Kevin Barry and Cork City
This morning.
Writer Kevin Barry on Cork in the current issue of Granta:
If cities are sexed, as Jan Morris believes, then Cork is a male place. Personified further, I would cast him as low-sized, disputatious and stoutly built, a hard-to-knock-over type. He has a haughty demeanour that’s perhaps not entirely earned but he can also, in a kinder light, seem princely.
He is certainly melancholic. He is given to surreal flights and to an antic humour and he is blessed with pleasingly musical speech patterns. He is careful with money. He is in most leanings a liberal. He is fairly cool, usually quite relaxed, and head over heels in love with himself….
….There is a sense when you’re in Cork that the rest of the world is receding. Oh it’s still out there, somewhere, in the noiseless distance, but after a while it fades from view, and it has no more than the wispy quality of a rumour. When you walk across Patrick’s Bridge and the north side of the city lofts itself handsomely into being before you, it is hard to shake the sensation that you’re at the centre of the universe.”
Otis Blue writes:
All that and the U20 All-Ireland hurling title too!
FIGHT!
The Raingod’s Green, Dark as Passion (Kevin Barry, Granta)
Methinks that Cork will be a small,stout,grumpy old man come Sunday evening
with hairy ears
Cork is male?
Who’s gonna tell Frilly?
Galway, on the other hand, is a woman.
underneath all that hair, who knows.
And the graveyard of ambition. With many roundabouts.
Too true OB – found Galway a very transient place. Stay there too long and everyone you used to hang out will have moved on and if you’re not a forward thinking fellow you could find yourself left behind to wash the pots, draw the dole and smoke the doobies.
The craic is only ever in one place at a particular time before it moves elsewhere. A wise man told me that.
Kevin Barry a fabulous writer, especially of the short story. He’s written a few exceptional ones. Great auld energy, vibrancy and colour brought to the rural Irish experience.
I always thought of Galway as the setting for City of Bohane rather than Cork. But, as he puts it, it does make sense.
A few years back there was talk of a movie but there appears to be precious little progress. Would love to see it happen.
Dark Lies the Island wasn’t a bad movie, it didn’t reflect much on the content of the short story collection but it was okay.
He’s got a lot of stories and novels that would translate very well to the cinema screen in the right hands.
I’m finishing Last Boat to Tangiers and I could see that as a mini series or something.
All true, plus devastatingly handsome to boot.
That’s a nice piece of writing by Kevin Barry.
If Cork is a man, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
It would ride itself if it could turn around quickly enough.
It has been tried. And succeeded.
Ah the Rebel County. So rebellious that they like Queens Shilling in the form of Sports Direct to, ahem, sponsor their GAA. No Cork-based sponsors available?
https://gaacork.ie/2021/02/04/sports-direct-official-sponsor-of-cork-gaa/
‘Hon Cork’?
Jesus, that’s weak.
Ah look, just trying to make conversation. Still though, it’s not a great reflection of local Cork businesses that the Cork GAA couldn’t get sponsorship from a local Cork business.
Laughably so. Hon the new Giggs.
It’s actually – by way of repaying the FAI’s cheeky upfronts back to Sports Direct for breeches
Tax payers money
Thanks everyone
BTW. Delighted to see the Kilkennioiots are taking their baten badly
Sour pusses
Corkman, with an inferiority complex – thinks he’s just as good as everyone else.
The origins of the Rebel County epithet is oft misconstrued. Its origins lie in 1491 and in the support offered to Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the throne of England during the War of the Roses.
He may well have been the Mike Ashley of his day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perkin_Warbeck
Ah shur’
More of it
A man claiming the greatest place on earth has be a man
Cause like it is the greatest – so this buck says cause it’s the greatest Cork has to be a man.
Seriously boys – this sort of public demonstration of your inadequacy and insecurity isn’t going to do yere love lives any good at all
Don’t get me wrong – I’ll still sleep with ye n’ stuff
But yer inferiority complex is a bitta’ve passion killer
Like there’s enough Beauties amongst ye
To keep ye relevant to us
No need to claim the greatest place on the planet is one of the boys and yere all just like Cork
Tis a pretty desperate attempt to give off the macho vibes of accomplishment, style, swagger, brilliance, taste, cultured, good looking
And all that other sex on legs stuff
Hon’ Cork
You’re no one’s fool girl
Least of a lad who looks like he’s from Meath
Just to be clear…
I don’t think I’m wonderful because I’m a man and I’m from Dublin.
I just happen to a wonderful man from Dublin.
Who’s scared of feet
Easy tiger, I’m not scared of feet, I just think they’re awful and best avoided.
Kinda like Deirdre O’Kane
Imagine how thoroughly awesome you’d be if you came from Cork?
Incalculably awesome.
I’d go to eleven.
You just haven’t seen Cork feet
That is undeniably true.
Although I have seen wooden legs
Boom boom!
Ah for Jaysus sake
I’ve just googled this Barry lad
He’s from Limerick
He’s obviously got the scutters already
The Shannonsiders should just painting tyres and old Cortinas
And lashing a few flags around Kilbeheny
While I’m about
C’mere Barry – did ya try singing Limerick you’re a Man in your own gaff
And that’s what has ya pestering Cork to transition
Here’s a short story called “Fjord of Killary” he wrote about 10 years ago and first published in The New Yorker …
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/02/01/fjord-of-killary
Beatlebone is well worth a read too, almost Flann O’Brien, which is a huge compliment.
I thought it was fabulous Papi, sceptical beforehand about the whole premise but he pulled it off to great effect. Cornelius was a great character, love the part where he dresses Lennon up to masquerade as his cousin Ken.
Must try City of Bohane now as well. Just ordered it.
I really enjoyed the music of Bohane, the dialogue and invented patois very well done. Had always thought it was set in a futuristic Limerick but there you go.
If you haven’t already another collection of short stories by Mayo man Colin Barrett worth the price of admission – Young Skins. Stinging Fly gave both Barry and Barrett their support, they produce an excellent periodical if that’s yer bag. Money well spent.
City of Bohane was great. Interesting that you mention music as I found it a ‘noisy’ book. I heard it as much as read it.
Thanks for the heads up on Young Skins. It has been sitting alongside Barry’s That Old Country Music in an ever expanding pile of yet-to-read books.
Barry and his his wife publish a great anthology every year called Winter Papers. Worth picking up, if you see it.
Here’s a great interview in which, amongst many subjects, he talks of the challenges of being a ginger goth.
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/09/19/failing-the-driving-test-with-kevin-barry/
I’ll check those out, sounds good. Try “A fraction of the whole” by Steven Toltz if you like the off centre kind of humour. Very good.
That’s a fantastic short. That whole book had me laughing. The one with the two auld Biddys trying to kidnap a child was just the type of dark humour I need.