English Market revamp, science museum or waterpark shortlisted for large Cork tourism project

Fáilte Ireland and Cork City Council have narrowed options to three major projects aimed at boosting year-round tourism in the city

A rejuvenated English Market and an indoor waterpark are also under consideration. Pic. Darragh Kane

Locating a National Science Museum in Cork or reimagining the historic English Market are among the options being explored by Fáilte Ireland to create a large-scale visitor attraction in the city.

The tourism development body is working with Cork City Council to resolve what it views as a clear gap in the city’s offering — the absence of a stand-out attraction capable of delivering significant visitor numbers year-round. Fáilte Ireland said such a project would encourage tourists to prioritise Cork city and spend more time in the region.

Fáilte Ireland is now seeking consultants to carry out feasibility studies for three shortlisted projects: a rejuvenated and reimagined English Market, a National Science Museum, or an indoor wellness and waterpark destination.

The attraction is intended to boost visitor numbers throughout the year. 

17 concepts were originally developed and tested with consumers before being reduced to three by a project steering group. The selection was informed by international benchmarking with other successful attractions worldwide and by testing with both domestic and international markets.

The chosen consultants will advance the shortlisted concepts to a greater level of detail and appraisal. A second stage may require preliminary business cases for one or more projects.

The contractor will assess the viability of the three options across criteria including technical feasibility, affordability, and the availability of suitable sites.

Fáilte Ireland said it has not committed capital investment funding to any project at this stage, as it remains in early concept development.

The English Market, already one of Cork’s top visitor destinations, is an active trading market but also attracts significant tourist footfall. Proposals have previously been made to rejuvenate the venue, including a possible link with the adjacent Unitarian Church.

A National Science Museum is also under consideration. Few national cultural institutions exist outside Dublin, which hosts the National Library, National Archives, National Museum of Ireland and National Gallery. Cork is already home to the Crawford Gallery, currently closed for a €30m renovation.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Fáilte Ireland said the objective is to identify the best concept for a large-scale Cork attraction.

"If a decision is taken to proceed further with one or more of these visitor attraction concepts, a preliminary business case will be developed, in line with Government Infrastructure Guidelines, to seek approval to progress to the planning and design stage. If none of these current concepts meet the required criteria to progress to the next stage, Fáilte Ireland and Cork City Council will seek to identify further concepts," the statement said.

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