it made for a nice looped circuit where The Cork Grand Prix was held in the late 1930s. The 1936 race was the first-ever motor race in Cork, and by 1938 Cork hosted the only motor race ever in Ireland to run to the then new International F1 rules. It was won by GP legend René Dreyfus of France, in a 4500cc Délahaye 145, averaging speeds of almost 93mph. Just imagine a former Monaco GP winner tearing down the Carrigrohane straight in an F1 car today! Due to the flat surface of the Straight Road, it has also proved suitable for motorbike and car speed trials, where the Irish Land Speed record was set many times. The Carrigrohane Straight hosted the finish to a stage of 1998 Tour De France. This Dublin to Cork stage was won by the Mapei rider Jan Svorada, in the year that the late Marco Pantani won the Tour. Enough talk of speed. At this stage in your run, you are no doubt going a lot slower than René Dreyfus or the Tour De France Peloton! You have got there. It’s County Hall. At one stage while you were running along the Straight Road you thought it was getting further away. But it’s here now. County Hall is the administrative headquarters for Cork County Council. The 67m-storey building opened in 1968, but the cladding was extensively redeveloped in the early 2000s. Oisín Kelly‘s statue, Two Working Men, stands outside the complex.
County Hall
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Cork City Marathon 2026
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