2011: The year in review

Transgender legislation requires divorce before birth cert Diane Hughes, from Macroom, formerly Richard Hughes, refuses to divorce her wife of 35 years in order to get a birth certificate affirming her female gender.
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Health minister orders investigation into Cobh cancer rates. Residents in Cobh get their wish when the Minister for Health, James Reilly orders an investigation into the high rates of cancer in the town.
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Magdalene survivors want apology Survivors of the Magdalene laundries in Cork express their disappointment that the state has made no apology for wrongs committed against them. The government announced the establishment of a committee to ascertain the full facts behind the laundries and the Government's role in them, after a UN committee against Torture (UNCAT) judgment ordered the state to provide more information about the Magdalene laundries and issue a formal apology.
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Reports find Cork Prison should close 'immediately'  Cork Prison is the most overcrowded prison in Ireland and needs to be shut immediately. Brendan Murtagh gave this damning verdict after conducting a review of capacity and conditions at Cork Prison as a part of the Thorton Hall Project Review Group.
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Piddle riddleA mystery grips the community of Glanmire as the person or persons responsible for dumping 237 bottles of urine in local ditches are not found.The plastic 500ml Coca Cola bottles in Glyntown are found by a woman out walking Speculation rises and falls and despite the Cork Independent offering a €50 reward for information and numerous calls to solve the mystery, it remains unsolved.
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Massive new complex at Farranferris gets green lightA new €50 million development at the site of the former St Finbarr’s Seminary in Farranferris is widely welcomed.The go ahead is given for the ambitious plan, which sees the construction of three new educational buildings, comprising of a Special Needs School, a Special Needs Educational Facility and a FÁS building.
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Northside estate under siegeResidents at a Cork City Council estate in the northside of the city become prisoners in their own homes as a feud between two families escalates with slash hooks, petrol bombs, iron bars and rocks used in the battle.
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U turn on disability cutsFollowing an outcry over cuts to young people's disability payments the Government makes a U turn on the issue, with North Cork Labour TD Seán Sherlock welcoming the announcement that further consideration would be given to the measures.
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UFO sightingsCork sky watchers get more than they bargained for when they spot UFOs in the skies above the city. Eight sightings are recorded altogether. While body snatchers and aliens were not seen in Pana or surrounding areas, the yellow and orange lights from New Year’s Eve to Sunday 2 January cause a stir.
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New minimum wage slammed There is widespread opposition in Cork to the introduction of a new, lower minimum wage, which opponents say should be immediately reversed. From 1 February the new national minimum wage is set at €7.
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City bomb attack Around 100 residents in Farranree are evacuated from their homes as a viable pipe bomb is discovered in the garden of a nearby home. Popham Road residents and customers of a nearby post office and pharmacy are rushed from their homes following a call to the Gardaí.
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