Flock sake: Pigeons scrap food festival over health and safety fears

Gourmands were in a flap last night after pigeons contributed to the cancellation of one of the country’s most popular food festivals.

Restaurateur and bar owner Ernest Cantillon, the man behind the Cork Food Festival, confirmed health and safety concerns over the presence of large numbers of pigeons on the former Beamish and Crawford brewery site in Cork City, contributed to his decision to pull the plug on this year’s event, which was to run in July.

Mr Cantillon said the pigeon issue — and concerns about what they could drop from a height — was among a raft of logistical problems associated with staging the event, on what is effectively an abandoned industrial site.