Now there are gleaming store fronts on Academy Street, Cork but back in 2008 the old offices of the Irish Examiner and Evening Echo had just been demolished and work was under way on the skeleton of the new buildings.

Albert Quay will soon be the site of a glass fronted office block, either 7 stories or 9 stories high. Here are a few photos of the site as it was over the last month. Not much to see except rubble and machinery. The well known front of the building will be coming down soon…

Back in 2008 Academy Street, Cork looked very different. The clothes shops and Opera Lane had yet to be built. If you stood in the same spot today all you’d see would be the shining façade of consumerism.

The Elysian, as it was in March 2008, still under construction while the Irish Economy economy fell apart around it.

Not so long ago these metal edifices defined the skyline in Cork and other Irish cities. They’re all gone in Cork now, but there’s still one left in Killarney, County Kerry. I hear tourists are taking photos of them now..

County Hall in Cork, as it was in 2005. Not so long ago it was flooded but it looks vaguely impressive when seen from certain viewpoints since the facelift it received in this photo. Shame it’s built on a flood plain.

Flash back to 2005 if you will. Ireland is in the grip of the Celtic Tiger boom. Cork is undergoing a transformation. The city’s streets were dug up and remolded with apparently improved drainage (didn’t help recently unfortunately) and the revamping of the city centre was in full swing. Here’s the construction on Daunt Square,…

It’s wonderful how some of the old buildings in Cork are preserved while all around them their neighbours are demolished and shiny new edifices rise. This one is of course on Emmett Place.

Emmett Place in Cork is the sight of feverish building work for the past year or two as a huge city block was torn down and then built up again. Here’s the view from the excellent Aroma Restaurant.

Construction work on the new block on Half Moon Street, Cork nears completion and reflects the brightly lit houses on the far side of the River Lee and the looming grey storm clouds. This shot’s for Richard who commented on a shot taken the other direction last week. PS. entries are still being accepted for…

H&M, one of the larger tenants in the new shopping center being built here on Academy Street.

Construction. Ireland is too dependent on it but that’s old news now, but unspeakable just a year (or two) ago. Anyway, it’s the end of the boom, construction work has flatlined. The End is Nigh (and booted out the backdoor while we weren’t looking). Shot in Youghal a few months back.