Máirín Ahern

When I left my home in Dublin during my 20s, my plan was to travel and see the world. Cork was my first stop. I found that it offered me a colourful, cosmopolitan, and culturally rich world, as well as a great social life, so I never wanted to go any further!

Being officially a “blow-in” as I did not grow up in Cork, I now believe I can claim to be an honorary Corkonian, having lived here for 40 years....

Having grown up in a family of hoteliers, then after graduating with a degree in modern languages and a teaching diploma, I went on to work for my local tourism authority and subsequently Cork Airport Authority, I can say I have spent most of my life in the realms of travel and tourism. I qualified as a Tourist Guide for Cork City & Environs in 1999, and as a National Guide in 2021. Cork is continuously evolving to keep up with the dynamics of our era, and I enjoy spending as much time as possible in the City Centre just to keep abreast of what is new and different.