Making way for a new generation of traders at Cork's English Market

In this final article celebrating 235 years of The English Market, I talk to two well-loved businesses that are making way for the third generation of traders: The Roughty Foodie and Kay O’Connell’s.

The Roughty Foodie

The Roughty Foodie was established in 1961 by Michael F. and Peggy Murphy, selling fruit, vegetables and general grocery products.

Many remember it as a ‘best before’ stall, selling items for bargain prices, but today it specialises in the very best artisan foods, and is proud to be always Irish and local.

Margot Ann Murphy joined her father on the stall, enjoying trading with customers and the hustle and bustle of the market. Eventually, she took over running the stall full time from her father and, in noticing a change in customer demands, decided to champion the best of local and Irish.

In doing so, she transformed the family business from the Roughty Fruit King to The Roughty Foodie we know today.

The stall remains a family affair; today, Margot Ann’s children Harriet and Gerry work on the stall alongside her - the third generation of Murphy’s to trade on this spot, and on Roughty’s Little Sister, the flower stall across the aisle.

Harriet is a Home Economics teacher but has long worked on the stall alongside her mum, and makes the popular Lemon and Passionfruit Curd sold there. On a career break, she is working there full time and offers her insight as the next generation of Roughty Foodie.

“When Michael F. and Peggy set up the stall, it was all about providing good value. He had a big personality – they both did - and they worked well as a team. 

Even to this day, someone will come in and say, ‘Oh, I remember your grandad or grandmother and what characters they were’. That’s testament to the people that they were.

“When mum (Margot Ann) took over, there was beginning to be a big grá for local and Irish. It was becoming trendy to support small scale producers, and she saw that.

“Mum grew up in a household where there was always local food put on the table, and today that’s still the same.

“She decided to take the stall a bit more upmarket. Everything we have is local, Irish, Cork; we provide a platform for small producers to showcase their products and without them we wouldn’t be here. We are well known for our preserves and honey, Irish chocolates and seasonal fruits, locally grown flowers, and edible gifts for both locals and tourists.

Everything we have is good, real food; we’re doing the simple things right.

“I’ve always had an interest in food, whether that’s been as a Home Economics teacher, in the kitchen, or here in the market. My mum always said there’s nothing like the money you make for yourself, and in here, by God you are making the money for yourself!

“It’s hard work, but when you grow up in a family business, you’ve fire in your belly.”

Having that fire is essential - being born into a family business doesn’t come with a guarantee of wanting to join the trade, but is there an expectation?

“I don’t think she set out with the intention that her children would take over. Mum is easy going on us; she wants us to be happy and if that’s in here, then so be it. There isn’t any major pressure on us, but she knows we love it here and we want to continue it.”

Never one to shy away from changing times around her, Margot Ann has become a recognisable face of the market for her enthusiastic embrace of social media in convincing people why they should visit the English Market!

“She’s always mingling with her fellow traders, it’s like one big family and it doesn’t feel like work to her - or any of the other traders, in my opinion. They don’t see it as being a long day ahead of them. There’s a bit of craic, hustle and bustle, and she’s a huge part of that for sure.

“We know our customers by name, and we can make recommendations if we don’t have something. That’s important; everyone has something unique about them, and without them we wouldn’t have what we have here.

“The people of Cork know that too, that we’re lucky to have it.”

Kay O’Connell, Fishmonger

Kathleen (Kay) O’Connell established her fish stall in 1962. It was a 12ft-by-12ft pitch; the back wall decorated with wallpaper, and a second-hand table and hang-up weighing scales from Russell’s shop across the street that was closing down.

Her son, Paul, joined her in the fish trade at 16 years old, and Pat a few years later in 1978 after college and a stint working in City Hall.

When Kathleen passed at just 64 years old in 1998, both carried on their mother’s enthusiasm for the market, the people, fresh fish, and innovation.

Today, Pat and Paul have both stepped back to allow the next generation of O’Connell’s to step up. Two of Paul’s sons work the iconic fish stall at The English Market while another is at the Bandon smokehouse. Pat’s daughter, Emma, shares the helm in the market alongside her cousins.

When Emma was four, Kathleen said to Pat she was destined to work in the family business because Emma always waited to see if she could keep the change from the Sunday morning run for newspapers and cake.

Kathleen was right.

“I worked here all through my childhood, coming in on a Saturday to help out. It’s always been in my heart. I would have been very close to my grandmother. A lot of people say I’m like her – I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but it’s in my blood,” says Emma.

When I was 18, I started working full time – that was 20 years ago. I don’t intend to ever leave!

Today, there are no shortage of stalls in the market fronted by women, but Pat remembers a different time in 1962 for his mother.

“It was appalling. It wasn’t a thing for a woman to open a business in the market. If there were any women, it tended to be because their husbands had died. It was very much a man’s world. It was tough going, but she was a tough lady, so it didn’t matter a bit to her.”

Pat remembers Kathleen as driven, determined, independently minded, and able to stand her ground.

“She had her own ideas about how a business should be run; it was always about the customer, the chat, the laugh and the sense of fun. She was well ahead of her time. I’ve met Queens, Taoisigh, ministers, MPs, actors, but the beauty of the English Market is the people that come in and you have that connection with.”

The stall and its offering have changed enormously over three generations. Where once it was a stable choice of smoked haddock, mackerel and plaice, now over 60 species of seafood adorn the counter daily.

“Mother was one of the first to go to (Castletownbere) to buy the fish herself rather than going to a fish auction in Cork like everyone else. You have to change, if you stand still, you’re gone.”

True to that innovative spirit, Emma is putting her stamp on the O’Connell name by opening a new fish delicatessen called Kay’s Kitchen in the corner stall opposite O’Connell’s in late August.

“That’s my baby,” says Emma. “I always wanted to open a fish restaurant. O’Connell’s have a name out there and we do fish very well. This way, we’ll show people what we can do. We’ll take the fish from here over to Kay’s Kitchen and cook it right in front of you.

We’ll do chowders and fish pies, eventually a whole line of branded products for supermarket shelves.

These are big plans, but speak to O’Connell’s as a name people can trust.

“Everyone knows O’Connell’s fish,” says Emma.

“They know the generations; they know us by name, from behind the counter, and Kathleen taught us it’s important to keep evolving and offer something new.”

O’Connell’s is one of the oldest stalls in the market; fewer still are third generation.

“It’s very hard to carry it through to future generations,” says Pat, adding that there must be more impetus for joining a family business than obligation.

“There is a feeling you have to live up to something,” says Emma. “I feel that all the time, but that’s not a bad thing either because it keeps me going.

“People talk about Kay, they talk about dad, then they look at me and think, is she going to be able to do all of this? Yeah, it’s pressure.”

Emma and Pat talk about Kathleen as though her presence is all around.

“Absolutely,” says Emma. “You’d nearly sense her. She spent all her life in here.”

“I’ve often gotten a clip across the ear,” says Pat. 

You do feel her presence here. It will always be Kathleen’s business; she put blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s part of who we are, our DNA.

Losing his mother while she was still young has gifted Pat perspective that life is short and there are other things he would like to do.

“I’m yesterday’s man in many ways,” he says. “I have no issue stepping aside and letting the youngsters have a go.”

They’ll make mistakes, he says, but then they all did, and O’Connell’s is still here.

You can catch up on Kate Ryan’s four-part series here.