Social Pathologies: Developmental and Processual Perspectives on Contemporary Malaises

International Conference, University College Cork, 2nd-5th December 2026

Travel and Hotels

Conference Location

The conference will be located on the main campus of UCC, in the original Quad, and the Western Gateway Building.

Here is a link to the campus map.

Getting to and around Cork

Cork Airport has good connectivity to the UK, and cities such as Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome, Milan and Frankfurt. Dublin is 2.5 hours away by train. A bus goes directly from Dublin Airport to Cork City, which takes 3 hours. There are ferry services to Roscoff and Bilbao.

Cork city is easily navigable by foot, with a compact city centre, and with the university 10 minutes walking distance away. There is

Accomodation

Please note that hotel prices are high in Ireland and bookings should be made as early as possible. The university is easily accessible from the city centre, so any hotel there is an option. There is also a lot of accomodation around the main UCC campus, with a mix of B&Bs and hotels. Here is a list of options with links and phone numbers provided.

There are many BnBs on the Western Road, which are very convenient for the conference venue.

List of Hotels- Cork City Centre

Lower Cost Options

  • Ashley Hotel: A guest house in the city centre
  • Bru Hostel: A hostel in the city centre, with multi person and single rooms available. One of the cheapest options.
  • Kinlay House Hostel: A hostel just North of the city centre
  • Sheila’s Hostel: A hostel in the city centre, with multi person and single rooms available. One of the cheapest options.

Mid-Range

More Luxurious Options

Cork City, some history

Cork City has a population of 225,000, has a vibrant city centre, and is surrounded by an attractive coastline and countryside, which will be a draw for delegates. Cork is not famous for its good weather in December. However, the city centre is lively and interesting and has much to offer delegates. 

The city and region has many resonances that will intrigue historical sociologists. Cork was the setting for some important moments in the state formation process of Britain, in Ireland. The Battle of Kinsale, resulted in Tudor authority being established in Ireland. Elizabeth Fort is thus a landmark in the city. William of Orange also captured the city in 1690. Reform movements originated in Cork, seen in figures like Nano Nagle who provide education to Catholic girls in the context of the Penal Laws and Mother Jones who became a labour organiser in the United States. UCC itself was founded as Queen’s College Cork, denoting both the extension of higher education to Catholics and that this greater equality would take place within the framework of empire. Cork was equally the hotspot of guerilla warfare in the Irish War of Independence, producing figures such Michael Collins who masterminded the military campaign, and the city centre was burned by the British Army in 1920. Cork was a node in the Atlantic economy and the British naval hegemony, evident in the fine houses overlooking Cork City centre, which were the homes of British naval officers. Cork was an important naval base, and the economy of the city was based on provisioning the merchant and Royal Navy; notably, the last stop of the Titanic before it sank was Cork. 2.5 million emigrants left Ireland for America and Australia from Cork Habour. Thus, it was an important node in globalisation, and its historical experience highlights the ambivalent nature of extending interdependencies. Today the European HQ of Apple is in Cork, and 7 of the 10 leading pharmaceutical industries is located there. It is thus a case study of FDI and MNCs strategies around tax, and the winners and losers of a global economic figuration. Leisure has an interesting history in Cork. It is a centre of rugby, soccer, it is one of the few counties that excels in the two major codes of the GAA. It was a centre of brewing and distilling, and the English Market is an icon of food culture. Father Theobold Mathew, whose statue occupies the central place on Patrick Street – the main street of Cork, led a charismatic temperance movement that recruited half the population of the country at one point, showing the complex interplay of reactions against decontrolling, that are decontrolling themselves. Regarding the history of science, George Boole who taught in UCC laid the foundation for modern computing.