Historic Cork City streets to retire 'Victorian Quarter' tag

“This is not just about driving business in the area. It’s about much more than that. It’s about the wellbeing of those in the area, it’s about the environment and it’s about community,” VQ spokesman Derek Shears said.

Brian Murray, the head chef and owner of the Glass Curtain restaurant in the Old Thompson’s Bakery, said it was being done thanks to the unity of businesses in the area.

“We all have the same vision for the area and it’s great that we have all come together on this,” he said.

“We’re a group of businesses, all from different backgrounds, retail, hospitality and others, but all thinking collectively and co-operating for the benefit of the area in general.” 

Shelbourne Bar owner Philip Gillivan, who has been working with fellow traders to improve and promote the area for more than 25-years said: “We’re backing ourselves. We want to hire someone for a role a bit like a shopping centre manager, who will go to sleep on a Sunday night worrying about the VQ. We think it's the first role of its kind for an area in Cork.” 

The ‘city quarter’ concept was devised about six years ago to promote several city precincts.

The area from Bridge St and Coburg St east along MacCurtain St, named after former lord mayor of Cork Tomás MacCurtain, to St Luke’s and Penrose Dock, and between St Patrick’s Quay and Wellington Road, was branded the Victorian Quarter because of the Victorian-era architecture on MacCurtain St.

Association with famine queen

However, some criticised it as an association with the ‘famine queen’ Victoria.

It fuelled rows, including one at a city council meeting in December 2019 where, ahead of the 2020 War of Independence centenary commemorations, Sinn Féin and the Workers’ Party described it as an insult to MacCurtain's memory.

Mr Shears, the managing director of Babelfís, a creative communications agency on MacCurtain St, said traders decided it was time to rebrand.

“It’s a conscious decision to remove that issue as a barrier to conversations about what we are really about,” he said.

“History is what it is. And we are proud of our history and heritage.

We are not ashamed of it but we recognised, from a practical point of view, that if people's opinions on that name deflect from what we are about, we needed to eliminate that as an issue.

"To have what we are trying to do watered down by some peoples’ opinions on a name was not in anyone’s interest."

The rebranding and the new ‘director of operations’ role are central to the traders’ plan to position the area as one of the city’s most vibrant quarters, he said.

“It is the next step in the development process for this area. We are taking a step we feel will illustrate how serious we are about driving the area forward.” 

Public realm upgrade

The area, which is poised to undergo a multi-million euro public realm upgrade which will remove about 70% of through traffic from MacCurtain St, is home to shops, hotels, a theatre, award-winning bars and restaurants, and several major employers, including Starwoods Hotels.

Hundreds of workers are based in the Penrose Wharf business park, with KPMG, EY and Apple among the large employers based in new office blocks at Penrose Dock and Horgan’s Quay near Kent train station.

And there are an estimated 8,000 students attending secondary schools, third level institutions and international language schools in the area.

Mr Gillivan said the new ‘director of operations’ will promote the area’s daytime and night-time economy, as well as its cultural, arts and education offering.

The successful candidate should have a strong commercial background, and experience in event planning and management, and an ability to engage with local and national government, industry and other stakeholders.

They will be engaged under the terms of a business to business contract, and be expected to spend at least 16-hours a week on the job, for a competitive salary.