It was named after the first
Earl of Cork and once formed part of the ancient highway "An Slighe Dála" connecting Dublin with the west of Ireland. On old maps it was described as "The Highway to Dolfynesberne" (Dolphin's Barn). The street was once a centre of fine wool and silk hand-loom weaving. The woollen industry was killed off around 1700 by the English government, who wanted to keep the wool monopoly in England, although a minor revival was started around 1775. Despite problems, silk spinning and the manufacture of
poplin, supported by the
Royal Dublin Society, continued into the 19th century. The Tenter House was erected in 1815 on this street, financed by
Thomas Pleasants. Before this, the poor weavers of the Liberties had either to suspend work in rainy weather or use the alehouse fire and thus were (as Wright expresses it) "exposed to great distress, and not infrequently reduced either to the hospital or the gaol." The Tenter House was a brick building 275 feet long, 3 stories high, and with a central cupola. It had a form of central heating powered by four furnaces, and provided a place for weavers to stretch their material in bad weather. Across the road from the hospital is the James Weir Home for Nurses, built in 1903. The site had once been a Quaker burial ground. In 1932 the Maryland housing development off Cork Street was constructed by Dublin Corporation. 1932 was a Marian year, hence the name Maryland. From as early as 1941 there were plans to widen the road, leading to buildings being left to fall into decay while the threat of compulsory purchase orders seemed possible. ==References==