Funding housing, making change: Cork's Quay Co-op and its place in history

Over the four decades it has operated, the Quay Co-op has been part of radical social change and has become a vital part of the community. Now a new film charts those changes in Ireland and the co-op's part in those changes

Co-founder, Arthur Leahy (left), and John Calnan, manager, at Quay Co-Op on Sullivan's quay in Cork. “People with alternative ideas needed to get together to present those ideas in a coherent way to the city." Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Once a hub for progressive politics and a sanctuary for those shut out by a theocratic Ireland, the Quay Co-Op evolved over the years to become one of Cork city’s most iconic and unconventional businesses.

It is the subject of a new documentary by Emma Bowell and Eddie Noonan of Framework Films which will screen at the IndieCork film festival next Sunday, September 26, at the Gate Cinema. The film charts the changes in Ireland over the almost 40 years since the co-op was founded in 1982 and examines the Quay Co-Op's role in those changes.