8 June 2017
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Des Cahill, recognised family businesses at last night’s ‘Lord Mayor of Cork’s Family Business Awards’ ceremony held in City Hall. Two award recipients came from The English Market which is famous for family businesses being passed down through generations. On the night Pat O Connell from K. O’Connell Fish Merchants and Denise Healy from Healys Bakery Cork both accepted awards.
The ‘Lord Mayor of Cork’s Family Business Awards’ were launched last year and aim to acknowledge the contribution that family businesses have made, and continue to make, to Cork City. Award recipients each receive a tailored training and mentoring package from the Local Enterprise Office.
Speaking at the awards, Manager of the English Market, Órla Lannin stated “I am delighted to be here tonight to see two of our traders receiving an award. All of our traders work extremely hard and so it is nice to come to an occasion like this where their hard work is recognised.”
Pat O’Connell from K. O’Connell Fish Merchants in The English Market, a stall that was set up in 1962 by Kay O Connell, picked up their award on the night and spoke about how great it is that Cork family businesses are being celebrated “I am thrilled to accept this award tonight and am even more thrilled to be associated with this celebration of family businesses in Cork. As we all know The English Market has many stalls where many generations have worked and are still carrying on the family business like ourselves. It’s great to see the ongoing contribution that small businesses like these make to the community being recognised here tonight”.
Denise Healy from Healys Bakery Cork in The English Market who also picked up one of the reputable awards at the ceremony shared her delight and told how much it meant to her and her family: “To be announced as one of the winners here tonight is a true honour, and myself and my family are over the moon to be standing here representing our business. We are very proud of our stall and delighted that our hard work and dedication has paid off.”
Also speaking at the event, The Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Des Cahill, said “it’s absolutely fantastic to present awards tonight to two traders in the English Market. The Market has and will always have special memories for me. My great great Grand Uncle Matthew Olden started our family butchering business in the Market in 1856 and kept going into 5th generation in my family. In my opinion The English Market is the centre of Cork City”
