There were more than 240 derelict buildings in Cork at last count.

Now a local organisation is inviting the public to join them on a tour of some of the city’s abandoned sites, as part of a novel protest to end dereliction on Leeside as the housing crisis intensifies.

The event, which takes place this Saturday, September 25th, 2021, will be led by CATU Cork, a branch of Community Action Tenants Union, in conjunction with Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry of sustainable design agency anois.org.

Delighted to announce @michaelposull @lisaosulll will provide trad music on Fr Matthew Quay as part of our walking tour with @CatuCork on Saturday
Cork is beautiful😘
Join us for walk to end #Dereliction & turn Cork into a city where everyone can #RestPlayWork #DerelictIreland pic.twitter.com/W0YJxwrIue

— Frank O’Connor (@frank_oconnor) September 23, 2021

In May, CATU Cork’s 100-plus members published an open letter with six core demands in relation to ending dereliction in Cork city.

“This is a protest idea we came up with to march through Cork City while educating ourselves on dereliction in Cork, the history of the buildings that have been forced into disrepair, and what could be done with these buildings if the council had any interest in tackling it.” explained CATU member Ruadh MacCárthaigh.

The tour meets up at 1pm outside the vacant No. 4 Nicholas Well Lane, Blarney St, Gurranabraher (T23 E0XK) and continues into the city until 4pm at the docks, with poetry performed by Frank O’Connor and Jennifer Horgan, as well as music from Mick O’Sullivan and Lisa O’Sullivan.

For updates on the event and an event map, follow CATU Cork on social media.

Main image: Frank O’Connor