How would you spell it? St Fin Barre's or St Finbarr's? In one Christian tradition it is the former, in the other, the latter. One thing is agreed, however: whatever way you spell it, right or wrong, historical fact or anecdote, the site of the cathedral of St Fin Barre's is where Cork itself was founded by the patron saint of the city in the dim and distant past.
Fast forward and we come to the present and wonderful edifice of St Fin Barre's Church of Ireland Cathedral, nowadays as much a part of Cork's skyline as anything else that links the city to its roots. And that's why I think this gesture is a special one.
Other Cork Catholic bishops had their way of doing things. Bishop John Buckley has his way. To put it mildly, I would not have expected a call from either of his predecessors asking me to publicise a fundraiser for "the other side".
Nor would I have expected to have been present when Cornelius Lucey or Michael Murphy, the two previous Catholic bishops of Cork, scaled a cathedral face that was not where their own faithful came to worship. Bishop Buckley cheerfully joined Dean Michael Jackson of St Fin Barre's as a human fly to tackle the scaffolding on the face of the cathedral, looking east, which was then and still is in the process of being restored. It was a photo opportunity. But Bishop Buckley was using it to help the Church of Ireland's urgent need for funds.
And this is where a special ecumenical gesture deserves mention. The bishop recently asked his flock, in every church in every parish in the dioceses of Cork and Ross, to donate something during or after Mass or during the coming weeks to the St Fin Barre's project.
In times past, this might have been seen as a bold gesture. It comes naturally to Bishop Buckley and he explains it easily: "We share a common Christian tradition. St Finbarr unites us because we believe he founded the city on the site of St Fin Barre's Cathedral.
"It is a wonderful landmark and it is in need of a lot of money to ensure its preservation. All Cork people see it as something special in the fabric of the city. In both traditions, we have made friendships and we have much to share. We have shown this at parish level through the work of our ministers and priests."
He pointed out that "the Church of Ireland was present when I was installed as Bishop of Cork and Ross at the North Cathedral and I attended in St Fin Barre's when Bishop Paul Colton took over". No doubt, the £5 million required will be found and it will enable St Fin Barre's to follow through on the restoration as well as provide for the creation of an interpretative centre. The Church of Ireland faithful will rally round. Bishop Buckley is quite sure that the appeal to his flock will be no less successful. "It's nothing more than a natural, ecumenical gesture," he added.
Actually, it's a lot more than that. In time, church historians may come to see it as a milestone in the interaction between the traditions.