The Friday View 26/01
St Patrick's Street's existential crisis; an oil leak in the lower harbour and our weekly round-up of what's on in Cork
Good morning and welcome to The Friday View on Tripe + Drisheen,
Just under under a year ago, I wrote a long read on Tripe + Drisheen all about St. Patrick’s Street which looked at the history and the changes of the storied street as well as the widespread vacancy. From that piece:
So what’s to become of “Pana” as it is affectionately known? Will retailers come back and fill out the street, but to the effect that it will become more or less like every other city centre high street throughout Europe with a mix of the same brand name stores selling the same brand name clothes? Or is there space for life beyond clothes, shoes and vape shopping? Such as cafes to sit and watch the Cork cosmos go by. Or a gallery. Or even a non-commercial space?
“Pana” was back in the news this week when CorkBeo broke the news that Krispy Kreme, a donut shop founded in America and now owned by German conglomerate JAB Holdings, headquartered in Luxembourg, had a planning application turned down by Cork City Council.
Krispy Kreme had sought retention permission from the Council for a change of use: from retail to hospitality, as well as retaining its distinctive shop signage. It opened on St. Patrick’s Street in April of 2023 where Porter’s newsagents (who buys news anymore?) was previously located. Its arrival and opening was seen as a kind of bellwether for where Patrick’s Street was headed.
The Irish Examiner reported that Krispy Kreme said it was business as usual while it reviews the documents and plans for what to do next. So what did Krispy Kreme do wrong?
For starters, it’s in the food and drinks business, and our planners want St. Patrick’s Street to be retail first. You might be thinking there are a few obvious problems here, and you would be right. For example, how many vape stores is too many stores? What if the entire street was all exclusively brand name stores?
The inspector in its judgement on Krispy Kreme acknowledges as much with two important words, “As the premises is located within the ‘Core Retail Area’ of the city centre, the existing cafe use would be contrary to policy objective 10.5 which is to ‘support the function of the core retail area as the primary location of comparison shopping in the region”.
Those words: comparison shopping.
The inspector also ruled against Krispy Kreme for its existing signage saying it would have a “visual adverse effect on the architectural conservation area”, which is separately in contravention of the city development plan.
It all adds up to the regulator getting teeth, at least on this case. St. Patrick’s Street is a work in progress. Where once it had galleries and cinemas now it has a fair a mount of vacancy and “robo-trees”. The consensus when Krispy Kreme moved in that it was better than a vacant building, even if there was those who bemoaned that once more a brand name store (selling donuts) was opening up on the street (but with rent at €90,000 per annum you need deep pockets).
The bigger picture is that for “Pana” lobby groups, businesses and the City Council are still trying to figure out the direction of the street. One thing’s for sure, they know what they don’t want it to be: O’Connell Street in Dublin, which I am reliably told has two McDonald’s and two Burger Kings (more like O’besity Street!)
Helen Murphy from Cork Business Association (CBA) told me in that long read from last year that a “careful realignment” of bye-laws would allow St. Patrick’s Street to reach its potential.
“I know there is a fear that if you have a free-for-all that it’ll turn into a fast food street a bit like O’Connell Street (in Dublin),” Helen said. “That’s not what we’re talking about.”
What we are talking about is what we’re still figuring out; Krispy Kreme will be a test case for Pana.
-JJ
News in brief
Leak in the lower harbour: On the morning of Monday, January 22 workers at Irving Oil at the refinery in Whitegate, discovered an leak from a small gauge pipe onto a marshy area below the refinery which then spilled into Cork Harbour.
The timeline here is important: the oil gas leak weas discovered during an inspection at 9:00 am. A spill response team was mobilised by the operator and the leak was contained by 1:00pm. The damaged equipment was repaired at 7:00pm on Monday evening as per a report by the EPA (Environment Protection Agency).
The EPA was notified at 7:25pm on the same day, nearly 12 hours later.
According to the EPA, “On the morning of Tuesday 23rd January, the operator reported that the spill response team is continuing to carry out cleanup operations and are assessing impacts to the shoreline, waterbody and local ecology as a result of the spill.
“EPA staff are on site to investigate the incident and to ensure that appropriate corrective actions are put in place to limit the impact of the spill.”
