straight 11 May 2008
I did my chat at the Cork library day out yesterday but not in a library, as I’d thought I would, but on the top floor of the County Hall. This was Cork’s first skyscraper and is still one of the tallest buildings in the city. The view is spectacular and the city, which is very hill anyhow, looked amazing in general and specifically from up there. One of the best things about County Hall is that it’s situated on the Straight Road. And that’s no great feat of the imagination because it is at the beginning of a two mile stretch of, you’ve guessed it, straight road. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Later I was told this is also known as the Carrigaline Run but, again, that ain’t a veh veh musical title, eh? I’ll always be partial to Straight Road, I must say and it’ll be a long day before I call it anything else.
I lived for many years on St Attracta Road in Dublin and often peeps would say ‘oh, you love on attaracta’ in a way that suggested a tractor, which gave rise to all sorts of hallucinations. A friend had a house on Cardinal Cushing Road in Galway – bit of a mouthful (as the actress said to the bishop). There is much majesty in a name, and that’s straight talking…
