Saint Mary’s Dominican Church & Priory, and Firkin Crane Arts Centre.
The English Market is a municipal food market in the center of Cork city, Ireland. It stretches from Princes Street to the Grand Parade, and combines Princes Street Market and Grand Parade Market. The market is regarded for both its mid-19th century architecture and locally produced artisan food.
The Church of St Anne is a Church of Ireland church located in the Shandon district of Cork city in Ireland. Built between 1722 and 1726, it is situated on a hill overlooking the River Lee. The church tower is a noted landmark and symbol of the city, and the church bells were popularised in a 19th century song.
Joan Denise Moriarty was an Irish ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher of ballet and traditional Irish dancer and musician. She was a key figure in the development of both amateur and professional ballet in Ireland.
Elizabeth Fort is a 17th-century star fort off Barrack Street in Cork, Ireland. Originally built as a defensive fortification on high-ground outside the city walls, the city eventually grew around the fort, and it took on various other roles – including use as a military barracks, prison, and police station. Since 2014, the fort has seen some development as a tourism heritage site, reportedly attracting 36,000 visitors during 2015. The walls of the fort have been accessible to the public on a regular basis since September 2014.
The SoundEye Festival of the Arts of the Word is an annual festival of poetry and other related art forms. It is held annually in Cork City over several days in either late-June to mid-July, with over 20 poets reading at the 2017 event. Events take place in venues such as the Guesthouse and Firkin Crane within the city.
Gurranabraher is a residential suburb on the north western side of Cork City. Its bounds range from the North Cathedral to Bakers Road to Blarney Street. Gurranabraher is located in Cork North-Central Dáil Éireann constituency.
Cork City Ballet is an Irish ballet company founded in 1992 by Alan Foley, a student of Joan Denise Moriarty. It is one of two professional ballet companies in Ireland. Cork City Ballet performs annually at Cork Opera House, staging a production of Giselle in 2011. It has toured venues such as Wexford Opera House, The Helix, Tralee's Siamsa Tire and University Concert Hall, Limerick. Cork City Ballet has worked with a number of guest artists and companies such as Royal Swedish Ballet and Kirov Ballet. In 2012, Cork City Ballet commemorated the centenary of the birth of Joan Denise Moriarty, the founder of Irish Theatre Ballet, Ireland's first professional ballet company.
Sir John Benson ICE was an Irish architect, born in Collooney, County Sligo. Although most of his work was in Cork, he was knighted for his design for the Dublin Great Industrial Exhibition.
Vernon Mount is a ruined Georgian manor house in Cork, Ireland. It was built between the 1780s and early 1790s to designs attributed to Abraham Hargrave. Originally built for the merchant Hayes family, the house was named for Mount Vernon, the home of US president George Washington. Passing through several owners, the house remained largely disused and subject to deterioration from the late 20th century. It was included in the Record of Monuments and Places by the National Monuments Service, and on the Record of Protected Structures for Cork County Council. It remained largely intact until 2016, when a significant fire largely gutted the house, and the building was subsequently listed on the derelict sites register. In 2021, the building was subject to a funding request for stabilisation works due to "risk of collapse".
Shandon Street, formerly known as Mallow Lane, is a street in the Shandon area of Cork City, Ireland and is a retail area on the North-Side of Cork city.
Frank Murphy (1916–1993) was an Irish architect. Born in Cork, he was active mainly in the 1950s and 1960s, and his works include a number of modernist structures. In a 2018 editorial in the Irish Examiner, Murphy was described as "arguably Cork's most eminent and exciting modern architect", and as "Cork's unsung hero of Modernism".
Thomas Gould is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-Central constituency since the 2020 general election.
Ricky Dineen is an Irish musician best known as the guitarist, and at times bassist with the post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea?, earlier known as Nun Attax, later as Beethoven–fucking–Beethoven. He wrote most of the band's music and developed their angular musical style, which he said was in part influenced by The Fire Engines, Gang of Four, The Mekons and Bogshed.
Shandon Castle, originally known as Lord Barry's Castle, was an early medieval castle in the Shandon area of Cork city in Ireland. It was built in the late 12th century by Philip de Barry, close to an earlier ringfort. Located outside the city's gates and defensive walls, the castle was a seat of the Cambro-Norman de Barry family for several centuries.
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