The Imperial Hotel

Walking Tour 1pm, Talk 2pm

The Imperial Hotel was originally designed by Sir Thomas Deane in 1813, the building was initially used as commercial rooms for city merchants. In 1816 the structure was extended to serve as a hotel and coach yard for visiting business people, traders and merchants.

Many famous figures throughout history have stayed in the hotel over the years including Frederick Douglas, Fr. Mathew, The Temperance Priest, writers Sir. Walter Scott, William Makepeace Thackeray and Charles Dickens. One of the most famous figures was Michael Collins who negotiated the Irish Free State Treaty in 1921 and who spent his last night on earth in room 115 at the Imperial before he was shot on that fateful day in August 1922 at Béal na Bláth, West Cork.

Magnificently renovated, The Imperial Hotel, Cork, offers the finest luxury accommodations with a bespoke, personal and professional service in surroundings bristling with old world charm, opulent décor and a truly welcoming atmosphere.

Frederick Douglass was the best-known abolitionist to visit Cork, he was part of a tradition involving many other abolitionists who made the journey before and after him. The Cork Abolitionists Trail, highlights locations visited by these extraordinary women and men and amplify their stories and those of the Irish people and organisations that inspired them.

Adrian Mulligan who is part of the Frederick Douglass Group and a Professor of Geography at Bucknell University, in Pennsylvania, USA will give the walking tour which will begin at 1pm outside the Imperial Hotel. Following the walking tour there will be a short talk in the Federick Douglas Lounge in the Imperial Hotel at 2pm. Booking essential on Imperial Hotel Eventbrite Page