Love and marriage at The English Market

As Valentine’s Day approaches, three stallholders of Cork’s historic English Market tell me how they met, mixing business and pleasure, and how they show love with beautiful foods, gifts and crafts - all of which make the best presents for someone special in your life.

Elmarie & Charlie Mahon, from Charlie Mahon Ceramics

Not many relationships start with an unintended two-day abseiling trip to the Cliffs of Moher, but that’s how Elmarie and Charlie Mahon met in 1991.

“A friend and I sort of unexpectedly kidnapped Charlie, but the craic was mighty, so we just kept driving. It was two days before we managed to get him back home!” recalled Elmarie.

A long romance ensued, and eventually, Charlie moved to Cork to be with Elmarie.

Charlie, a ceramic artist and potter, works at his studio, and Elmarie runs their shop in the English Market, packing orders and day-to-day administration.

“I’m more of the talker, Charlie is reserved, so it suits me to be out in the shop. We would fire each other ten times a day, but the way we work together, we inspire each other, so it’s brilliant,” says Elmarie.

Working together brings unexpected benefits to the business.

“At times it can be challenging,” says Charlie, “but working together and connecting, we can work through a thing. We can see more, and between us we can get more done and quicker.

“We can be more honest with each other,” says Elmarie. “Because Charlie works in the pottery and I work in the English Market, we’re not working together in that sense. But when we’re in the studio together, that’s when we can have the banter with each other.

“There’s always something to talk about; I’d have some bit of craic going on in the shop, and Charlie might have some bit of drama from the studio.”

Charlie Mahon Ceramics joined the market in 2021 and has bonded well with its neighbours, with their ceramics finding a natural home among the food stalls.

“We make things that compliment the food aspect of the English Market, because what do you serve food on?” asks Elmarie.

“Customers love seeing something different in the market. They come in to do their shopping and maybe have a gift they need to buy, so they’ll pop in and pick something up from us. We’re becoming known for that,” says Charlie.

There are four collections Charlie has designed, with each piece made by hand: Mackerel, Grá Heart (red), Grá Heart (green) and Witty Sheep. From throwing the clay to the final glaze, Charlie estimates he handles each piece of his Grá Heart Collection 13 times.

“Each of the pieces is hand-painted individually, so they are all a little different,” he says, meaning that each piece really does have a little bit of Charlie’s heart in every one.

“The first year we did Showcase in Dublin we needed a new design. Showcase takes place in January, so we were thinking of Valentine’s Day - the heart was perfect for that,” says Charlie.

Elmarie explains: “I was saying that Charlie should do something ‘with a bit of heart’ and my father used to always say, ‘I have a lot of grá for you’. Then, Charlie came back with the Grá Heart design, and it was so beautiful. He just took it out of the air, like it was a feeling.

“People love the Grá for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, weddings, engagements and house-warmings. When you have a piece in your hand that’s been gifted, it’s like you’re holding that person’s heart in your hands, and each time it’s taken out and used, you think of them.”

Donal & Virginia O’Gara, My Goodness

Virginia and Donal O’Gara of My Goodness were friends long before love came calling. 

Together for 14 years and married for 12, the pair met while working on an educational project at Kinsale College of Further Education Permaculture School.

Donal was working as an artist making art from random discarded things, and Virginia brought some children from the project to “see these radical dudes doing art made of recycled bits and pieces of trash,” Virginia said.

“We found ourselves both single at the same time, and got together at a friend’s birthday party,” says Do nal. 

The next day, Virginia invited Donal to hike Carrantuohill.

“I knew if I didn’t show up and climb this mountain, I might miss my chance. So, we went to Kerry, climbed the mountain, and started dating!”

A few years later, My Goodness was founded by Virginia and her friend Fiona Gannon. Although Donal never wanted to run a food business, when Fiona left to return to college, he stepped in, and the rest is history.

This renegade quirky vegan food business feels right at home at The English Market, ironically among the meat stalls of Prince’s Street.

