1810 – Former Victoria Hotel, St. Patrick’s St., Cork

The former Victoria Hotel has occupied this site on the junction of St Patrick’s St and Cook St from 1810 until 2011, playing a significant role in the social life of the city for almost two centuries. It was one of the few buildings on St. Patrick’s Street to survive the burning of Cork by British forces in December 1920. Visitors include Charles Stewart Parnell, James Joyce, John Redmond, Michael Collins, Liam Cosgrave and Sir Winston Churchill. It was in this hotel that the newly founded Gaelic Athletic Association held it’s second meeting in 1884.

Before the pandemic, there had been plans, drawn up by Grafton Architects, to transform the hotel into a four-floor, high-end retail block, with historic elements such as the ceiling of the old hotel ballroom retained and updated for mixed shopping use. In 2022 the building’s exterior was restored with the removal of paint and plaster from the limestone facade.