Kieran’s Report to Cork City Council on re: Arts Report, 9 October 2009

Lord Mayor,

It is clear that the Arts have made a tremendous contribution to the economy, employment and the well-being and self confidence of Metropolitan Cork and I wish to thank the city management for building such a good structure leading up to Cork 2005 and building post Capital of Culture legacies.

However, when one gets into the guts of the report, there are areas where the City Council can improve on.

Through this report, the arts amenities of the county are faring much better compared to the city.

Page 10 of the report supports this argument,

Blarney Castle had 297,000 visitors in 2007 whilst Fota Island and House had 290,000 whilst Cobh Heritage Centre had 109,000

Putting the city in the context of the metropolitan Cork, the Crawford Art Gallery did have a great season with 200,000 visitors (an institution now in danger of being amalgamated under the National gallery)

then one comes to the smaller numbers –

Cork City prison (50,000), the Cork Vision Centre (40,000), Fitzgerald’s Park Museum (26,000) which from the recent financial report is being invested with E.810,000 per annum from the Council – one would have the question the value for money here

And then you have the Cork Butter market which only attracted a mere 4,500 people, which is located in the historic Shandon area and reflects the under-selling of the historic Shandon area and its cultural heritage. The footfall was fifty times more in Blarney Castle than around Shandon.

Page 11 shows another startling fact – that 8 per cent of those attending festivals are from outside the country – this is a very low figure especially with the amount of Trojan work that goes into carrying out the festivals.

I am aware that the City Council is investing on average 250,000 into Cork Marketing Partnership – the total annual budget of the Partnership comes in around the E.500,000 mark. So City Council have a fifty per cent stake. So Lord Mayor, I wish to call for a  strategy review of the money being invested in marketing Cork City. The share of success should be equally shared amongst the institutions and partners.

It is clear especially in the Blarney and Fota case that tourists are being bused to these locations past the city attractions. This needs to be reviewed. Thanks Lord Mayor.

Kieran’s Report to Cork City Council on re: Change of name, 9 October 2009

Lord Mayor,

I sincerely welcome the O’Callaghan Development.

I wish to make two points to the name Faulkner’s Lane

Firstly, in the bigger picture there seem to be inconsistencies in the protection, enhancement and carrying forward of Cork’s heritage

Two weeks ago, we see an investment of over E.3 million into the revamping of Christ Church, an eighteenth century building – now the memory of an eighteenth century street name is at risk.

The council have through their own heritage plan spent several thousand euro on protecting and enhancing the memory of street plaques and street furniture.

My second point I wish to make regards the memory of Riggs Faulkner, a mid eighteenth century banker is at risk of being erased as well the context of the street.

Very little of the built heritage of the eighteenth century has survived in Cork.

However, the people of the 1760s brought us huge vision and action

·         The initial arching over of the city’s canals – for example the creation of Cornmarket Street

·         The creation of the Navigation Wall, later to become the Marina Walk

·         The creation of the committee of Butter Merchants which led Cork to be the leading exporting city in Ireland and a prominent exporter of butter in the British Empire

·         The provision of a pumped water supply, the site being the present day Lifetime Lab

·         The creation of the Cork Mansion House – now the Mercy Hospital

·         The initiation of a south docklands plan – still doing the rounds.

·         The very chain of the present Lord Mayor came into being in 1787

These icons, elements of the city made our modern city. Riggs Faulkner was part of the cog-wheel of those visionary times. We in 2009 should be slow to erase memories from the eighteenth century. In fact there is probably alot to be learned from this era in terms of vision. I call for the retention of the name Faulkner’s Lane.

Thanks Lord Mayor