17 May 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork City Cllr Ted Tynan (WP)
Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan has said that last week’s cave in of part of the roof of Cork Butter Market could possibly have been prevented if a motion he had submitted to the council last September had been acted on sooner.
Cllr. Tynan’s motion had called for an assessment of the state of the Butter Market buildings with a view to their refurbishment as a major tourist attraction in the city and resource for the local community.
He said that the Butter Market had been allowed fall into serious disrepair instead of being developed as a focal point for the whole Shandon area and of the Northside of Cork as a whole.
Cllr. Tynan said, “Instead of now having deal with urgent repairs the council should have secured the building and begun preparing work on a major refurbishment which would turn the complex into a tourist hot-spot. Unfortunately the roof has literally fallen in and has brought the matter to a head. It is to be hoped that instead of a stop-gap measure Cork City Council will now move to draw up a comprehensive plan for the Butter Market”.
“Whatever form of refurbishment work is carried out on the Butter Market it is vital that it is in keeping with the local architecture and that it has a sense of belonging to the local community. Suggestions of high-end retail units must not be entertained. This historic and iconic landmark should become a resource to the local people and to the citizens of Cork. What once made Cork world famous for butter has the potential to become a major tourist attraction that can rival the Blarney Stone or the Rock of Cashel” said the Workers’ Party councillor.
