Princes Street Market (Cork)

Princes Street Market, also known as the English Market, is an important municipal food market in the centre of the city of Cork, Ireland which is well supported locally and has in itself become a tourist attraction in the city centre.

The term "English Market" was coined to distinguish the market from the nearby St. Peter's Market which was known as the Irish Market.

There has been a market on the present site since 1788 but the present group of buildings was constructed in the mid 19th century with the ornamental entrance at Princes Street being constructed in 1862 by Sir John Benson. The market changed little over the next century or so until it was seriously damaged by fire on 19th June 1980 and had to be extensively refurbished by Cork City Council. The refurbishment work was done in sympathy with the original Victorian building's design and won a Gold Medal from the Europa Nostra heritage foundation for conservation shortly after its completion.

The refurbished market suffered a second fire in 1986 but the damage was less damaging than the first. Since its refurbishment the Market has become far more multicultural with the influx of new people to the city and a wide variety of fresh produce from around the world can be bought there. The Market is particularly famous for its daily caught fresh fish and sources much of the food served in the city's top restaurants.

References

*Serving A City - the Story of Cork's English Market by Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil & Donal Ó Drisceoil, Collins Press (Cork), 2005.