• Cornmarket Street’s dual identity as the beloved Coal Quay reveals how a single Cork thoroughfare can embody centuries of trade, tradition, and the rebellious spirit that refuses to let official names override local heritage.

Walk down Cornmarket Street in Cork city centre today and you’ll likely hear locals call it by another name entirely: the Coal Quay. This dual identity isn’t confusion but rather a testament to how deeply this historic market street is woven into Cork’s cultural fabric. While maps and street signs read “Cornmarket Street,” the people of Cork have stubbornly preserved a name that evokes its grittier, working-class past as a bustling waterfront where coal, timber, and potatoes once arrived by ship.

From Waterway to Market Way

The story of this remarkable street begins not on land but on water. From the 12th to the 18th century, what is now Cornmarket Street was an actual quayside on a channel of the River Lee, where merchant ships loaded and unloaded their cargo. The area went by various names reflecting the goods traded there: Timber Quay, Potato Quay, Newenham’s Quay, and Ferry Quay.

The transformation from waterway to street occurred during the 18th century when Cork undertook ambitious land reclamation projects. The river channel was arched over and filled in to create more space for the city’s expanding commercial activities. In 1719, the first municipal corn market was constructed on this newly reclaimed land, giving the street its official name. A second corn market building, designed in the 1740s, still stands today as a testament to this era.

Cork City Heritage Officer: “The persistence of the name ‘Coal Quay’ demonstrates how popular tradition and cultural resonance can hold more sway than administrative decree – a characteristic deeply embedded in Cork’s Rebel City identity.”

A Tale of Two Markets

The street’s most dramatic chapter began in 1843 with the construction of St. Peter’s Market, a massive covered market hall spanning half an acre with entrances on both North Main Street and Cornmarket Street. This wasn’t just any market – it was a political statement. Following Catholic emancipation and local government reforms in 1840, Cork’s newly empowered Catholic majority built St. Peter’s as a direct rival to the Protestant-controlled English Market.

St. Peter’s quickly became known as the “Irish Market,” where ordinary Cork citizens could buy affordable meat, fish, and vegetables. The building, designed by renowned architect Alexander Deane and modelled on Liverpool’s St. John’s Market, was intended to revolutionise food shopping in Cork. However, it faced an unexpected competitor: the thriving open-air market on the street outside its doors.

The outdoor Coal Quay market, with its lower prices and lively atmosphere, proved more popular than the grand covered hall. By the early 20th century, St. Peter’s Market was struggling, and it eventually closed permanently. The building found new life through various incarnations – as a munitions factory during World War I, later as a clothing factory, and today as The Old Town Whiskey Bar at Bodega, proudly claiming the title of Ireland’s largest whiskey bar.

The Legendary Shawlies

No history of the Coal Quay would be complete without honouring the “Shawlies” – the women street traders who were the heart and soul of the market for generations. Named for the traditional black shawls they wore, these resilient women sold everything from vegetables to second-hand clothes, their colourful banter and songs creating the market’s unique atmosphere.

Elizabeth Underhill, fourth-generation vegetable dealer (born 1919): “Everything happened there on Fridays and Saturdays. The place would be thronged with people from all walks of life. The women all wore shawls and the sound of a gadget player passing through would often cause many of the dealers to burst into song or dance at their stalls.”

Characters like Kathy Barry became local legends. Immortalised in the folk song “The Boys of Fairhill,” Barry ran a provisions shop in Dalton’s Avenue off the Coal Quay and was famous for her crubeens (pig’s feet). She was known to visit nearby Dennehy’s pub three times daily for “a small whiskey and a glass of stout.”

The Shawlies’ way of life faced increasing pressure in the 20th century. The Street Trading Act of 1926, influenced by commercial interests including the expanding Musgrave Brothers wholesale business, severely restricted street trading rights. Though their numbers dwindled, some Shawlies continued trading into the 1970s, and a few families descended from the original traders maintain lifelong trading rights on the street today.

Modern Market Traditions

Today, the Coal Quay’s market tradition lives on through the vibrant Saturday market (approximately 9am-2pm). The street comes alive with stalls offering organic vegetables, fresh fish from West Cork, artisan breads, local cheeses, jams, and flowers. Food vendors serve everything from traditional fare to international cuisine using local ingredients – you’re as likely to find miso soup made with Cork seaweed as you are Irish brown bread.

The 2011-2012 refurbishment, supported by over €1 million in funding from Cork City Council and European Structural Funds, modernised the market infrastructure while attempting to preserve its character. Modern stalls replaced older structures, creating what planners envisioned as a “European outdoor market” feel.

Contemporary Businesses

The street successfully balances its market heritage with contemporary commerce. The Cornmarket Centre anchors the modern retail presence, housing major brands like TK Maxx and Lidl, effectively extending the city’s prime shopping district from St. Patrick’s Street.

Among the dining establishments, Cornstore Restaurant has served locally sourced steaks and seafood for nearly 20 years, while 51 Cornmarket has earned critical acclaim for its innovative seasonal menu, with reviewers predicting Michelin recognition. The Old Town Whiskey Bar at Bodega, in the former St. Peter’s Market building, combines historic architecture with contemporary hospitality, featuring traditional Irish music seven nights a week.

Family businesses maintain the street’s independent spirit. Dennehy’s Bar, established in 1957 in a building dating to 1760, remains in the same family and serves as a living museum of Coal Quay culture, with an original photograph of Kathy Barry still hanging on its walls.

Preserving the Past, Embracing the Future

Recent additions like the “Urban Mirror” sculpture – a large communal table installed in 2023 – represent efforts to enhance the public realm while fostering the community interaction that has always defined the Coal Quay. The annual Coal Quay Festival, organised since 2012 by the Coal Quay Historical Society, celebrates this unique heritage with music, storytelling, and traditional dress.

Local Historian Kieran McCarthy:

“The Coal Quay proper is a short length of quayside between Kyrl’s Quay and Lavitt’s Quay. Cornmarket Street derives its name from the old Cornmarket on the street, but it’s the Coal Quay name that captures the soul of the place.”

The challenge facing Cornmarket Street today echoes its historical tensions: how to drive economic development while preserving the authentic character that makes it special. City planners envision expanding the market to seven days a week and creating a major visitor attraction, while traditionalists worry about losing the street’s working-class heritage.

A Street of Many Names, One Identity

Whether you call it Cornmarket Street or the Coal Quay, this historic thoroughfare remains what it has always been: a place where Cork’s past and present converge. From its origins as a medieval quayside to its current role as a thriving market street, it embodies the city’s ability to adapt while maintaining its essential character.

Every Saturday, when the market stalls fill with local produce and the air rings with traders’ calls, when locals queue for coffee before browsing the stalls, when tourists discover authentic Cork culture amid the commerce – the Coal Quay proves that some traditions are too valuable to lose. In a city that proudly calls itself the “Rebel County,” perhaps it’s fitting that its most historic market street rebels against its official name, keeping alive the memory of ships, shawlies, and the coal that once defined Cork’s waterfront.