RSPSoc 2010 || Cork Ireland

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Conference Venues:
The main conference venue is University College Cork, with a break-out day at the National Maritime College of Ireland, approximately 20km south-east of Cork city.

University College Cork (UCC)
Founded in 1845, University College Cork is one of four constituent universities of the federal National University of Ireland, and has over 16,000 students. The campus, located a short walk from Cork city centre, is centred around the Gothic revival-style Main Quadrangle buildings, modelled on a typical Oxford college. Places of interest within the university include the Glucksman Art Gallery, the Stone Corridor where Ogham stones are on display, and the Honan Chapel. The conference will take place in several venues across the campus, including the Aula Maxima, the Main Quad, the Student Centre and the Boole lecture theatres.

National Maritime College (NMCI)
The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is located 18 km south-east of Cork city in Ringaskiddy which is a major ferry port. The NMCI is a 14,000m² facility built on a 10 acre waterside campus. It was built to serve the training requirements of the School of Nautical Studies, Cork Institute of Technology and the Irish Naval Service.

Cork City and Surrounding Areas
Since the City was founded by St. Finbarre over 1,000 years ago it has grown from a trading merchant city to a cosmopolitan vibrant 21^st century city of today. The city, situated on the banks of the river Lee, is home to 123,000 people. Cork is a university city with a total student population in excess of 25,000 based at two third level education institutes - University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology. Many major companies have been attracted to the area, including telecommunications, ICT and pharmaceutical (8 of the top 10 companies in the world are located in the greater Cork area). Having been the 2005 European City of Culture, the City’s international appeal was again recognised by the selection of Cork by leading Travel Guidebook, Lonely Planet, as one of the Top Ten cities in the world to visit in 2010.

Some of the top Cork City attractions include the English Market for an experience of Cork cuisine, the Blackrock Castle Observatory for star gazers, the city centre Boutique & designer shopping, St. Finbarre's cathedral , the Crawford art gallery, the Shandon Bells and the butter museum for a taste of local culture. Beyond the city, the county provides further notable attractions. At Blarney Castle, you can kiss the Blarney Stone, at Fota Wildlife Park there are animals and botanic gardens, Kinsale has gourmet dining and Cobh has the famous Titanic trail and the Irish emigrant story. Beyond into West Cork, there are dramatic coastal walks, island boat-trips, surfing beaches and the town of Clonakilty with its model railway village.

More information on tourist activities in the area can be found at Discover Ireland, Come to Cork, Cork Guide and Cork Tourist. For those who wish to stay a few extra days in the West of Ireland before or after the conference, you can save money on your stay as a delegate at a UCC conference. For more details, click here.

How to get to UCC’s Main Campus from Cork City
The main campus of UCC is about 1km west of Cork city centre - about fifteen minutes walk from St Patrick’s Street and Grand Parade. The College Gates on Western Road are ceremonial (pedestrian access only). The main vehicle entrance to the main campus is on College Road, and there are side entrances on Donovan's Hill, Gaol Walk, and other entrances on College Road.
Parking on campus is extremely restricted and is limited to permit holders, deliveries, those on official business, and cars with disabled stickers. Visitors to the main campus should use the car park at Perrott's Inch, and detailed instructions on how to access UCC by car can be found here.

Travelling to Cork
By Plane
Cork International Airport (ORK) has frequent flights from Dublin and London with Aer Lingus (Heathrow and Gatwick) and Ryanair (Stansted, Gatwick), and with other airlines from a wide range of UK and continental European destinations (including Belfast, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and Cardiff with airlines such as Aer Lingus, and Aer Arann). The airport web site has timetables and live arrival/departure information.
The airport is off the Kinsale Road and about 10km from Cork City centre. Taxis from the airport cost about €15, and there is an airport bus to the city centre every hour during the day (see the Skylink and Bus Éireann websites for further details). All the major car rental companies have desks in the airport’s main lobby.

By Ferry
There is a direct ferry daily between Cork and Swansea (Wales), journey time about nine hours, with Cork to Swansea Fastnet Line. Ferries arrive and depart, at the Ringaskiddy Ferry Terminal, about a 30 minute drive using the N28 and N27 from Cork City centre.
From Rosslare (about three hours drive from Cork) there are ferries from Fishguard and Pembroke Dock (Wales) with Irish Ferries and Stena, and there are also links from Cherbourg and Roscoff in northern France, with Irish Ferries and Brittany Ferries.

By Train
There are frequent direct trains to Cork (Kent Station) from Dublin (Heuston Station). Travel time is around three hours: timetables are on the Iarnród Éireann website. Trains stop at Mallow for connections with Killarney, and at Limerick Junction for connections with Limerick (for Shannon Airport).
Indirectly, it is possible to travel Cork to Galway and Limerick. From Belfast, first travel to Heuston Station in Dublin City centre and connect to a Cork-bound train.
From the taxi rank at Cork’s Kent Station, taxis to UCC’s main campus cost about €10. Alternatively, there is also a bus service (the No. 5) departing from Kent Station in the direction of Cork Institute of Technology. The route has a stop by the College Road and O’ Donovan’s Road entrances to UCC’s main campus. More details on bus routes in Cork city can be found on Bus Éireann's website.

City buses (to UCC)
From the city centre, board a No. 8 (marked 'Bishopstown', leaves about every 15 minutes and ask to get off at Gaol Cross. Or board a No. 5 (marked 'Rossa Avenue'), and ask to get off at College Road.

Long-distance bus (to Cork)
The Bus Station is about 200m east of St Patrick’s Street in the city centre. There are about six buses a day to and from Dublin (Busáras), journey time about four hours: see Bus Éireann's website. Bus Éireann also operates services to and from Limerick, Galway, Waterford and other cities in Ireland.
AirCoach operates a service every two hours to and from Dublin, including Dublin Airport, and Limerick, including Shannon Airport. The coaches stop on Penrose Quay, at the back of the Metropole Hotel (almost opposite the bus station).

University accommodation will be available for delegates approximately 15 minutes walk from UCC. University Hall comprises apartments with 3, 4 and 5 bedrooms, all of which have their own bathroom and share a living room/kitchen. Linen, towels and a daily housekeeping service are provided, and breakfast will be delivered to the apartment each morning. It will be possible to book this accommodation online at the same time as registering. More information can be found here.

There is a wide range of hotels, guest houses, bed & breakfasts and hostels within a 20 minute walk of UCC. More details will follow about special rates negotiated with some of these accommodation options, and a full list is available here. Alternatively, accommodation in Cork can be found here.