The Glen, Cork

The Glen (Irish: An Gleann, meaning 'the valley') is a predominantly residential area on the north side of Cork City, Ireland.

The land was donated to the people of Cork by Sir Basil Goulding in the late 1960s and was subsequently developed as an amenity park.

British forces sustained casualties of one dead and twelve wounded, while the IRA squad escaped unharmed.

It was planned to stop the convoy of Auxiliaries, hurl bombs into the lorries, fire a quick volley of revolver shots and get away as rapidly as possible.

[9] Sean Healy a member of the ambush party, described their escape through The Glen after the attack was carried out: It was now a case of every man for himself to try and make a safe getaway.

In his story "The Ugly Duckling", Irish playwright, novelist, and short-story writer Frank O'Connor writes of the relationship between a man and his home town.

Here he describes his return to Cork city from Dublin: Then, long after, he found himself alone in Cork, tidying up things after the death of his father, his last relative there, and was suddenly plunged back into the world of his childhood and youth, wandering like a ghost from street to street, from pub to pub, from old friend to old friend, resurrecting other ghosts in a mood that was half anguish, half delight.

Phase I of the project which was completed in 2006 involved using new infill housing to occupy obscure areas and provide passive supervision of public space.

The centre is flanked by a care-taker's apartment, and opens onto a semi-private landscaped garden which is shared with a number of the residential units.

One of the existing flat blocks was demolished and the other two refurbished to provide a mix of housing with private outdoor space and better security.

This phase of the project comprises the development of 59 new houses, and a substantial community facility adjacent to St Brendan's Church in the heart of the Glen.

The layout of the scheme was dictated by the sloping nature of the site, which resulted in a terraced development from a North-Westerly to a South-Easterly direction.

[16] Cork City Council collaborated with the Steiner Kindergarten to provide a preschool facility as part of the Susie's field development.

[17] Cork Military Graveyard, at the top of Assumption road and adjacent to the Susie's field development was converted into a small park with a playground for children in 2010.

At the heart of the site is one of the city's most diverse wetland areas which includes ponds, wet grassland, wet woodland and swampy areas of emergent vegetation including common reedmace, sweet-grass, canary reed-grass and common reed, providing a valuable refuge for birds, insects and other wildlife and of biodiversity value.

It is 30 m long, 5 m wide with a gradient of about 14%, consisting of an artificial all-weather perma-snow surface with an in-built pad underneath to absorb the shock of falls.

Looking eastwards at The Glen valley in 'Glen River Park'. The Glen River (obscured by foliage from this angle) runs parallel to the left of the footpath.
One of four ventilation shafts constructed c.1850 for a subterranean railway tunnel under The Glen. The adjacent metallic train sculpture was added c.2000
View across the Glen valley of new housing built during Phase I of the Glen Regeneration Project.
View of 'Glen River Park'. The Glen River can be seen in addition to walkways and a large soccer pitch. A Cork City Council depot can also be seen in the background.