Re: Re: Developments in Cork

@Praxiteles wrote:

That is a rather striking statement, especially when you consider that not even the most intransigent anti-Catholic bigotry of the time objected to clearing the slums that occupied the site of the Cathedral and regarded the project as a typical Victorian “improvement” scheme not only for the town but also for the country. Given the way Cobh Town Council functions, it would not surprise me that they would refuse planning permission for an “improving” measure.

Queenstown was a relatively prosperous town when work commenced on the Cathedral. The local inhabitants were doing quite well servicing the Royal Navy. The site of the Cathedral was anything but a slum – we would now consider it to be a national monument – but in the Realpolitik of the day it had to give way to Pugins handsome erection.