Many Norwegians don’t know Cork – Jewel of the Irish Riviera, Athens of the north, Ireland’s real capital. Location of the only banks in the country that definitely have not contributed to the economic downturn – the Banks of My Own Lovely Lee.

Some may dismiss these nicknames as another instance of second city syndrome, familiar in places from Bergen to Birmingham. Nothing could be further from the truth! The evidence that there is something about Cork is building steadily.

Exhibit one: Lonely Planet’s “Best in Travel 2010” lists Cork as number three – as reported in Dagbladet. The city’s attractions include friendliness and charm, a series of good museums and art galleries, and excellent restaurants. The cluster of culinary excellence that has developed around Cork and Kinsale, light years removed from the stodgy fare of yore, is well know in Ireland, but much less so in this part of the world.

Exhibit two: Cork is chosen as the host city of this year’s Paddy Games, as reported recently in Aftenposten. We are fed up with being at a disadvantage both in the Winter Games, because we don’t have a real winter. Come to think of it, we could say the same about the Summer Games. So it was perfectly sensible to invent the Paddy Games, where we have a sporting chance of striking gold.

Need more? Exhibit three is that Cork is home of the only Irish entry in another new tourist book: The 101 worst places to visit. The Blarney Stone features here, thanks to the author’s dismay at the prospect of leaning backwards over a precipice hundreds of feet above the ground, in order to kiss a stone supposedly bearing the saliva of any number of previous visitors. Despite this, it is expected that tourists will continue to flock to this magical stone, which grants the gift of eloquence. Because there is nowhere quite like Cork. And that’s no blarney.

Declaration of interest: the author is from Cork. And he has kissed the Blarney Stone.

Photo: efioa