There’s a secret meaning behind this tiny carved robin on a Fitzgerald’s Park bench

If you’re eagle-eyed you may have spotted it.
On the backrest of a red bench inside Cork’s peaceful Fitzgerald’s Park, a little robin has been carved into the wood.
The tiny bird is a fitting image for one of the greenest hideaways in the city, but it has a very special meaning to one city resident.
The robin was the brainchild of local Frenchwoman Florence Coller, who wrote to Cork City Council to request it in memory of her late mother, Ann-Véronique.
“To explain it briefly, my mother’s death was very sudden, unexpected,” Florence told Yay Cork.
“This bench in Fitzgerald’s Park was very meaningful to me as this is where we spent one of our last moments together. So I started going to this bench to speak to her after she died.
“Every time I did, a little robin would appear and be quite the opposite of shy.
“As I went home, I noticed a few things such as a drawing my mother gave me a few months before she died, of a robin. And a photo of her and I in a pub years ago, there is a barrel marked ‘Redbreast’ above our heads… signs like this pushed me to ask Cork City Council to get a robin engraved in memory of my mother.”
In a kind and good-hearted gesture, Cork City Council decided to grant Florence’s request and the robin appeared earlier this year.
Florence, who moved to Ireland from Brittany to be with her mum 20 years ago and works for LinkedIn while training in holistic health coaching at CNM, has received a heartwarming response to her tiny tribute.
“It really is special,” she said.
“My friends are all sending me photos of them at the bench, which makes me incredibly happy every time!”
Florence’s bench is the first one on the left when you enter the park from the playground side (where the ice cream truck usually parks). Tag us on Twitter if you spot the robin there @yaycork.