A Town Of Its Own

(UCC Campus Alive )

UCC or University of College Cork is like every other campus but not. The green space or quad is splattered with students. A couple of guys stand in the middle throwing a frisbee. People group around the tall sturdy trees. There are little plots of flowers shaped like a square. Each square has its own color from ruby red to violet to pink to sunny yellow to orange, ectara. 
               One day, I was seated in between a red and violet plot and an orange and yellow one. Out of all the flowers, my favorite are the roses with their stems reaching up to the sky and the petals bursting like fireworks.At least, I think those flowers were roses. They are different colors similar to the square plots but from where I am sitting, they look like colored dots.

In the background, some weird disco music plays from a DJ stand. Then it turns into old pop music. That’s something I’ve realized about the Irish: they seem to like old pop music from the early and mid 2000’s. 

In the stone circle center to the left of the quad,  crowds of people gather around underneath a mini-stage. For what, I’m not sure but what I know is that I am staying away. There is a trampoline for some reason and food stands of things like funnel cakes and pizzas. Of course, all of this costs money but it still smells good. 

I cannot emphasize enough the enormous amount of people in the whole University. In fact, there are probably more people in this university that there were in my whole town or my home state even. 

Despite the amount of people, main campus is quite picturesque. The original building, an l-shaped  castle- like stone structure is very reminiscent of Downton Abbey with the magic of Hogwarts. 

In the middle there lay four patches of green squares and a paved pathway. However, it is bad luck if you walk through the middle of the quad on the pathway and considered the  “walk of shame” because it leads to the president’s office, the place where people go when they fail. 

Near the front of the quad, by the library stands a dark bronze or some other metal bust of a man named George Boole. George Boole is one of the famous alumni of UCC I believe, who was a brilliant mathematician but don’t ask me what he  contributed specifically, anything mathematical goes over my head. 

I do take pride that I know that he was a mathematician though because the two native students who gave me the tour of campus thought he was a scientist. Anyway, a tradition is that if you rub his nose, it will bring you good luck, so now his nose is being rubbed off little by little. 

On main campus, there is also the hundred-year-old Honan Chapel which has some of the prettiest stain glass windows of saints in Cork. In particular, there is a beautiful one of a woman named St. Gobnait who is the patron saint of Beekeepers and a local Saint in Cork for whom shrines are dedicated. My folklore Professor, Shane, who I mentioned before,  has pointed out the Celtic elements in the architecture to show the Celtic revival in Irish History. 

My favorite element of the chapel is the tiled aisle that is mosaic of a large river with fish and a giant serpent, eluding to the origin story of the River Lee. You see, the River Lee was rumored to be created by St. Finbarr (founder of UCC) when he banished a serpent from Ireland, leaving in its path, the river. 

There is also a library dedicated to the infamous George Boole and a student center with its whole front made of glass windows. The rest of campus is spread throughout the city, even crossing the River Lee at times, making UCC seem like a town of its own.