Daily Archives: November 9, 2009

Clean Up Section of Medieval Town Wall

Cork History, Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized

Kieran’s Comments/ Speech

Council Chamber, 9 November 2009

Re: Medieval Town Wall, Kyrl’s Quay & Kieran’s Motion

 

I’d like to thank again the director for his report on my motion and his honesty in terms of the regrettable condition of this national monument. Way back in 1993, Cork City Council expended a substantial amount in the archaeological investigation of 60 metres of the town wall during the creation of Kyrl’s Quay multi-storey car-park. Back then there were huge discoveries on the building of the thirteenth century wall, the Medieval way of life and how North Main Street area came into being.

This project was also part of the Cork Historic Centre action, whereby other initiatives, living over the shop, street refurbishment, the Cork Vision Centre and Fenn’s Quay re-development came into being. Highly successful in the short-term but fast forward to the present day and the long term effects of the plan seem not to have been fully realised. North and South Main Streets, where Cork began are now subject to high levels of dereliction, missing buildings, historical plaques hanging off walls. Medieval laneways and graveyards such as that of St. Peter’s riddled with anti-social behaviour.

The poor state of the town wall for me represents, where the Cork Historic Centre Action is at.

Indeed when it comes to any of our archaeology, the policy also seems to be, lets put it under the ground so no one can see it – despite the large volumes of archaeological reports that the Council have published.

The new Cork City Walls Management Plan should be harnessed to build another cultural arrow in the Council’s quiver – let’s keep some of that we do find and properly show it to the general public. I’m reminded of Eyre Square in Galway whereby a section of the town wall is on open display.

I also see that the Council’s only archaeologist, a temporary officer, is about to lose her job next summer as the permanent officer retires. That being said, only this morning, she was on her hands and knees excavating the crypt in Christ Church and preparing to find Hopewell Castle, one of the town wall’s turrets in Christ Church Lane. I’m just wondering what will the City’s archaeology plan be if the Council don’t have any archaeologist at all.

Cork Economic Monitor, November 2009

Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized

Kieran’s Speech/ Comments

Council Chamber, 9 November 2009

Lord Mayor, this year the city commemorates 25 years since the closure of two of Cork’s biggest employers, Fords and Dunlops. 25 years later through rebuilding, boom and bust, we’re back to the high unemployment figure.

On page 5 – the graph reads 26, 532 in metropolitan Cork on the live register, three times the amount of unemployment since 2006 – I call on the Council to focus on that figure. I would like to hear what the Council is doing to provide opportunities to unemployed people.

On page 9 is the rent problems, the national average says that rents are down 18.7 % this year- My second concern is the 600 businesses in the city and making sure they survive this recession. I have major concerns that if rates are pushed higher, we’ll push traders out of the city to the privately owned shopping centres. According to the report, we have 15% vacant office space in the city centre.

I would also like to hear what are the Council’s approaches to dealing with rates and rents of our 600 businesses that are now struggling to make ends meet.

Grand Parade, the last leaves, November 2009

Cornmarket Street Re-development

Kieran's Council Work, Uncategorized

Kieran’s Comments/ Speech,

Re: Cornmarket Street Redevelopment,

Council Chamber, 9 November 2009

 

This is a significant proposal that will ultimately change the layout of one of Cork’s main streets.

Lord Mayor here we have another historic street, A street with the same vintage as Opera lane, formerly Faulkners Lane

Cornmarket Street began its life as a canal, arched over in the 1760s. The original  cornmarket was placed there circa 1720 and an elaborate structure put there and still there, part of which is occupied by Loft Carpet Shop, cleaned up and looking shiny whilst the other half has vegetation and blackened limestone

These all sit next to the an image of the Cork Coat of Arms, one of the towers on the coat of arms, Queen’s Castle was discovered at the intersection with Cornmarket Street with Castle Street during the Cork Main Drainage.

Intermix that with institutions such as Musgraves, St. Paul’s Church, the Bridewell, oral histories and one gets a cocktail of nostalgia dating back 500 years. So I feel whatever we do needs to be sensitively done in terms of enhancing the memories of the street, which are still quite present in the Cork psyche. Of all the streets in Cork, the memory bank of this street is held in high esteem by citizens. The right message needs to be sent out here and the right expertise employed that this cultural heritage and asset is not lost but harnessed for the good of the city.

I’m also conscious that it’s still a living street for business, one that has seen its fair share of dereliction and anti-social behaviour. Representations made to myself by the Cornmarket Street Business Association highlight a number of valid concerns

Firstly, at present there is a serious anti-social issue in Daltons Avenue / Paul’s Avenue in the vicinity of Corporation Buildings, spilling out on to Cornmarket Street ongoing on a daily basis.  Large groups of people are gathering in the areas day and night in on-street drinking binges,

Debris consisting of beer cans, bottles, wine bottles, vodka bottles human feces and huge amounts of litter are there for anyone to see.

Secondly, Gardai have communicated with City Council outlining their considerable difficulties with having this canopy on the street. They have outlined their lack of resources to police and control such activities.

Thirdly, there is the issue of parking. There are at present approx’ 40 legal pay Parking spaces together with 2 loading bays and 4 disabled spaces on the Street. Under this proposal it is envisaged that all parking would be removed.

Fourthly, there is a also a call to regulate the type of goods sold on the street, with a view to eliminating, where possible the sale of counterfeit items and, where possible to  prohibit any  items to be sold by casual traders which undermine the existing businesses of Rate-paying / tax compliant, employing shopkeepers / retailers. There is no economic benefit either to the coffers of the City Council or to the economy of the greater city in this proposal.

 

There are also a number of other concerns that the permanent traders have on the street. Where with regard to the city manager’s request, I would like that further consultation especially with the business community on that street take place. This seems to be another situation where communication between Council and the business community is blurred and needs more partnership and co-operation. I would like to get the manager’s thoughts and views on that.