Marina Park is a modern park and the newest installation in The Marina district. The red pavilion of Marina Park reminds the walker of its former story as the Cork Showgrounds.

On 1 August 1891, at a post show discussion led by Mr A Ferguson of the County of Cork Agricultural Society, he proposed that a permanent show yard be erected in a portion of the Cork Park Race Course with grounds 20 acres in extent. Their home up to that point was in temporary and seasonal accommodation behind the Municipal Buildings or what is now Cork City Hall.

The first annual show to be held on the new grounds was held on Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 July 1892. In the post show discussion, several other ideas were discussed on how to develop the new grounds, in particular developing a cattle ring, a galloping space and a proper system of distributing tickets.

As the County of Cork Agricultural Society developed its new home in the Cork Park Race Course, it was dependent on the success of its shows and the subscriptions and voluntary contributions of its members. To make the society more regional in stature, in 1908 the name of the County of Cork Agricultural Society was changed to the Munster Agricultural Society.

A visit to the annual Cork Summer Show was an annual ritual for many Corkonians. It was so important that many of the city offices would close down for the afternoons of the show so that people could go to the show – it was like a public holiday. It was a sort of social outing where people would come year after year to meet up.

However, as the decades of the late twentieth century progressed the economic recessions forced the drivers of the Irish economy to diversify. Agriculture went through a lot of reform and the show itself started to tail off and was probably a victim of the Celtic Tiger economy and the shift in the economy from agriculture to other industries like pharmaceuticals, the IT sector and the construction sector. The creation of Cork City Council’s South Docklands plan brought further changes to the Munster Agricultural Society.

The City Council’s compulsory purchase order indirectly sped up a future plan for the society. In July 2009, for the first time in its history, the Cork Summer Show was held outside the city.  A 60-acre site, just off the Ballincollig Bypass, became the new home for the Munster Agricultural Society’s two-day show. This became the new chapter in the proud history of the Munster Agricultural Society.

The new Marina Park and its red pavilion marks the rich history of the showgrounds. The sides of the pavilion reflecting the society’s former buildings will not be enclosed, and there will be possibilities for coffee pods and outdoor seating and arts and crafts. The project is a e.10m investment into the area, of which nearly e.5m came from EU Urban Sustainable Funds, which are part of the EU’s structural funds and are a crucial source of funding for cities.

Read about the Old Railway Line Walk, 9. The Old Railway Line | Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Kieran McCarthy

Read Kieran’s June 2024 local election manifesto here: 2. Kieran’s Manifesto, Local Elections 2024 | Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr. Kieran McCarthy