Cork Summer Show organisers look for new venue

THE grounds of the Munster Agricultural Society hosted what may have been its last Cork Summer Show over the weekend.

For the past 108 years the event has been held at the Ballintemple venue, having earlier been located in Cornmarket Street, Anglesea Street and Cork Racetrack, now the Marina Commercial Park.

But with the current site earmarked for development, the weekend event is likely to have been the final one to be take place at the 22-acre showgrounds.

However, this does not spell the end of the 167-year-old show, which has played a significant role in the farming, educational, business and social life of Cork city and county and Munster.

Chairman Gerard Murphy confirmed the show will be held again next year, but maybe not at the Ballintemple venue. “But rest assured, it will operate and will do so for many years to come,” he said.

Mr Murphy said a proposal from Cork City Council is that the current site will become open parkland to support the docklands development.

“We have to move from this site totally. At this stage it is too early to be definite as to where we will go, but we are looking at various parcels of land on the primary roads coming into the city.

“We are trying to work on the basis of a 10-15km radius of the city and we are also trying to look at how the public transport infrastructure will develop over time,” he said.

Mr Murphy also confirmed that the society, which was founded around 1842, has commissioned Kieran McCarthy to write its history, for publication later this year or early next year.

Meanwhile, the show’s survival instincts came to the fore again for the two-day weekend event after high winds and heavy rain created difficulties on Saturday night. Phyllis Lynch, vice-chairperson, said some of the judging rings were changed around and the show went ahead as scheduled yesterday.

There was an entry of about 450 horses and ponies from various parts of the country, while some of Ireland’s leading cattle and sheep exhibitors also competed.