History

When my co-author and I set about writing a book about the English Market, a prime objective was to find an answer to the first question everyone asks: ‘So, why is it called the English Market?’. There were a number of ‘theories’ in circulation - only English was spoken there, while the other main city market was Irish-speaking; it was created in the style of English covered markets; only Cork’s ‘English’ inhabitants were allowed trade or shop there - none of which rang true. As our research proceeded, an answer began to take shape.

The Market was created in 1788 by the Protestant or “English” corporation that controlled the city at that time. It was a new flagship municipal market located at the heart of the new commercial city centre. When local government was reformed in 1840, and the representatives of the city’s Catholic, “Irish” majority took over, they established another covered food market, St. Peter’s Market (now the Bodega Bar on Cornmarket Street), which became known as the “Irish Market” to distinguish it from its older counterpart which remained associated with its English creators.  It is thus that the name “English Market” dates from this era of transition.