Cork is a very small town that has a very notable frontier-town quality to it. Another thing to…read morenote is that there are about 11 shops in Cork, and 10 of them are shoe shops (check qype if you don't believe me*). I couldn't work out at the time why this was. Did it rain so heavily that people just needed to replace their shoes every few days? Certainly a very possible explanation. Or was it that they still hadn't grasped crop diversity and, fearing another 'bad season' for potatoes, needed a backup food option? As trapped Chinese miners so often demonstrate, shoes can be particularly handy on occasion. Anyway I was forced into this shop by the combination of boredom, my father's insistence, and my father's boredom. This shop sold "ecco" brand shoes and advertised so prominently in the window. My parents and I were browsing a mall in Hong Kong about 10 months previously when he had first raved about ecco shoes, upon seeing an ecco shop there, and insisted I buy a pair. I told him then and I told him in Ireland 10 months later that I didn't need any more shoes. The second time I told him though was a lie. He knew it and I knew it. I had come from China wearing cloth shoes - ideally suited to strolling in Beijing's dry climate, cycling between its generously spaced bar areas, and jumping through its bureaucratic hoops - which at 8rmb (76p / 92¢ presently) clearly weren't made with the sort of materials needed to endure the climatic limits of mankind's habitable environment. It's actually a wonder that people in the UK and Ireland haven't evolved with webbed feet. Saying that I did actually have a boss once who had a webbed hand... I suppose it just takes time... and incest. Anyway as we walked past this shop I could smell my rancid shoes degrading with every squelching step and I wasn't going to argue very much with my dad, who already had his wallet out. The staff were very polite, given the state of my current shoes, and helped me to find a suitable pair of ecco's finest "genuine leather" slip-ons (no time for lace-ups in the 21st century, and whatever happened to velcro?). They didn't really fit but were comfortable enough and shoes always take time to wear in anyway. I was just very glad to have relatively dry feet for about 10 seconds. Dad was right too.. they are very good quality... very durable... and you can tell they were made to last. Really this review is about ecco shoes, as I didn't really notice anything worth mentioning about the shop. On a final note I did eventually find the 'Achilles Heel' (not even sure if that counts as a pun... and I'm certainly not sorry if it is) in ecco's design. A few weeks ago I drank a heroic amount of Chinese rice wine and was consequently sick on my ecco shoes... they had almost completely dissolved by morning. Told you, dad.

CENTRAL SHOE STORES Great to see the Central Shoe Stores up…read moreand running again and giving the big boys a run for their money. The traditional Grand Parade venue (trading here for over 120 years) are celebrating their re-opening at present and the customers are winning. Last Saturday, I bought myself a pair of classy runners for just €20.00. Hard to beat that and, besides, the friendly service is as good as ever.

Great Shoes Here, Currently getting a revamp, check out the peep hole and the progress inside.read more

My favourite place for shoes in cork. Well, I have to say that, my last 6 pairs have been from this…read moreshop.

KILLARNEY OUTLET CENTRE Made my first visit to the Killarney…read moreOutlet Centre this week. Shops include Nike, Blarney Woollen Mills, Costa coffee, Paco, Jean Scene and so on. It is not that mighty big so the attraction is the discount that is on offer. The ground floor is fully populated with tenants but there is little take-up on the first floor. Shoppers were few enough this Thursday but I'm told it picks up at the weekend with extra stalls and activity. I wouldn't recommend making a trip just to visit this centre but it could profitably be included as part of a trip to Killarney itself and it has the added bonus of having the bus station alongside.

Verglichen mit anderen Outlet Centern, ist dieses ein Witz! Gefühlte 3 Läden, viele Leerstände. Die…read moreLäden sind überwiegend keine bekannten oder hochwertigen Marken. Wir sind 50km hierhin gefahren, sind nach 20 Minuten wieder gefahren (hatten alles gesehen), und haben jeden KM Anreise bereut.

Took the kids in here at the start of the school year and found the staff to be quite helpful. The…read moreshop was quite busy but we weren't waiting long and the lady who assisted us was excellent with my kids who always hate trying on shoes! She made it fun for them and we left with 3 new pairs of shoes (one for each child) for less than 70 euros which was great considering some of the prices we'd seen elsewhere

TKMAXX I enjoy my visits to the TKMaxx store in Paul Street…read more Labels for less is the motto and it also seems to be the practice. I usually head to the footwear shelves. My initial bargain was a pair of Daddy Yankees from the US and just recently I picked up a pair of Swiss waterproof runners which had been marked down from €150.00 to €30.00. Not bad. The service is not bad either as they quickly assign staff to the checkouts if the line starts to stretch. Sometimes when it is your turn you get an almost mechanical recitation of your rights of return. That can annoy but I suppose is it all part of learning on the job. Most of the staff though can build those return details into a normal conversation as they put your gear through.

It's surprisingly nice to browse this branch of TK Maxx as it's usually a bit quiet and not too…read moremessy. Having said that, I have never bought much from their clothing selection. Lately, I've found their homeware and shoes more attractive...