The second book I have chosen to read this year for my National Year of Reading challenge is Pure Cork by Michael Lenihan. I saw this book advertised and immediately ordered it as I have ancestors who came from Cork. I didn't stop to think that the book might be about the city Cork and not the County. My ancestors Patrick and Hanora Flynn and their daughter Ann and her husband Thomas Moylan came from County Cork. Pure Cork is a pictorial history of the city of Cork. Chapters include: Entertainment Transport Industry People Shawlies Buildings Churches I was hoping to discover what life was like in Cork when my family lived there. As they left in 1821, 1824 and 1826, I needed fairly early references. Although living in County Cork, I don't know if any of my ancestors actually went to the city of Cork. Who knows, perhaps they did? So what did I discover? Cork's oldest hotel, Victoria Hotel was established in 1810. The Imperial Hotel was established in 1816.