Hey Everyone! We are back with another blog this week to help you practice your English reading 😉
We usually talk about academic or lifestyle topics, but lately, we are thinking of writing more about Cork as a whole and offering you some information on what the best tourist spots are and what to do on a weekend, seeing as many of you guys are new to the city. In today’s post, we are shining a spotlight on a new familiar favourite weekend activity in cork, the Marina Market.
How old is the Marina Market?
The Marina Market, originally known as the Cork Harbour Commissioners, was built in 1761. It was actually the main harbour that served as orientation for merchant ships to find their way to Cork City’s South Docks area.
In 1870 the Gaelic poet Donncha Ó Floinn proposed several ideas to rename the promenade. One of them was the Marine because it was the name of one of the lands near the coast of Sicily. In July 1872, that area adopted the name of ‘The Marina’.
Why are we all going there today:
Today, Marina Market is known for being one of Cork’s most important leisure and hospitality venues.
During the pandemic, the Marina Market saw a massive change in that it became a closed market where food stalls and local cork crafts traders set up shop. This was a godsend for locals as it gave us a socially distanced activity to do during the day when we were all off of work, and it has been a great place to go for some lunch or to meet friends, or after walking the Blackrock walkway since then.
The market has been hugely sucessful since opening and has secured its place as one of Corks best weekend hangout spots. It also provides an all important opportunity for local traders to sell handmade goods continuously, rather than waiting for seasonal or weekend markets. Needless to say that anyone that likes food stalls, busy warehouse vibes and supporting local businesses would proably like it there.
Why are we talking about it?
You might be wondering why we’re talking about a random Cork lunch spot. We want to share our favourite Cork tourist reccomendations of course, but more importantly we’re telling you all of this because the market might not be there for much longer. In January 2022, the market operators of Marina Market asked to be classed as a food and emporium market by Cork council instead of a warehouse to secure its new standing reputation and the jobs of the regular traders. However, this application was refused in November of this year.
Why was it refused?
According to urban experts, the infrastructure on Kennedy Quay (next to Marina Market) is not prepared for the proposal. This is due to the large increase in traffic that this would entail. According to the council, this would pose a risk to the general population.
What can we do to keep the Marina Market?
Following these events, an online petition has been sent to the public to reject the council’s decision, as the Marina Market has been operating in this way since the pandemic. This petition was set up by the market customer, Charlie Clarke, who says:
“We need to have this decision overturned immediately and allow the fabulous Marina Market to exist as it is. This is a recent attraction in the city and has proved to be a great success. It’s full of food and other offerings, it’s a large spacious unique place full of character and atmosphere.”
You can sign the petition by clicking here.
Although the number of signatures is around 32,377 now, the petition has not yet changed the decision of the city council. However, we are seeing a great deal of support from the citizens of Cork.
What’s going to happen now?
We expect that there was a formal appeal of the decision and we are still waiting to see the fruits of that labour, the decision can take up to a year to reach its conclusion and the market will operate without planning permission until then. You can read the article explaining that process in more detail by clicking here.
That’s it from us this week, don’t forget to sign the petition to keep the Marina Market and tag us if you go there for coffee this week at #CorkEnglishCollege or @corkenglishcollege
Don’t miss out our articles to keep up to date with the latest news, than you for reading us!
Cork English College - Blog 