Glasheen, An Glaisín, Co. Cork

An Glaisín · Co. Cork

A south Cork city suburb wedged between UCC, the Lough wildfowl sanctuary and the city's biggest cemetery. Residential, leafy, and quietly historic if you know where to look.

Glasheen is a residential suburb on the south-western side of Cork city, the kind of place that does not announce itself. The name is An Glaisín, the little stream, after the watercourse that still runs under the Glasheen Road. It grew out of old townlands and market gardens on the edge of the city, and what you see now is mostly twentieth-century streets sloping up toward Bishopstown and Wilton, with University College Cork just to the north.

There is no postcard reason to come here, and no point pretending otherwise. But Glasheen sits on top of three things worth knowing about. The Lough, a protected wildfowl lake a few minutes south, was declared a public wildlife refuge in 1881 and is one of the oldest protected sites in the country. St Finbarr's Cemetery on the Glasheen Road is the largest in the city, opened in the 1860s, and the place where the former Taoiseach Jack Lynch is buried. And UCC, with its quad and the Glucksman gallery, is a short walk north.

It is a suburb that has quietly produced its share of well-known Corkonians - the broadcaster Bill O'Herlihy and the financial commentator Eddie Hobbs both came out of these streets, and the hurler Jimmy Barry-Murphy went to school at Glasheen Boys. Use it as it is meant to be used: a place to stay near the university, walk the Lough of a morning, and be in the city centre in twenty minutes on foot or a few on the bus.

Population

Part of Cork city

Coords

51.8820° N, 8.5050° W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The name

An Glaisín - the little stream, still running under the road.

Glasheen takes its name from the small watercourse that flows beneath the Glasheen Road. The suburb grew out of the old townlands on the south-western edge of Cork city, between the river valley and the rising ground toward Bishopstown and Wilton.

Walks & outings → 02 The Lough

A protected wildfowl lake, a few minutes south.

The Lough is a shallow freshwater limestone lake declared a public wildlife refuge in 1881 - one of the oldest protected places in Ireland. Swans, mallard, moorhen, and over-wintering shoveler. A five-minute walk and the best reason a visitor would come here.

Walks & outings → 03 The university

On the doorstep of University College Cork.

UCC sits just north of Glasheen, and the suburb is half student territory, half settled south-side family streets. The campus quad and the Glucksman gallery are walkable. The city centre is roughly two kilometres north.

Stories & lore →

02 / 07

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Flannery's

Local sports pub on the doorstep of UCC

Traditional bar & restaurant, 15 Glasheen Road

The pub of the suburb, on the Glasheen Road near the cemetery and a short walk from UCC. A traditional bar that does food seven days and shows the matches - a steady local that fills with students, GAA and rugby crowds, and the people of the streets around it. If you are staying in Glasheen, this is your one.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

One of Ireland's oldest wildlife refuges

The Lough, protected since 1881

The Lough is a shallow freshwater limestone lake on the southern edge of Glasheen, a couple of metres deep at most. It was declared a public wildlife refuge in 1881, which makes it one of the oldest formally protected places in Ireland. The Corporation of Cork had been minding the surrounding land far longer than that - there are seventeenth-century records of aldermen valuing the grounds, and an eighteenth-century ban on net fishing after the lake was declared over-fished, one of the earliest recorded conservation measures in the country. Today it holds mute swans, mallard, moorhen, greylag geese, little egret, and nationally significant numbers of over-wintering northern shoveler. A loop of the path takes twenty minutes and locals do it most days.

The city's largest burial ground, on the Glasheen Road

St Finbarr's Cemetery and Jack Lynch

St Finbarr's Cemetery opened on the Glasheen Road in the 1860s and is the largest cemetery in Cork city, professionally laid out with numbered paths and wide avenues. The former Taoiseach Jack Lynch, a Cork man and one of the dominant figures of twentieth-century Irish politics, is buried here. It is a working cemetery and a quiet, well-kept one, and for anyone interested in the social history of the city it reads like a directory of Cork families. Note that despite the Cork connection, Michael Collins is not buried here - he lies in Glasnevin in Dublin.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

The Lough loop The walk that justifies a visit. A flat circuit of the wildfowl lake on a made path, busy with swans and ducks and, in winter, the over-wintering shoveler that give the place its conservation status. Access from the Lough Road and Hartland's Avenue. Good for an early-morning leg-stretch; do not feed bread to the birds.

1 km loopdistance

20 minutestime

Glasheen to UCC and the city North from Glasheen to the University College Cork campus - the Victorian quad, the Glucksman gallery, the River Lee gardens - and on into the city centre. Almost entirely on foot through settled streets. The most useful walk if you are staying in Glasheen and want to see the actual sights of Cork.

2 km each waydistance

25 minutestime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The Lough is at its best with cygnets on the water and the days lengthening. UCC term is in full swing, so the suburb feels alive.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Long evenings for the Lough loop. The students are gone, so Glasheen is quieter and the city is busy with visitors. An easy base.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The wildfowl numbers build at the Lough as winter migrants arrive, and UCC fills up again with the new term.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and Cork drizzle, but the Lough is at its most interesting for birdwatchers - the over-wintering shoveler are the reason it is protected. Wrap up.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Expecting a village

Glasheen is a city suburb, not a standalone village. There is no quaint main street, no harbour, no castle. Come for the Lough, the cemetery, and the walk into the city - and adjust expectations accordingly.

Hunting for nightlife

This is residential south-side Cork. Flannery's aside, the bars and restaurants are in the city centre a short walk north. Glasheen is where you sleep and walk, not where the evening happens.

Getting there.

By car

South-western Cork city, off the Glasheen Road. Two kilometres from the city centre. Parking is street-side and residential; the city centre is easier reached on foot or by bus.

By bus

Well served by Cork city bus routes, with UCC's main stops a short walk north. About ten minutes into the city centre.

By train

Kent Station, on the Dublin and Cobh lines, is on the far north-eastern side of the city - reach it by bus or a longer walk through the centre.

By air

Cork Airport (ORK) is roughly ten minutes by car to the south, making Glasheen one of the handier city suburbs for a flight.