Richard Dowden (Richard)

Richard Dowden, born 1794 and dead 1861, co-founded temperance, wrote poetry, studied plants and became Cork mayor in 1845. He also managed Jenning's soda-water factory near this spot, which means he understood both the danger and the pleasure in what flows through a throat. A man clear enough to warn others about drink may have liked the ring of a glass, the bite of bubbles and the pride of making something clean.