Cork on show: The Cork International Exhibition of 1902-1903

WHEN I visited the revamped Fitzgerald Park recently, I wasn’t thinking about former Lord Mayor Edward Fitzgerald. I had only thought in passing about who the park was named for, and had never heard of the event that led to its foundation.

If you would like to know more about the development of modern Cork, Daniel Breen and Tom Spalding’s book, The Cork International Exhibition 1902-1903, will fill you in on an extraordinary event that resonates through the city’s present.

International exhibitions were a popular way for countries and cities to present and invigorate local trade, industry and culture throughout the 19th century. In the modern world, where so many business, social and cultural interactions occur online, the importance these events once held can be difficult to grasp.