Marketing Cork with produce fit for a Queen

FOR weeks, traders had cleaned and preened their stalls. Walls were repainted, woodwork re-stained, spare floorspace filled with mature trees and braces of pheasant hung anywhere room could be found.

The market’s centrepiece, a Victorian cast-iron water fountain, was also re-painted and festooned with fresh fruit and vegetables from the nearby stalls.

Everywhere hung red banners welcoming the Queen to the “small city with a big heart”. And all for an 85-year-old woman who has won the hearts of a nation in just four days.