About Cork City:
The city's name is derived from an Irish word corcach meaning "marshy place", referring to its situation on the River Lee. The city is a major Irish seaport — with quays and docks sited along the broad waterway of the Lee on the city's East side. Cork City in general boasts many architectually stunning buildings from the medieval (only the Red Abbey survives from medieval Cork) and into the present. Cork City is Ireland's third city (after Dublin and Belfast) and has always been an important seaport. It began on an island in the swampy estuary of the River Lee and gradually climbed up the steep banks on either side.

www.cork-guide.ie
www.corkkerry.ie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork%2C_Ireland

Just for starters visit St Finn Barre's - a splendid triple-spired example of French-gothic architecture. It stands where the saint established his monastic school about 650 AD. Among its most striking features are the fine rose window, the mosaic pavements and the elaborate carving throughout.

Walk along the Western Road to Tudor-Gothic University College with its attractive riverside quadrangle, and visit the Honan Chapel there. Make your way up the North Main Street where the Cork Vision Centre is located, then over North Gate Bridge and climb up Shandon Church. The Old Gaol in Sunday's Well has been restored

"encloseth Corke with his divided floode"

as the poet Spenser wrote many centuries ago. Spenser was of course married here, so the city always held a special place in his heart.