The city that Paris wants to be

Tom Galvin's latest book, That's Cork, is less of a tourist guide and more of a psychological insight into what makes the quirkiest city in Ireland tick. By David White

'A Corkman says to his mate, 'I was reading in a magazine that they are describing Cork as the Paris of Ireland.' The other replies, 'Why aren't they calling Paris the Cork of France?'"

So it is with Tom Galvin's new book That's Cork, a slim, fact-packed guide to the sights and sounds of 'de real capital'. It's not a tourist guide – more a determined expedition to the heart of the Cork psyche.

Divided into distinct chapters, detailing every aspect from famous inhabitants (like Sir Walter Raleigh and Jonathan Swift) to notable buildings, Galvin's book tells the story of Cork city. From its establishment in the seventh century, it has survived repeated Viking attacks and numerous fires and floods. Indeed, Cork has quite the track record for fires, with The Great Fire of Cork of 1622 razing 1,500 houses. Flooding is also common because Cork is built on marshy ground – 'corcaigh' is the Irish for 'marsh'.

The chapter on Cork's sporting traditions includes a section on road bowling, and there's a collection of Cork slang words, all of them too rude to print. Oh well, okay then – see the panel to the right...

Cork-knockers might be interested to hear that Dublin's Liberty Hall is not the tallest building in Ireland. Rather it is Cork's County Hall, at a statuesque 212 feet. However, Galvin goes on to note: "the reason Corkonians do not brag about it as much is that it is even uglier than Liberty Hall."

Cork is the home of Paddy's Whiskey and stouts like Murphy's and Beamish. Not to mention 'drisheen', a traditional Cork dish constructed from pig's blood, sheep's oesophagus and plenty of "other ingredients" to form a "grotesque, sock-like thing".

Pictures and an index would have helped the reader to navigate the mass of information on display here, as at times there are too many facts on display, with pages dedicated to reeling off medieval butter export number or statistics on Cork's air quality.

All in all, That's Cork is an affectionate, light-hearted tribute to a proud city and its inhabitants – the chancers, jokers and pranksters. A populace that would think nothing of climbing 100 feet to yank a pair of trumpets from a six foot golden angel, or steal the genitalia from underneath a 14-foot bronze statue of an Irish elk. A city that puts a Roy Keane jersey in a time capsule and where the Lee cinema can open with the slogan "You can rely on the Lee", only to burn down six weeks later.

Hey, that's Cork.

DAVID WHITE