Cork's English Market needs more ‘TLC’ says former lord mayor

Fear has been expressed that Cork’s English Market is not getting enough investment following ,the announcement that Dublin’s Victorian Market is to get a renovation from a €44m fund.

Former lord mayor Mick Finn has suggested that a recent announcement indicating that Dublin City Council was investing €30m out of a total €44m investment in that city’s Victorian Market should “act as a spur” to show the English Market some “tender loving care”.

“Dublin City Council has been allowed to borrow millions as part of the upgrading of its Victorian fruit and vegetable market. Cork should now follow suit and pump money into much-needed improvements and restorations to the English Market which is badly in need of some TLC,” said Mr Finn.

Pat O’Connell, of O’Connell’s Fishmongers, one of the market’s longest established businesses, said discussions have previously taken place with Cork City Council about different options to restore the building.

Mr O’Connell told The Echo that the four years spent on a project up to 2018 yielded a report but no refurbishment.

“The simple answer is they don’t see any value in it,” 

he said.

Mr O’Connell said there had been three plans — one envisaged the replacement of the roof, as currently the building lets in no light on the Grand Parade side; while the second was a midway project; and a third option was the one with “the bells and whistles” which would have seen the installation of a mezzanine floor on the Grand Parade side.

Other “bells and whistles” would have included solar panels to power the refrigerators and rainwater collectors, which would have been used for washing the floors and in the toilet block.

“That was the one that would have made the English Market a stand out market in Europe and ensured its survival,” said Mr O’Connell.

“You only have to look at what happened to the Coal Quay. It’s all well and good to think that something is working really well, but it’s very difficult standing in that market in December with winds blowing and you’re standing there selling fish and handling ice and whatever.

“It doesn’t have a lot of home comforts, but it’s an incredible market in the sense that the people that are in there are incredible characters with a sense of fun.”

Mr O’Connell said the English Market had become a key attraction in Cork as markets were dying out in Europe and were non-existent in the US.

He added that the city council had no problem spending money on the building in advance of the famous trip by the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

“We had the departments that we had never met in our lives floating around us, telling us how to lay out our counters and the like.

“When she was gone, everything was gone,” he said.

When Mr O’Connell’s comments were put to Cork City Council, the authority responded with a statement referring to its establishment of a directorate with responsibility for the city centre last December.

“The city centre development and operations directorate is tasked with preparing and implementing a city centre-specific strategy which will provide a blueprint for the future and revitalisation of Cork city centre, which will include supporting city centre businesses and include the traders currently operating within the English Market,” a spokesperson said in the statement.

“There continues to be active engagement between Cork City Council Planning and Integrated Development Directorate and the current traders within the English Market.

“The strategy will inform, in part, the extent of works to improve and enhance the existing facility and positive contribution by traders to the vibrancy of the city centre.”

Mr Finn said the variety of the market and expansion for the market should also be on the cards.

“Apart from a structural upgrade, a better offering for customers and more capacity for traders is needed — particularly in the provision of on-site food options for visitors … as well as being a place where people buy fresh food, it should also be a place where more food offerings can be made available, maximising its potential.”

Cork Business Association president Dave O’Brien described the English Market as “the beating heart of Cork’s food culture, a deep part of our city’s heritage, and a powerful driver of local business and tourism”.

“Continued and strategic investment is essential to safeguard this gem, while enhancing the experience for businesses, locals, and visitors.

“With the right support, the market can thrive for generations to come.”

Frank O’Connor and Jude Sherry, both prominent campaigners for the restoration of buildings across Cork city, told The Echo that while Cork thought highly of itself, it was failing to deliver on many fronts when it came to “valuing its build, architectural, and cultural heritage”.

“If the [English Market] is at risk then what else will also disappear in the coming years?” the campaigners asked.