Emmet Place

10A. Cork Opera House

The origins of Cork Opera House go back to the first Cork Exhibition of 1852. The original concert hall building, the Atheneum, designed by Sir John Benson was repurposed on Nelson Place (Emmet Place), the site of the current Opera House, in 1855. It was redesigned in 1872 when it became the Munster Hall, officially becoming Cork Opera House on 17 September 1877.

The first show staged was a comedy Our Boys by H.J. Byron.

Many famous literary and political figures such as Charles Dickens and Charles Stewart Parnell have appeared on stage here. The Atheneum building survived on-site for a century but unfortunately a catastrophic fire took place on 12 December 1955 which saw the building burn to the ground.

The old building was highly flammable - the fire took hold quickly and the firemen were only able to stop the spread of the flames to the nearby Crawford Art Gallery. The rebuilding costs of a new Opera House were estimated at £150,000 and many public fundraising events and efforts were organised. Years passed and the costs escalated to £200,000. Undaunted, further fundraising efforts raised the necessary funds. The new Opera House was opened by Eamonn De Valera on 31 October 1965.

On November 4, 1987, halfway through a European tour in support of the Defender album, Rory Gallagher returned home with his band to Cork Opera House. The concert was made to broadcast on RTÉ national television and aired on December 30,1987. The well received concert film was later released under the title Messin’ With The Kid - Rory Gallagher In Cork.

Among the images is the band pictured backstage together with Rory at Cork Opera House before the show.

L-R Rory, Mark Feltham (Harmonica), Gerry Mc Avoy (Bass) & Brendan O’Neill (Drums). 

Some songs from the evening can be viewed and enjoyed here:

Continental Op

Out on the Western Plain

Tattoo’d Lady

Cork Opera House: Celebrating 170 Years                                          

Celebrating its 170th anniversary in 2025, Cork Opera House is more than a cultural institution. Located in the heart of the city by the banks of the River Lee, southern Ireland’s premier arts venue is synonymous with the cultural heritage of the people of Cork; its long history reflecting the history of the city itself.

Through good times and bad, Cork Opera House has always been there - a part of the wider community reflecting the ever-changing times and providing a world-class stage for Cork’s rich and varied creative life.

Cork people love their opera house and its unwavering support for local artistic talent. More than a venue, Cork Opera House is an integral part of the community of the city.

What’s On at Cork Opera House?

From big international touring shows to debut performances by local musicians, Cork Opera House is proud of the varied programme of events it offers. From its hosting of world-renowned legends as part of Cork Jazz Festival, to West End offerings along with superb Irish theatre and opera, few cultural bodies can boast such a strong sense of community and a position at the heart of local cultural life. The Opera House is synonymous with Cork and that unique legacy is set to continue long into the future.

Find out more or book your tickets at www.corkoperahouse.ie

10B. Former Crawford Art School, Crawford Art Gallery

From an early age Rory was a keen artist who loved to draw.

Over the 5,000 pages of his notebook writings of lyrics & song chord notations are many sketches Rory drew of other Artists, self-portraits, family and friends.

During his teens he had a passion for art at school,

One of Rory’s first fascinations as a youngster was with Buddy Holly.

He was the musician that made Rory set on wanting to play a Fender Stratocaster guitar.

Pictured is a portrait painting by Rory from a school project he made around the American musician.

While music eventually became his professional path, Rory explored improving his art skills, taking evening drawing classes at the Crawford Municipal School of Art in the 1960s.

The second image is a later pen drawing that he took as the medium to continue his portraiture practice.

Aided by attending the lessons held in what is now the Crawford Gallery, adjacent here to this trail point, it It's an example of his development of first-hand observation sketching.

The ease of a pen between writing lyrics became a happy medium in notebooks where Rory could flit between two of his creative interests from page to page.

Sometimes Rory took to recreating in pen figures from album covers.

The rendition of Manuel De Planta, the French Flamenco guitarist, from their 1968 Recital album cover is shown in the images here.

Rory also made a large number of drawings of Blues musicians, none of them more important to Rory than Muddy Waters.

Detailed with affection to capture an aspect of character, the Mississippi Sheiks band, Rory pays tribute to on paper as well as on his song on the Photo Finish album.

Distinctive faces also fascinated him and Bob Dylan’s was one portrait he often attempted but no more so better than here.

In terms of his subject matter when drawing, Rory was always more interested in the people in front of him or inspiring his music in the main, but he often doodled self-portraits and casual caricatures of himself. Also, when conceiving of album covers for his own music, he would sketch it out, like this realisation of his Blueprint album cover. 

The Crawford Gallery building is an important historic Cork building, parts of which date back to the early eighteenth century. The building which now houses the Crawford Art Gallery was built in 1724.

In 1830 the old Custom House building was given to the Royal Cork Institution, (a forerunner of the present University College Cork) with the object of ‘diffusing knowledge and the application of science to the common purposes in life. ´

A new house was built at this time to accommodate the rapidly expanding port operations. The building became a Government School of Design in 1850 and part of the South Kensington School system some years later.

An extension, housing studios and galleries was added in 1884 to accommodate the growing number of students, at the expense of William Horatio Crawford, after whom it was named the Crawford School of Art.

The conversion of the building into a School of Art and Gallery in the early nineteenth century was the first step to the establishment of the art collection. When the School of Art relocated premises in 1979, the building became the home for the Crawford Art Gallery.

Crawford Art Gallery closed to the public in autumn 2024, to facilitate an ambitious two-and-a-half-year redevelopment. It is currently anticipated that the gallery will reopen in 2027.

For more information about the Crawford Art Gallery please visit: crawfordartgallery.ie