Crisis and Comeback

How does a city survive its worst recession in living memory? Cork entered the 1980s with swagger. The 1970s had been dominated nationally by the city's favourite son, Jack Lynch, who was Taoiseach for much of the decade. And the sense of superiority wasn't confined to the political arena. The city had given Ireland a world-class rock star in Rory Gallagher, and boasted one of the first internationally recognised film festivals. Cork bustled: Patrick Street on a Saturday afternoon heaved with sh