Yesterday, January 25, the EPA released an update outlining that the cleanup is ongoing and water samples are being monitored on a daily basis.
Locals in the area reported a strong odour following the spill.
Cork Lifelong learning 2024: The week-long festival of learning returns form April 10-17 and if you have an idea for a seminar or a tutorial or a workshop in your area you can submit for funding via this portal. Deadline is January 31 (next Wednesday).
Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Plan was released this week and I would be lying if I told you I had read beyond the headlines yet. The plain English version is 128 pages long and you can find it here. It matters as it gives regulators more teeth and it also forces local authorities to focus on biodiversity. We will return to it soon.
Out + About
Goodiepal is a radical artist from the Faroe Islands who is touring Ireland to celebrate his 50th birthday. He has an eccentric approach to sound, media art and performance, and was a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. More recently, he opened a free synth library on the Faroe Islands, and established a self-organised alternative school in Copenhagen. He plays in Plugd on Saturday night as part of this tour.
Time, date, place: 8pm, Saturday January 27, Plugd, Cornmarket Street, Cork.
Local artist Ava Hayes is hosting her first solo exhibition, Hold Your Breath, in the Blackwater Valley Makers Arts Centre, Fermoy this month. Based around the artist’s personal emotions, the exhibition includes many of Hayes’ large canvases, as well as a video piece made in collaboration with dancer Inma Pavon and musician Cillian Plummer. The exhibitions until the end of February.
Time, date, place: 10am-6pm, Saturday January 20-Thursday February 29, Blackwater Valley Makers Arts Centre, McCurtain Street, Fermoy.
Ar Scáth a Chéile is an annual exhibition focusing on the environment, hosted by MTU, and presents the works of recent graduates. Taking place at the James Barry Exhibition Centre in Bishopstown, this year’s exhibitors are Andrea Newman, Avril O’Sullivan, Lucy Quane, Kate Dukelow, Oscar Szewczuk, Roksana Mucaj and Roselyn McNally. The exhibition runs until February 9th.
Time, date, place: 10am-5pm, Saturday January 20-Friday February 9, James Barry Exhibition Centre, MTU Bishopstown Campus, Cork.
St Luke’s Community Garden are now doing weekly meetups for locals or gardening enthusiasts who may want to get involved. The meetups take place every Sunday from 10am-1pm, and includes lunch, with the organisers also noting to feel free to bring something to share (don’t be a scab). This could be a great way to get to know the local community if you live in the area!
Time, date, place: 10am-1pm, Sunday January 28, St Luke’s Community Garden, Ballyhooly Road, St. Luke’s Cross.
Wexford-based painter Paul McCloskey is next up at Laneway Gallery in Shandon with his exhibition of paintings from his new show entitled “Meabhraíocht, Lessons from a Hedgegrow”. It opens Saturday, January 27 from 5-7pm and runs until February 24.
Time, date, place: 120A Shandon Street until February 24
Beidh Gaeilge á labhairt ar Shráid Dhúglais anocht ag an bPopup Gaelacht sa Hyde Out. Má tá fonn ort an cúpla focal atá agat a úsáid, nó usáid a bhaint as do Ghaeilge líofa, tá fáilte roimh chách. The Hyde Out on Douglas Street are hosting a Popup Gaeltacht tonight, and if you want to use your cúpla focal or put your fluent Irish to use, all are welcome to come and úsáid their Gaeilge.
Am, lá, áit: 8i.n., Dé hAoine 26 Eanáir, The Hyde Out, Sráid Dhúglais, Corcaigh.
Rebel Reads, a radical, community-based second hand bookshop in the Marina Commercial Park, is filled with hidden gems. They are hosting a Book Sale on Sunday, with their already cheap selection going for cheaper. The selection here is brilliant and a visit is recommended, sale or no sale.
Time, date, place: 11am-4pm, Sunday January 28, Rebel Reads, Marina Commercial Park, Centre Park Road, Cork.
That’s it for this week’s Friday View.
Any tips, news or events you’d like to share with Tripe+Drisheen, you can contact us via at tripeanddrisheen@substack.com. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity. Get in touch. Have a lovely weekend.
This week on T+D:
Pádraig O’Connor interviewed Seamus O’Mahony about his life in medicine and his career switch to writing about medicine, the medical profession and how we live and die.
