Built Heritage

The Cork region is home to over 2,000 protected structures and its city is known as the city of steps and steeples – a reference to the many churches, chapels, convents, schools and monasteries spread right across the city’s hilly north side and around the flat of the city centre.

Perhaps the best known of the city’s ecclesiastical landmarks are the three-spired St Fin Barre’s Cathedral beside the River Lee, and St Anne’s Church in Shandon with its four-faced clock and famous Shandon bells. Although both churches as we see them today were built during the 18th Century, there have been places of worship at each of the sites since the 7th Century.

This tradition of rebuilding is characteristic of the city’s churches. The Church of St Peter and St Paul in the city centre just off Patrick Street, also dates back to the early part of the 18th Century, as does Christchurch – now deconsecrated and used as the city’s archive. Both these structures are the result of extensive rebuilding of the original churches, which were destroyed during the Siege of Cork in 1690.

One city landmark which definitely owes nothing to the 18th Century is the internationally renowned Christ the King church in Turner’s Cross. With its bold, lines and large, uncompromisingly modern statue of Christ – reminiscent of the statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro – this impressive church is unmistakably early 20th Century.

The success of the Turner’s Cross church prompted a number of other suburban churches and schools being built outside the city centre during the mid-20th Century, making a hugely important contribution to the built heritage of suburban Cork.

Cork’s civic and military architecture also tell their stories about the history and the heritage of its people. There are over 900 religious, civic and military buildings on Corks Record of Protected Structures (RPS) – that’s a list of buildings that are of some significant interest architecturally, historically, archaeologically, artistically, culturally, scientifically or socially. And The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage has recommended that a further 1500 structures be added to this Record.