‘Cork needs to expand as a city’ or risk being eclipsed by Limerick

One of the country’s most successful property developers, Owen O’Callaghan, has said Cork needs to expand as a city as it risks being eclipsed by Limerick.

Mr O’Callaghan, who is behind projects such as Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin and Mahon Point and Opera Lane in Cork, told Red FM Cork has to increase its population in order to avoid being tagged as a big town rather than a city.

“On many occasions I have left the airport with investors coming to Cork and the first question they ask you driving down Airport Hill is ‘how big is this town?’,” he said. “They have come from towns in different parts of Europe the same size as Cork. We are a city. We must hold our status as a city. That is how we will attract investment into Cork.”