Working and living together can be challenging, so what’s the upside?

“When you’re running a business it’s all-consuming. Work, life and pleasure end up intermingling and there isn’t necessarily designated time for each, but that’s a strength and a difficulty running a business together,” says Virginia.

“We both have very different roles within the company and a huge team of incredible people working with us, so we’re all in it together. Having defined roles, good communication, and our own spaces all help.

“As a child-free couple, My Goodness is what we put all our energy into. We both really enjoy it, but it can mean it’s hard leaving work at work and home at home,” says Donal.

“We have gotten better at that over the years; but any couple that shares anything together, it’s important to remember not to forget who you are as a couple as well.”

Working together, Virginia and Donal know they can always count on each other.

“It means we have a lot more patience and compassion for each other because we understand what each other has gone through in a day,” says Donal.

Many of the stalls in the English Market are family businesses, making family ties a normal part of life for traders.

“The English Market is so unique; it’s been around for 235 years and is such an institution. It’s a fun and interesting place to work; it makes sense a lot of families work there because it’s a deeply rooted, familial, cultural place, and that is the essence of family,” says Virginia.

For My Goodness, the market is like an extended family with its community ethos in the wider Cork neighbourhood.

“It takes a village to get a business going,” says Virginia. “We’re like this weirdo company inside this iconic location, but the market and the Cork public have taken us under their wing, and we have done our best to serve it well. It’s like we’re now a part of the history of the market.”

My Goodness has some special treats in for Valentine’s Day including My Bloody Basil-Thyme Water Kefir (blood orange, basil and thyme) on tap.

Margo Murphy and Gerry Kelleher, Roughty Foodie

Margo Murphy and Gerry Kelleher are the duo behind Roughty Foodie, a third-generation stall specialising in local produce, Irish-made chocolates and Irish-grown flowers.

They met more than 30 years ago through a mutual interest in horse and greyhound racing.

Back then, before taking over the running of Roughty Foodie, Margo was the first female bookmaker in Ireland and the UK, and Gerry was also a licenced bookmaker. But theirs is a relationship where opposites attract!

“We are total opposites. I’m the drive behind the business and the kind of person that throws caution to the wind, where Gerry would have a kinder side. I think that works for us,” says Margo,

“But Gerry’s first love will always be the horses! Sometimes he’ll say, ‘Margo, the horses were here before you, and they’ll be there after you, too!’”

Margo is well known as the face and voice of Roughty Foodie, but her vision to reshape Roughty Foodie into the emporium of today couldn’t have happened without Gerry by her side, she says.

“I’m out at the front of house, but there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. A lot of women can’t get their careers off the ground because they don’t have the support at home, but Gerry has always been very supportive to me over the years in the background of the business.”

Since the reinvention, Irish chocolatiers and flowers grown-not-flown in Ireland have become synonymous with Roughty Foodie and perfect for Valentine’s Day.

“The English Market is like a family, and love is alive there! Many a romance and many a marriage has come from the English Market,” says Margo. “You would see the romance in the air when people come to us to buy their flowers and the chocolates!

“The English Market is a family, and each stallholder is unique. It’s steeped in history, full of charisma, characters, and everybody has a story to tell. The shopping experience is just different in the market. There is rivalry between us stallholders, of course, but at the end of the day we are there to support each other.”

Just as Roughty Foodie adapted to the way Cork, the market and its customers were changing, so can Margo see how love is changing, and the ways in which people choose to express that love.

“Happy people buy flowers, happy people give flowers, and happy people grow flowers,” says Margo. “We find we have customers come and buy flowers for themselves to feel good. Women are our biggest customers, and there is nothing better than your own self-worth as a woman. So, buy that bunch of flowers and box of chocolates for yourself - gone is the day you’re waiting for Valentine’s and someone to buy it for you!”

Valentines, Galentine’s, a gift for a friend, family member, or just for yourself, flowers can be a way to show love to many people for many reasons.