Explore the University College of Cork campus

Adopting a Gothic and Hiberno-Romanesque architecture, the UCC Quadrangle as seen above is by far the most visited and historical building on campus. In fact, in 1862 the west wing of this institutional landmark had suffered from a fire - but this was recovered by city architects in the years following the incident.

Initially an Arts Law Physic School, Queen’s College, officially recognised at University College Cork (UCC) in 1997, had developed the Medical Windle building in 1875 in order to host more incoming students and professors, soon accompanied by the W. Crawford Observatory in 1880.

Other buildings added to the campus include educational facilities dedicated to the various expanded fields taught by UCC over the years, such as the Dairy Science Building in 1928, the Science (Kane) Building in 1967, the O’Rahilly Building in 1998, the Lewis Glucksman Gallery in 2004, the Western Gate Building in 2009 to accommodate the Medicine and Health, Business and Law, Science, Engineering and Food Science, and Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies disciplines enrolled by students over the years.

Indeed, due to the high increase in the number of students at UCC over the years, cumulating to over 25,000 today, the university infrastructure has needed to accommodate such demand, building accommodation and student hub sites on campus such as the Boole Library in 1982, student apartments Castlewhite in 1994, the UCC Student Centre in 1995. No surprise coming from a 5th time voted University of the Year in The Sunday Times!

Apart from the majestic Quad, there are many landmarks to visit on UCC’s campus grounds as you enter through its main gates and over the Lee River.

A must see when visiting the UCC campus in Cork is St Finbarr’s statue (1934) located at the North Wing of campus, which replaced the prior Queen Victoria statue in 1921. However, you may still see the latter put up for display in the university’s Graduate’s room.

The next major addition to UCC was the Honan Chapel. This charming little church was modelled off of the Cormac’s Chapel on the Rock of the Cashel in 1916 and built on campus for practising believers. Today, impeccably maintained, this Chapel is open to the public and even hosts wedding ceremonies all year round!

Finally, the latest addition to the campus grounds is the UCC Rainbow walk introduced in October 2021, to vocalise the university's ongoing alliance with the LGBTQ+ community on and off campus. Interested in participating in a guided tour? You can find any and all UCC tours here.