Cork city’s Christmas transformation is a huge task for all involved

The city’s decorations may seem to appear out of nowhere but it’s a mammoth task for council and retailers alike, says Jonathan deBurca Butler

Is there anything better than Cork City at Christmas? As that hot port you have just consumed makes it way down to the tips of your toes, you walk out of the pub and into the spirit of Christmas greeted by smiling shoppers on Patrick Street or Oliver Plunkett Street. Above and all around you hundreds and hundreds of light bulbs hang effortlessly like an all-seeing, all-knowing, all-twinkling chorus of silent carol singers that seem always on the verge of bursting into song. You feel like doing the same. After all, it is a most wonderful time of the year.

And while the city’s decorations seem to appear out of nowhere every year, the mammoth efforts of Cork City Council are only matched by a certain bearded man in a red suit on Christmas Eve.

“It’s a busy time and it starts early enough,” says Stephen Scully of the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Department. “I suppose around the end of August or early September we send two of our foremen up to Wicklow to handpick Christmas trees that would be suitable for placing around the city. So they’d find them and put a mark on the ones that they want and then they are delivered down nearly two months later. So the big ones that you’d see on Patrick Street, outside City Hall, the bottom of Shandon Street, they are all hand picked.” In total there will be 33 trees of between 15 and 25 feet placed across the city. Christmas trees from Wicklow are not cheap. According to Stephen, a twenty-five footer can cost the guts of €2,000 and when you consider that Stephen has to transport and erect the trees, his €30,000 budget is pretty tight.

“And the thing is, it’s getting earlier and earlier every year,” he says. “It used to be traditional to turn the lights on December 8th but there’s more pressure to get them up sooner.” In general, Christmas trees are on the same sites but because the feedback is always so positive, Stephen and his team try to add two or three more onto the map of the city each year. For him there is an undoubted return on the investment.

“They create a feelgood factor in the city at the darkest time of the year,” he says. “And we always get a positive response to them. And I think it really helps retailers because it gets people into the city.” When Stephen and his team of carpenters are done, senior executive engineer, Cormac O’Sullivan, and his electric elves, come to sprinkle their fairy dust over the city.

“I have a crew of about seven in our electrical department,” he says, “and from early October they’re making plans and testing out the lights to see if they’re working. We have a good system in place now and we use good lighting systems so we don’t get a lot of failures in it. We got a raft of new lights there in the last five years and they’re all low voltage bulbs which are very safe.” As well as giving more light for less energy, those low voltage bulbs also give more flexibility.

“In places where we can’t get a power supply, say the likes of Bishopstown or Deerpark, we can work with a resident’s group there,” he explains, “give them a car battery and run the lights off it so it’s great in that respect. We can spread the Christmas cheer around a little more.” Closer to the city centre, much of the heavy work is done under cover of darkness.

“Once the trees go up at the beginning of November a lot of the heavy work begins,” says Cormac. “The big gateways go in around four in the morning to cause as little disruption as possible. We do a lot of work on a Saturday night/Sunday morning when we bring in the heavy stuff with big hoists.” It’s a big operation and with a turnaround of less than two weeks, everything, including weather has to go their way.

Not all of the city’s fine thoroughfares fall directly under the remit of the council. Traders on Oliver Plunkett Street and North Main Street for example organise their own lighting and apply for grant aid which comes from Cormac’s department. In total, he has a budget of about €160,000; a sum he rightfully considers a good investment.

“It does help trade in the city there’s no doubt,” he says. “I have to say the traders on Oliver Plunkett Street really put in a big effort so we’re always happy to fund that. I mean when you look at it and Patrick Street lit up, they do look fantastic and it really lifts the mood. You get a real festive atmosphere.” Nothing better.

Cork City Christmas Lights will be turned on this Sunday at 7.15pm by Olympic heroes Paul and Gary O’Donovan.